My First Trip Report Frankfurt to Berlin and All in Between
 

Here goes. 16 nights in Europe. Four adults ready to see the world.
Day one: Departing from Chicago. First time we encounter a flight delay. Two hours which will get us in the end. Arrive into FRA at 1:30 pm with a 2 and a half hour drive to France which took about 4. Tons of roadwork and 2 accidents did us in. We are headed to the military cemetery in St Avold. My wife’s brother is buried here. With the delay we arrive 15 minutes after it closed. We adventured down the road to a hotel and called the number on the cemetery gate. Low and behold the caretaker said he would open up for us. What a great individual. If you never been to a military cemetery in Europe please find time. It is truly a visit you won't forget. Well 1900 hours and we must get to Wurzburg for the first night. 11:00 o'clock with very tired eye we arrive. Check in and look for our first dinner in Europe. Really a hard thing to find at midnight. But problems go away when you have a McDonalds in town.

Day Two Saturday in Wurzburg. We have a history here. Spent 2 years in the Army in Wurzburg. Love this town. Reserved today for shopping and walking. Up by 9 and enjoyed my favor meal, Breakfast. Love coffee, meat, cheese, rolls, etc. Could eat this stuff all day. Strange I don't do this at home. I am sure it tastes better here. With bags in tow we made it back by 6. Have reservations at the Juliusspital. A little pricey but the food and wine are worth the cost. Love walking the town at night. You cannot beat the ice cream cones after a great dinner. No earth shakes today but a few in the next couple of weeks. Wife loves to shop for Birkenstocks. She has a few.

Everything tastes better on vacation. And no dishes to wash!

Wow doing this is harder than I thought. Day Three: Sunday. We reserved this day to see the Residenz and the gardens. We love the garden area and it looks like most of the people also do. The small chapel in the Residenz complex is scaffold so seeing it is out of the question. Sad. We think it is a highlight of the Residenz. Up to the Fortress Marirnberg. They have opened up a few more rooms and added English signage. Really enjoy walking through the area. Picture taking from the hills has always been great. Across you can see the Kappele. Always a nice visit. A little confusion exists when driving up to it. Next a 1 hour boat trip up and down the Main River. It is worth the rest time. Views nothing special. Wurzburg is our favor German city. Not full of tourist and a great place to eat and shop. Tonight we ate at the Rathaus. Always a good meal. This weekend a festival of street bands playing everything from the Beatles to country were everywhere. Finding a place to sit and have a beer was the restful thing to do. Got back to the hotel around ten. Up early tomorrow to take a train to Salzburg and continue our tour which will end in Berlin in 2 weeks was before us. Also a few minor problems were yet to come.

Day Four:
They are completely remodeling the train station in Wurzburg although it is not affecting the track area. ICE train to Salzburg. Well here comes the first problem. Miss counted the wagons and got into the wrong one. Thought I was right but we all know where that gets you. After a brief encounter and a quick apology from me we found the right one. Really feeling bad, here comes the next problem. When asked for the tickets, which were purchase on the internet, the conductor also wanted the credit card use to purchase. Didn’t have it, wasn’t even aware I needed it. I later learned it is printed out with the ticket that you needed it. The look of confusion on my part must have helped. He gave a shrug and walked away. We won’t be so lucky the next time. Arriving into Salzburg on time but in the rain and into another train station being completed remodeled is, I guess part of travel. Finding a taxi was no problem. We were spending the next two nights at the Villa Trapp. The home of the Trapp family. It is now available for renting rooms. The place is outstanding. A little out of the center but well worth it.
Did the usual touring and sightseeing. Had a snack and coffee at Demel. Love the coffee in Europe. Just cannot brew the same thing here. It is something we look forward to in traveling. Brought tickets for the concert in the Fortress. It was good. Touristy but good. Back down for a late dinner and a beer. This was our third visit to Salzburg. We still enjoy it but this may be the last time.

"This was our third visit to Salzburg. We still enjoy it but this may be the last time."

I've said that too and yet I always find myself being drawn back to Salzburg if only for a few hours. It IS touristy and it IS crowded, but it's such a lovely city.