From the Autostadt to the Alps and on to the Adriatic.

German technology as a sightseeing option-Wolfsburg
Thanks to Matt and his passion for Volkswagens, we spent our first day in Germany at the Autostadt in Wolfsburg, a sort of Disneyland version of everything Volkswagen. It really was an amazing place. When we initially discussed the Autostadt as a destination, I had no idea what to expect, and rather hoped it wouldn't be too boring. Far from it - I was fascinated. When we arrived at the information center, where we purchased tickets, we were assigned an English speaking guide. She was wonderful. After a brief and fascinating history of the development of the Volkswagen, she led us through the various exhibits and past the different buildings, giving us a brief description of each one, so we could decide which venue merited more of our time and which buildings we would like to return to. I wished we had a few young children in our group, because there was a really neat mini driving school for kids, with individual training kiosks and a test course with little battery operated Volkswagen cars. Very cool for that age group, I would think.
I really enjoyed the Konsernforum, which detailed the history and development of the automobile. To be honest, driving my Chevy Malibu to the supermarket never felt like a miracle in technology until I saw the prototype of an early automobile, which looked more like a bicycle with some very strange attachments. Following the exhibits detailing the advances in automotive technology, I really appreciated how far and fast the engineers who designed, developed, and improved upon that first motorized vehicle had come.
There was much more to see at the Autostadt. Everything was beautifully presented, and the grounds were lovely. The whole place was originally designed as a luxury center for customers to pick up their new vehicles, and it was fun to watch people actually doing that the day we were there. Unfortunately, because we were there on a Saturday, we could not tour the factory, which I imagine would be something really neat to see.
We did have a great lunch in the cafeteria-style restaurant. We enjoyed our first curry wurst, a long hotdog-type sausage with barbeque-like sauce and a liberal sprinkling of curry powder. Wonderful!

Wolfsburg is also home to the Volkswagen Museum. After some initial confusion (we weren't sure if it was actually part of the Autostadt or a separate entity) we located it in town and pulled into the parking lot. It looked like it was out of business. The parking lot was weedy and the building had some broken, boarded up windows. But the ticket window was open, so we bought our tickets and went in. Inside there were hundreds of Volkswagens, neat, tidy, and obviously lovingly cared for. Beetles, vans, buses were lined up in row after row, some bizarrely decorated, a few totally reworked into amphibious vehicles or taxicabs. There was even a Volkswagen handcrafted by a basketweaver. Amazing! Eventually, however, we went into Volkswagen overload, and happily headed back to the Hotel Kaiserworth in Goslar for the night. In a few days, on our way to Rothenburg, we would visit another museum devoted to technology, in Sinsheim.

German technology as a sightseeing option - Part 2
If Steve and I had been traveling on our own, we probably would never have considered stopping at the Sinsheim Auto & Technik Musueum on our way from Oberwesel on the Rhine to Rothenburg. But Matt, our son-in-law, had come across a description of the museum in Sinsheim on the internet and thought it looked interesting. Although there was only limited mention of it in any of our guidebooks, we decided to give it a try. With over 3000 exhibits, the museum turned out to be a vast and varied collection of just about anything and everything that traveled by air, land, or sea, in the 20th century. Over 60 aircraft are on display, including both a supersonic Concorde and its Russian counterpart, dramatically poised with their distinctive noses pointed skyward. We boarded each plane and hiked the considerable distance up through the narrow cabin to the cockpit. Imagine crossing the Atlantic in half the time it takes now. Too bad for us that the technology of the Concorde never worked as an option for the general traveling public.

Inside the museum itself, the first exhibit showcased classic American cars, complete with mannequins dressed like the original drivers and passengers might have been in their heyday, with rather interesting interpretations of the styles of the fifties and sixties in America. Wandering through the museum, we moved further back in time, encountering some impressive European luxury cars of the twenties and thirties, polished and richly appointed, fit for royalty. Deep into the auto exhibit was a collection of large, shining, and sinister vehicles used to chauffeur Hitler and other high ranking officials of the 3rd Reich. Looking almost predatory, these cars could have driven right out of an old newsreel. The sight of them and their passengers in old photos made me shutter.

But this museum was much more than just automobiles. There was a display of 20 hulking locomotives. There were giant engines from naval destroyers and other ocean-going vessels, old time tractors and bulldozers, and an army of military tanks. There were sewing machines, calliopes, and motorcycles. There was an extensive exhibit of mannequins dressed in original World War II military uniforms, mostly German, of course, but also some British and American. In fact, there were mannequins everywhere in this museum: one dressed as a prom queen sitting on the back of a pink Cadillac convertible in the American car display; anothe dressed as a farmer holding a pitchfork next to an early tractor. There were even a few dressed as well-heeled passengers on the Concorde. I almost expected them to come to life and start socializing with one another or with us. "Night at the Museum" in Sinsheim seemed like an extremely creepy possibility. Fortunately, we left before nightfall and continued our trip on to Rothenburg.

Salt mining, from the low tech devices of early man to the high tech methods of the modern age, in about an hour or so. The Salzwelten, Halstatt
Are there any funiculars in the USA? We could not think of any, although we have taken advantage of the funicular in Quebec City a few times. Anyway, the funicular in Halstatt is impressive viewed from the bottom, very steep and long. We took it to the top and followed the path to the Salzwelten, where we waited about 45 minutes for the tour to begin.
This site was discovered as a source of salt by early hunter/gatherers, who figured out pretty quickly how to extract salt from its ancient sea bed. Over the ages, as the embedded salt on the surface was depleted, the local salt traders developed new methods to extract the salt buried deep in the mountain, eventually using water to flush it out. Now, salt mining at Hallstadt is a high tech industry, extracting salt from many levels below the surface. As someone who much prefers salty, crunchy snacks to sweets, I understand completely the urge to procure salt. One of the highlights of the tour, besides the history lessons illustrated by underground light shows and the wooden slides from one level to another, was the cute little salt shaker containers given out at the end of the tour.

Looking forward to more especially Ljubljana, Plitvice and Rovinj, since we visited them all last year and stayed at Slamic B&B in Ljubljana, Hotel Plitvice in the park and Porta Antica in Rovinj. Keep it coming!

Thank you, maitaitom, for your response. I have to tell you that I referred to your trip report again and again as I was planning the Slovenian and Croatian portion of this vacation. Basically, we booked all three of the accommodations you mention based on your descriptions and we were so glad we did. We loved Ljubljana, and the Slamic B&B was perfect for us - friendly staff, good location, and clean, comfortable room. Ditto Plitvice Lakes and the Hotel Plitvice. Rovinj was an absolutely lovely base for 3 days in Istria, but because we were not staying for longer, we were bumped from the famous apartment #3 at Porta Antica when someone else booked it for a week. We ended up at apartment #9 at La Carera (under the same management). It was a pretty apartment with a harbor view, so we were happy there (although we kept wondering what we were missing at #3).
Also, we followed your example and took the Venezia Lines ferry from Rovinj to Venice. Rovinj was beautiful in the early morning light as we left the harbor, and our first view of Venice when we arrived by sea was exciting. Perfect travel moments!
Thanks again for responding. Your trip report was so helpful to us. Hopefully, I can eventually finish this report and provide some useful information to someone else.

Glad you liked the Slamic B&B. That was our "find" of the trip. I rave about Plitvice National Park to everyone I know. It is one of the most gorgeous places I have visited in my travels. Looking forward to more!

"Also, we followed your example and took the Venezia Lines ferry from Rovinj to Venice. Rovinj was beautiful in the early morning light as we left the harbor..."

Did you sip coffee through a straw?

No, we did not sip coffee through a straw. The ride was pretty smooth, thank heavens. My last ferry ride, from Nantucket to Cape Cod, was an uncomfortable up and down experience through pretty choppy seas, and I struggled to overcome seasickness. Remembering that trip, we booked the "Comfort Lounge" on the ferry for an extra charge, thinking the extra measure of "comfort" would be well worth it if seasickness was an issue again. Fortunately, it was not.

The Technology We Took With Us: TomTom,/b7
For Christmas last year, Cassie and Matt gave us a TomTom gps system and it proved to be a really useful piece of equipment for this trip. In fact, I don't know how we ever got along without it. Unfortunately, I have a sort of directional dyslexia when it comes to map reading. Traveling down a highway, I often can see absolutely no connection between our actual physical location and our location on the map in my lap, try as I might to pinpoint it. When it comes to deciding, from the information provided by the map in front of me, which exit to take or which road to turn on to, I am, more often than not, totally at a loss. And lost! This disability has caused more than one marital meltdown. Steve is as good a map reader as he is a driver. He even taught map reading years ago the the army. It is hard for him to understand, as he's driving in crazy traffic down a fast highway in a foreign country, why I can't help him get to where we should be going. So he, understandably, loses patience, and I get even more confused as the stress level rises. But the soothing tones of "Ms. TomTom", as we came to call her, saved the day on this trip. Her warm, modulated voice gave us straight-forward directions with plenty of time to prepare for each turn or exit. No urgent cries of "Next left!" or indecisive wavering admissions of "I think that might have been our exit back there". With the help of the interactive map on the device's screen attached to the windshield, she got us to destination every time. We even successfully navigated the twisting little back streets of Rothenburg, driving right up to our hotel with no problems. From the time we left the airport in Frankfort until we turned the rental car in at the Munich airport, TomTom took us where we wanted to go. Again in Croatia, where we picked up our car in Zagreb, until we returned it in Rovinj, we were quided efficiently through town and countryside. There were a few hiccups. Somehow on our way from Goslar to the Autostadt we ended up on the autobahn to Berlin instead of the highway to Wolfsburg. Traveling from Plitvice Lakes to Rovinj, a construction detour sent us off TomTom's route and we went around in circles for awhile before we got back on track.

In order to load Europe into our TomTom we had to unload North America. The program for Europe, which included Germany, Austria and Croatia, cost about $90. Well worth it for us. Now all we have to do it figure out how to load North America back in.

Sorry for the bold print! I guess I'm dyslexic with basic HTMl entries, too, along with my directional challenges. I will be more careful next time!

Technology we packed - our cell phone
We've never taken a cell phone on any of our European vacations before, thinking it would be too expensive and complicated. Traveling, however, with Cassie and Matt, we thought it would be a good idea if we could keep in touch with them when we were all out and about, doing our own thing. Matt has an I-phone, so he was set, but we weren't sure which phone was best for us. After some research, we discovered that, as Verizon customers, we could rent a phone for 21 days, for a minimal fee, that would function in Europe and also allow us to phone home. Rates varied according to the country we calling from, but the coverage was great, and our bill when we returned home was reasonable. Bottom line: we were so happy to have a phone, especially when we were trying to return our rental car in Rovinj to a mysterious location, located by TomTom but seemingly deserted. After a few desperate phone calls, we figured out which specific driveway we should drive up, where we were happily greeted by the car rental representative. Without that phone, we would have been totally without a clue.

Final Footnote - German Technology
Last year, Steve purchased a copper pot still from the Carl Company, Germany's oldest still fabricator, with the intention of using it to produce vodka from apples grown on our farm in upstate New York. The company is located in Eislingen, not far from Rothenburg, where we planned to spend the night on our way from Oberwesel to Berchtesgaden, so we made an appointment to stop in at the factory the next morning. We were greeted so warmly and given a fascinating tour of the facility, where beautiful copper stills are produced using a combination of old world craftsmanship and modern technology. The visit ended with a bountiful lunch at a nearby restaurant, where our host ordered just about everything on the menu, which was served to us family style. Bowls of venison in wine sauce, pork with mushrooms, boiled beef, really delicious noodles, french fries, red cabbage, slaw, and more. Valiantly, we dug in. I never thought we could make much of a dent in so much food, but we did. Many empty dishes signaled the end to a memorable meal and some really special hospitality.

Highlights - Germany
The highlights of our trip to Germany were hugh - just like the Alps we saw every morning from our window in Berchtesgaden - so I would like to share them with you here.

1. Highlight #1: the sight of our daughter running down the stairs toward us at the airport in Frankfort. She was beautiful. Even after flight delays from Louisville and Detroit, she was glowing, and so enthusiastic about the adventure before us. And Matt, although this was probably not the adventure he would have chosen, was game for whatever the next 10 days would deliver.

2. We had never heard of Goslar, an Unesco World Heritage site in the Harz Mountains, until we started researching a place to stay near the Autostadt. Goslar was lovely, with half-timbered houses on narrow winding streets, a small but energetic river running though it, and a traffic free town square centered on a fountain featuring a funny little gilded eagle. Except for a few German tourists out and about, it felt pretty much undiscovered. We stayed at the Hotel Kaiserworth, built as a guildhouse in 1496 and decorated on the exterior with life-size statues and a bold color scheme. The rooms we originally booked were located at the back of the hotel and less expensive, but when we checked in we were upgraded to rooms facing the marketplace. Thank you! We could open our leaded glass windows, lean out, and watch all the action on the square. The second day we were there, the hotel hosted a wedding reception, and we felt like part of the party as we viewed the festivities from our window. Each morning, we watched day begin in the square, as waiters set up cafe tables and people walked their dogs or set out with shopping bags to pick up provisions for the day. There was one drawback related to our proximity to the square. As we usually do after a transatlantic flight, we settled down for a short nap after checking into our room. We were just dozing off, when the Glockenspiel across the square began chiming. At every pause, we were sure the bells would stop ringing, but no. It went on for fifteen minutes or more, making sleep all but impossible. The next morning after breakfast, however, we made sure we were in the square at 9:00 a.m., when the Glockenspiel went into action again. Needless to say, we enjoyed it much more than we had the afternoon before. Speaking of breakfast, the Hotel Kaiserworth's breakfast was one of the best we've had. It was a seemingly endless buffet of eggs, bacon, sausage, cold cuts, cheeses, pastries, yogurt, cereals, etc. etc., all beautifully served in silver chafing dishes or in pretty baskets on linen tablecloths. A great way to start the day!

I tremendously enjoyed reading your trip report. It's completely new point of view - of Germany and how it's sights and sounds are received by foreigners.
I am quite glad you enjoyed it!

I bookmarked almost all your hotels and venues in order to have it - one day I have time and travel my home country! Thanks for that!

SV

Thanks. This is the best Fodor's travelogue in months. You visited places in Germany that this veteran of 30 years of German vacationing has yet to see. And they sound fascinating. I can't tell you how many times we've whizzed by that tech museum in Sinsheim. Never bothered to stop but now wish we had.

I eagerly await reading more and am already seriously considering booking your entire intinerary for our yearly Christmas vacation in 2010.

Thank you, spassvogel and Zeus, for your kind comments. I do recommend this itinerary, which was almost perfect for us, but I can't take credit for it. If we hadn't been traveling with our daughter and son-in-law, we would probably have mapped out an entirely different route on this trip to Germany. However, adjusting our plans to their fresh ideas and varied interests really paid off for us. It is amazing how much we can learn when we venture a bit outside our comfort zone. But really, isn't that what travel is all about?

Highlights-Germany-Continued: the Castle Hotel auf Schoenburg

When Cassie and her twin sister, Caitlin, were 15 years old, we took them on a memorable family vacation to Europe, traveling through Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France. One special memory of that trip for Cassie was our stay at the Castle Hotel Schoenburg in Oberwesel on the Rhine, and she hoped we could work out a way to spend one night there on this trip, even though it was a bit out of our way. We thought it was a great idea. We love that part of the Rhine, and got to know it well when Steve was stationed near Mainz while serving in the army many years ago. (Cassie and Cait, by the way, were born in Weisbaden.) So we made reservations, booking Cassie and Matt a riverview room as a special 10th anniversary gift and booking ourselves a room with a courtyard view. Steve and I, like Cassie, had good memories of our long ago night at the Hotel Schoenburg. The four of us had stayed in a huge room at the top of a tower. Almost as soon as we settled in, a thunderstorm rumbled in, absolutely dramatic as seen from our tower window, and definitely memorable. As Matt drove up the long driveway to the hotel this time, I worried that we might be disappointed in the Schoenburg on this trip. Almost 24 years had passed since that last visit and our expectations were high. We could easily be disappointed. Thankfully, we most definitely were not! It is a beautiful place to stay, still. The castle is well cared for, with interesting public rooms, perfectly furnished as a castle should be, and outdoor spaces and courtyards with amazing views. We arrived on a Sunday afternoon, and the luncheon crowd had filled up the parking lot, but we checked in and were shown to our rooms in no time. Cassie and Matt's room was impressive, with a canopy bed and a balcony that looked toward the courtyard, plus the aforementioned river view. Our room, however, was really special. Called the Guards Lodge, it looked like a little cottage attached to the castle wall, with a terrace under an arbor, outfitted with a small table and two chairs and a view of steep, terraced vineyards. Inside, the little seating area provided a loveseat with a cocktail table and a desk. The bed was tucked into an alcove. Bookshelves covered two walls up to the peaked ceiling. The bathroom was outfitted with a large marble tub with faucets held by marble cherubs. Amazing. We spent the afternoon wandering the castle grounds with Cassie and Matt, hiking down to the town (and back up again) before it began to rain. After a good dinner together in the hotel dining room, Steve and I retired to our stone cottage in the wall, listened to classical music on the CD player, and watched the rain mist the vineyards below us. Magical! So once again, we have a beautiful memory of a rainy night spent at the Hotel Schoenburg. Hopefully, some day we will visit the castle again, and hopefully, it will rain.

Candace
How lucky I was to have read your TR!
Last Monday I drove from our home (Rheinland - between Duesseldorf and Cologne) towards Speyer and made a stop at Burg Schoenburg. The drive up was worth the detour! Great location and wonderfully restored castle.
Regrettably we (my mother an me) could only have a drink (no lunch because Monday is only dinner service for hotel guests ) in the small kind of courtyard. But still - I grabbed a brochure and we enjoyed the (SLOW - my mom is 85) walk from the parking lot up to the castle.
The rates they ask are rather on the expensive side - but I don't know what you get for these rates as the whole place was occupied and I therefore couldn't have a look at the rooms
But there will be a next time..............

Again: THX for the tip!

SV

I am glad, spassvogel, that you had the opportunity to visit the Burg Schoenburg. I think it is definitely worth a detour. You are right. It is rather on the expensive side. It was our "splurge" hotel stay on our trip so many years ago and again on our last trip. But we certainly felt, both times, that it was worth the extra expense. Staying in a beautifully restored castle in a spectacular location overlooking the Rhine, in lovely room with great service, makes for a truly memorable experience.

We can relate to your slow walk up to the castle with your mother. Every summer for the last 16 years, Steve and I have taken a long weekend trip with both our mothers. His mom is 89, mine is in her early 80's. We usually travel to a destination in New England. (The coast of Maine is a favorite.) Each year, our pace slows a little and we spend more time relaxing and enjoying the view than sightseeing. But even if the pace is slower, our mothers' enthusiasm is as strong as ever, and we have a great time. I hope I am still a happy traveler when I am in my eighties!

German Highlights Continued - Rothenburg
We arrived in Rothenburg late in the afternoon, and immediately set out to walk the city walls. Upon leaving the hotel, we turned right onto the street, and turned right again when we arrived at the wall. After walking a short distance, we came upon a lovely park surrounded by the wall, with gardens, large trees, a pretty stone chapel, and beautiful views back toward the town. It was so absolutely picturesque that Cassie and I immediately went into a sort of camera frenzy, shooting everything in sight from several different angles. Fortunately for Steve and Matt, who were patiently waiting for us to join them on the wall walk, the rumble of distant thunder moving closer finally caught our attention, and we decided we should head for the nearest covered walkway. We just made it before the storm hit and so we were able to continue our walk mostly protected from the rain.

Cassie and Matt decided that pizza was their meal of choice for dinner that night, and headed for the Pizzaria Italia, recommended in many guide books. Their pizza was excellent. Steve and I decided to try the restaurant in the hotel, ordering our favorite German dinner of sauerbraten, dumplings, and red cabbage, which was also excellent. We quickly realized during dinner that every other table in the dining room was occupied by Americans. Soon, we were all chatting and comparing notes, as comfortable and casual as if we were sharing a neighbor's back yard back home. I guess neighborhoods are relative when you are traveling. Before we left the restaurant, however, local residents began arriving for dinner, reassuring us that Hotel Klosterstuble's dining room was not just reserved for tourists.

When we were researching Rothenburg for this trip, the Nighwatchman's Tour kept turning up as a "must do". Cassie and Matt opted out, and I was hesitant, reluctant to join a jostling group following a tour guide who was spouting his spiel for the thousandth time. There was a real possibility that the whole experience would be boring and a bit uncomfortable. Far from it! Our nightwatchman was a gifted actor with a distinctive and compelling voice. He related bits of history and folklore as if he had experienced it himself yesterday. Funny, informative, and very authentic, he conveyed to us a real sense of the place we were experiencing. We add our recommendations to all the others.

Another highlight of Rothenburg at night was the beautifully lighted windows of the shops, especially Kathe Wohlfahrt's collection of Christmas merchandise. These glowing collages of German Christmas crafts make lovely photo opportunities.

Note: the Hotel Klosterstuble was a good place to stay in Rothenburg. It has a convenient location, helpful, pleasant staff, and a beautiful stonewalled breakfast room full of atmosphere. The rooms felt small, but perhaps that was only in relation to the Castle Hotel Schoenburg the night before.

Your report made me homesick for Germany. It has been too many years.

Candace, I am really enjoying your report! We've stayed in the Hotel Klosterstuble twice; the first time the room was much smaller than our last visit. And I wholeheartedly agree about the Nightwatchman's Tour. At first I was wondering what all of the fuss could possibly be about, but it didn't take long to get it. Looking forward to the rest! Ljubljana is one of our favorite cities in Europe, so I'm particularly looking forward to that one.

Tracy

Saraho, I hope you can visit Germany again soon. I know that homesick feeling!

Tracy, I am so glad to hear from you! When we were planning our trip to Umbria a few years ago, your Italian trip report inspired us to book an apartment with Silvana and Mario at Le Case Gaille. We booked the apartment "L'Acquaio" because "LaTerrazza" was not available at the time. We absolutely loved it! So when we were looking for a place to stay in Rothenburg, we read your German trip report and decided to reserve rooms at the Hotel Klosterstuble, knowing we could be confident in your recommendation. Thanks, again!

This trip report is taking forever to write, and I apologize. Ljubljana was one of our favorites, too, and I hope to cover that part of our trip soon.

Hi Mom! I love this trip report - I feel like I'm right back in Germany. I was laughing out loud at your description of your map reading skills - I think I have the same problem and come by it 100% genetically. Although, remember Matt and Dad didn't listen to us when we said "We don't want to head towards Berlin!" on the way to Wolfsburg. They listened to TomTom and had to turn around 5 km later. We one-upped TomTom that time Can't wait to read more!

It was a wonderful trip, Cassie! Wish we could do it all again. Writing this trip report is a joy, because I can re-live all the memories. I am a little embarrassed that it is taking so long to write, but I am going to keep at it until it is done.

5 Beautiful Days in Berchtesgadener Land
After leaving Rothenburg in the morning, we stopped at the afore-mentioned Carl Still factory, and then headed toward Berchtesgaden, with plans to stop at the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial. After lunch with our gracious host from the Carl Company, we were running late, and arrived at the Dachau entrance late in the afternoon. We had less than an hour before closing time, and we thought about moving on and coming back at a later time. But probably this was our best chance to visit the site, so we made the decision to stay and do a quick tour. Probably not the best decision, I have to say. The site was disturbing, profound, and worth a lot more time than we could allot to it. But still, the impression will stay with us. I will never forget the agonized sculpture, looming over the floral tributes set against the wall. It's jagged angles of stylized agony set against a steel gray sky hurt me to look at, although such a place should double you over in pain. Human nature, I guess, protects itself from such extremes. Perhaps that is why such evil can exist. As we were walking through the compound, it began to rain. It was not a hard rain, more like a heavy mist, bleak and damp, like cold tears. We left with only a few minutes left til closing, and resumed driving toward our rental apartments near Berchtesgaden, feeling drained.
The drive took longer than we had anticipated. The weather began to really deteriorate as heavy rain moved in and turned the sky almost as dark as twilight. Everyone began to sink into moods that reflected the weather, until finally we reached the town of Berchtesgaden and headed into the countryside where Gasthaus Aschbachhof was located. Cassie, at this point, was totally stressed, as she had booked this place on the internet because it looked so pretty, but who really knew? There were no reviews, and the website was totally in German. We drove up the driveway, and Steve and Matt got out of the car and went to find out if we were in the right place. They were gone for what seemed like forever and they did not have good news when they came back. Basically, no one was home but a very nice older lady who spoke absolutely no English and seemed to know nothing about us. We sat in the car for a minute, trying to decide our next move, when a little pickup truck drove up and suddenly everything was alright. As we moved into our lovely apartment, and Cassie and Matt unloaded their stuff at the little Hansel and Gretel cottage at the edge of the driveway that was to be theirs for the next 6 nights, the sun came out, and a lovely rainbow (I'm not kidding) appeared above the mountains that had suddenly appeared out of the mist. As the sun reappeared and strenghtened, and then began to set, the mountains glowed with a silvery sheen and then darkened as we watched. Again, an unforgettable evening in Germany.

We woke up the next morning in the Gastehaus Aschbachhof to a beautiful sunny day. We were refreshed after a good night's sleep, aided by those wonderful down comforters and crisply cased pillows that seem to cover every bed in Germany. The bed in our apartment at the Aschbachhof was especially nice. In fact, everything about our apartment was great. Decorated with pretty country furniture in blond wood, with lace curtains and a comfortable little sofa upholstered in blue, the main room was outfitted with a small kitchen, a dining area, and comfortable seating for reading or watching TV. The bedroom was large with lots of storage, and the bathroom was small but adequate. There was also a perfect little balcony with a spectacular view of the surrounding mountains. Located on the second floor of the Springl family's large Bavarian style farmhouse which was built in the 1500's, the apartment was bright, cheerful, and immaculately clean. Cassie and Matt stayed in the little guest cottage located between the roadway and the farm's dairy barn. The gentle mooing of cows often greeted them in the morning. They loved it. The cottage had a kitchen and bathroom on the ground floor and a bedroom reached either by a ladder from the kitchen or by stairs from the outside. The cottage was quite a bit smaller than our apartment, so we prepared most of our dinners at our place.

The Springl family made us feel welcome, and although they spoke very little English, we always seemed able to communicate. Passing almost a week under their roof, we quickly came to appreciate how hard they worked to keep both their farm and their home in tiptop shape.

wonderful report. Thanks so much. Look forward to more. Makes me want to return to Germany - it's been 25 years!

Berchtesgaden Land - Home for 5 Days
When Cassie suggested the Berchtesgaden region as a base for our rental stay, I wondered if there would be enough to keep us occupied for 6 nights and 5 full days of sightseeing activities in the area. No problem! We spent 3 days exploring Berchtesgaden National Park, enjoying beautiful Lake Konigssee and Mount Jenner, which were less than 10 minutes from our rental apartment. Austria was the bonus destination. It did not take long (I can't remember exactly, but less than 45 minutes, I think) to drive from the Gastehaus Aschbachhof to Hallstatt on one day and to Salzburg on another.
<Lake Konigssee
The afternoon of our first day at the Aschbachhof, after stocking up on groceries and miscellaneous provisions at the nice little supermarket in town, we drove to the park entrance, paid a few euros to park, and walked down to the lake. Souvenir shops line the roadway from the parking lot to the lake, but the mix of touristy offerings from lederhosen and traditional dresses to faux rock jewelry and lava rock candles was fun to browse on the way to the lakeside. On reaching the lake, we took the path past the boathouses, climbed a hill and eventually skirted the lake until we reached the point with the best view of St Bartholoma, far on a distant shore, made famous by generations of artists. Really, it is a wonderful combination of spectacular natural scenery and lovely quaint architecture. Fortunately, from that distance, we could not see the scaffolding that surrounded the church. Always, on every trip to Europe, there is inevitably one place surrounded by scaffolding. But we accept that maintenance as necessary, in order to preserve the beautiful structures we enjoy so much. So - a positive within a negative.

After taking photos of the famous St. Bartholoma view many times over, we continued following the path, which at that point veered up and away from the lake. The path was smooth and well worn for quite a distance, until we reached the marker pointing toward the waterfall, which we had decided would be our destination. At that point, the footing became slippery and uneven, and Steve and I decided that, rather than risking a broken bone, we would head back and wait for Cassie and Matt at the little restaurant/beer garden we had passed on the way up. We settled in on the restaurant patio, with a beautiful view of the lake and the boat dock, ordered a beer and a glass of wine, and settled in, relaxed and content. However, into every life some rain must fall, and suddenly the beautiful day turned dramatically dark, and the rain came down, straight and heavy. We moved our little table under the eaves, and began to worry about Cassie and Matt, who showed up shortly thereafter, soaking wet and but happy. They had found the waterfall, a stunning veil of water tumbling down the mountainside to the lake, and they had it all to themselves. For that moment, it was theirs, and theirs alone, and it was beautiful. When we viewed it the next day from the perspective of the tour boat on the lake, it was certainly spectacular, but I'm sure the best perspective was from the top, not the bottom.

You have a wonderful way of not only enjoying all the little things along your way, but also of describing them to us so beautifully! -- thank you for this marvelous view of the parts of Germany you saw.

Waiting for more!

Thanks, tocanictraveler, for your kind words!

We planned to take the boat ride on Lake Konigssee the next afternoon, after spending the morning at the Documentation Museum, which was both fascinating and disturbing. The history of the rise of Hitler and the Nazis is outlined with photos and text. Like passing a car accident on the interstate, you are horrified but have to wonder what caused the wreck. So you look. I could only look so long. The photos are profoundly realistic and horrible. I retreated to the outdoor patio and waited for my family.

The Eagle's Nest was a few days away from opening for the season, so we went back to the Gasthaus for lunch. Somehow, we lost track of time, and ended up getting a late start for Lake Konigssee. But after buying our tickets for the boat ride, we didn't have to wait long for the next boat, and were soon on our way up the lake. We shared the boat with a group of German senior citizens on an outing and they were having a great time. The tour boat guide would give a long explanation of the sights, in German, with obviously some hilarious asides, because all the seniors would roar with laughter. The English version he gave next was much shorter, without much humor. Oh well, our fault for not speaking German.

When we landed at St. Bartholoma, where the chapel was still unfortunately wrapped in scaffolding, we immediately started out on a hike to see the "Ice Chapel", which was highly recommended by our hosts, the Springls, in the informational pamphlet they give to guests. The hike took about an hour, through interesting forested areas, passing by a pretty little chapel devoted to a saint whose name I cannot remember. We passed one other hiker on his way back, who told us that the ice chapel did not currently exist. It was either too late or too early (not sure which) for it to form. But it really didn't matter. Suddenly, we emerged from the forest into what seemed like a huge bowl surrounded by mountains. Grey rocks, pink rocks, smoky mists around the mountain tops, and a roaring brook of skimmed milky water, all combined to create a silver and rose colored world that was really breath-taking. I think I gasped. Cassie and Matt reacted by jumping from rock to rock over the stream bed. Steve kept looking up and around. I looked up, too, and suddenly we saw them. A little family of mountain goats, leaping from one precipice to another as if they had wings. Bird-like, they almost seemed to hover on the edges of those very high cliffs. We watched them until they disappeared into the low clouds. Thrilling!

We finally headed back to toward the boat docks, figuring we had plenty of time to spare. Little did we know how close we had come to "missing the boat".

I have just scanned your report and will bookmark it for future reading. Having spent 2.5 years in Stuttgart, and still missing Germany terribly after returning to the States 21 months ago, I am loving this!

You are the first I've heard of to ever mention the Technik Musueum in Sinsheim on these pages. I went there with my car designer husband just before we left Stuttgart. It truly is a marvel. (Although I could have done without the scary musty fumes in those old airplanes!)

And the Hotel Auf Schoenburg...ahhhh!!! We stayed in the Falkonsuite and had the fancy 7-course menu on our last trip through Germany. Honestly, I don't think there's a bad room in the place - every one I've read about sounds amazing. I am a castle fanatic, so for me it was a dream come true.

Thanks for the memories, and for all the new ideas about places to visit on our next trip to Deutschland.

Hausfrau, I had forgotten about that smell of stale air in those supersonic planes at the Sinsheim Museum. Part of the eerie atmosphere, I guess. Futuristic aircraft that never made it into the future of air travel, frozen in the moment of takeoff, pass their prime, and mothballed in a museum.

A year or so ago, there was a discussion on Fodors about the best castle hotel options, and the Schoenburg was mentioned again and again. Many others, it seems, agree with you and me that the Hotel Auf Schoenburg is truly special.

The boat trip on Lake Konigssee we almost missed!

We did not miss the boat, but we came really close. When we approached the landing and dock area at St. Bartholoma, Steve was disappointed to see that the concessions selling smoked fish from the lake were shuttered and closed. He had looked forward to sampling that delicacy. Then we noticed that there were not many people left milling about the area that had been full of happy tourists before we took off on our hike. Looking toward the dock, one solitary boat was bobbing up and down, and as we hurried toward it, the boatman manning the ramp to the door began to impatiently wave to us to hurry up. Cassie and Matt lagged quite a way behind us, and we motioned urgently for them to catch up, as we finally realized that we were very late and in danger of being left behind. We thought that these boats would run much later in the day, but we should have known better. Anyway, all four of us finally clambered onto the boat as the man taking our tickets shook his head in disapproval of our tardiness. This was the last boat from St Bartholoma to Salet, at the far end of the lake, and we were the only passengers. We had paid extra for tickets which would include this route, and had planned to take the short hike from the landing to a famous waterfall not far away. Because it was so late, the boat did not even dock at Salet, but we got our moneys' worth anyway. After their initial displeasure with us, the boat crew softened, and before we knew it, we were experiencing our own private tour on our own private tour boat. The pilot steered the boat in wide loops so that we could view the waterfall from afar. The tour guide tailored his descriptions for his American audience, and answered our questions with good humor. The trumpet player, whose function was to blow his horn in order to create the famous Lake Konigssee echo, not only produced a resounding echo, but treated us to the performance of a tune which he was sure we would recognize. We didn't recognize it, but pretended we did. It was lots of fun and totally unexpected. The boat touched back at the dock at St. Bartholoma, picked up a few stragglers and headed up the lake. Before we knew it we were back at the main docks. A great day, and like so many when we travel, full of surprises.

We planned our last foray into Berchtesgaden National Park on our last day in Germany, the day before Cassie and Matt were scheduled to fly home. It was a brilliantly sunny Sunday, a perfect day to take the gondola ride to the top of Mt. Jenner for the spectacular views of what seemed to us to be countless surrounding alpine peaks. The ride up in the little 2 person gondola took 25 minutes or so, plenty of time to relax and enjoy the views. When we reached the top, we split up to follow separate paths. Our hike was a pleasant meander up to a great lookout point, a craigy point of rock overlooking Lake Konigsee, which seemed to be a small and glittering pond miles below. Cassie and Matt, however, had "loftier" ambitions. Determined to climb an Alp, they headed off toward a distant peak, which we never did figure out the name of, through snow fields and steep inclines. Steve and I settled in on the deck of the mountaintop restaurant and watched their progress with binoculars. Eventually, we could only make out distant moving dots against the white of the snow, and we weren't even sure we were watching the right dots. But we shared the sun drenched deck with German families enjoying a Sunday afternoon outing, with beer and platters of sausage and fries and we were happy to be there. A few of the elderly couples sitting nearby wore Bavarian garb, the men in well worn lederhosen and jaunty hats, and the women in traditional skirts and blouses, with silvery braids wrapped like wreaths around their heads. Energetic and healthy, they also wore expressions that reflected their vigorous lifestyle. In their eighties, they were still capable of hiking steep inclines and enjoying the views from the top.

Cassie and Matt made it to the top of the unnamed mountain, proudly taking pictures next to the cross implanted at the peak. Their last day in Germany and they were close to being on top of the world.

A significant advantage of staying in the Berchtesgaden area is its proximity to some of Austria's most scenic attractions. I had seen many pictures of Halstatt featured in travel magazines or on the cover of guidebooks, and had always wanted to compare those beautiful photos with reality. As it was an easy drive from our rental apartment, we set a day aside to visit the Halstatt area. Salzburg was another famous place we could easily visit from Berchtesgaden, so we scheduled another day trip into Austria in order to tour Salzburg.

Halstatt was perfectly beautiful, of course. How could it not be? A quaintly picturesque town set on the edge of a mirror-like lake surrounded by alpine mountains couldn't be anything less. After a morning exploring the salt mines (described earlier in this report), we found a convenient parking lot and strolled down to the lake. Looking for lunch, we soon found a little restaurant with a deck next to the water, an ideal spot to stop and relax. Swans drifted by, a tour boat glided from shore to shore, and from across the lake we could hear a band playing traditional music. Perfect, again.

After lunch, we climbed the hill to the church overlooking the town. If you can use a word like charming to describe a cemetery, the graveyard at this church was definitely charming. Each grave was landscaped like a miniature garden, with colorful flowers in perfectly planted patterns and ornamental accents like wrought iron crosses and framed portraits of the deceased set among the flowers. We strolled around, enjoying the peace and quiet, and then headed for the famous crypt of skulls. We paid our fee to enter and found ourselves surrounded by hundreds of hand decorated skulls, arranged in rows around the stone walls of the mausoleum. A reminder of mankind's mortality that was more curious than creepy, but certainly startling and definitely thought-provoking. Did some light-hearted village beauty who graced the streets of Halstatt long ago end up as that skull inscribed with colorful roses? How about the skull with the drawing of a snake curling out of his eye socket? What did he do to deserve that treatment? Our reverie on death and remembrance, however, was cut short when a group of high school students stormed in, followed by their teacher, trying to keep order. Impossible, under the circumstances. Mortality is just scary fun to teenagers, and they were having a ball!

Our daytrip to Salzburg was another highpoint of our stay in Berchtesgaden. Years ago, Steve and I had stopped there briefly on our way to somewhere else. We were glad, this time, to have the chance to spend more time exploring what we remembered to be a beautiful city.

Researching the area, Matt had found good reviews describing a ropes course center located right outside Salzburg. He and Cassie decided to tackle it, so we dropped them off and headed into the city. Parking proved to be a challenge, but we eventually ended up in an underground parking garage within walking distance of the city center. It was Saturday and a festival atmosphere greeted us as soon as we entered the city. Music everywhere! Live entertainment venues were set up on street corners and in city squares. After wandering around for awhile, we found a free table outside an old and venerable-looking coffee house. We enjoyed coffee and a pastry, and a great musical performance by a group of musicians set up in the square in front of us. The star performer was a boy of about 12 years old and he was amazing. We could have stayed and listened for quite awhile, but it started to drizzle and we were getting wet, so we moved on.

After picking Cassie and Matt up at the ropes course (and watching their last maneuvers through the trees high above us) we returned to Salzburg and had lunch at another old and atmospheric place, which unfortunately I can't remember the name of. The food was good and the people watching was better, as this seemed to be a place frequented by locals. One elderly, well-dressed and proper-looking couple came in with their small dog, who sat obediently under the table until he was startled by two noisy children passing by. He might have been a small dog but he had a huge bark. The elderly couple glared, not at the dog, but at the children who had disturbed his peace.

After lunch, we spent a few hours wandering the streets, looking through the shops and enjoying the atmosphere of this special city. We walked up to the castle, but decided we didn't need to go inside. On the way down the hill, we paused to look at the watercolors of an artist who seemed to capture the beauty of Salzburg just as we were experiencing it. We bought two, one for ourselves and one for Cassie and Matt. Perfect souvenirs.