Friday, December 9, 2016: Hohensalzburg Fortress, Bus to and intro to Munich
This is our second, and last, transfer day, as we transition from Salzburg in the morning to Munich in the afternoon. We are up early to place our luggage in the holding room and then take the public tram into old town Salzburg to visit the Hohensalzburg Fortress, Salzburg's chief landmark that majestically dominates the cityscape. The 900-year-old fortress was never taken by force.
We pass a statue of Mozart
on our way to the funicular.
The view from up top of Salzburg to the north
and the mountains to the south. Eagle's Nest, Hitler's hideout, is up there in the mountains somewhere (behind Beverly).
During electrical rework on the fortress, medieval walls were discovered buried in much later constructed walls.
During "free time" following our guided tour, we opt to eat lunch at one of the Christmas market stands in the fortress and, of course, partake in some gluwein (hot mulled, spiced red wine).
Our friends posing for their Christmas card picture.
Back at the hotel, checkout is effortless and our luggage is expertly loaded onto the bus for us. We take a few moments to relax in the outdoor patio before boarding the bus. It is definitely warmer today. There is no need for hats or gloves.
Even the pansies are trying pop out and bloom.
We arrive at our hotel in Munich after hearing about the history of Hungary, the residence of one of our expert guides,
where I meet a new friend.
As in Salzburg, hotel checkin is easy peasy (a term we learned in France) and we were in our room in no time.
We have a few minutes before our lecture so we step out of the hotel and find a Christmas market a half a block away at Sendlinger Tor, one of the old gates to the city.
After that, we are treated to a very interesting lecture of the history of Bavaria including questions and answers about recent political events in Germany and worldwide.
It is time for dinner as we walk as a group to the nearby restaurant, Hackhaus, of one of Munich's major breweries.
Sorry, I missed the picture of the main course, beef, but I did not forget a picture of the apple strudel with amazingly good ice cream.
We walk to nearby Marianplatz, the city's main central square by the town hall with the famous glockenspiel, now decorated for Christmas with another Christmas market.
We shop at the Christmas market where Beverly buys stars ... yes, stars,
and gaze at the elaborate moving display windows in one of the department stores. This still picture of just a small portion of the windows does not do these display windows justice.
Then we are wished "Holy Night, Silent Night" on our way back to the hotel for the evening.
Guten nacht.
We pass a statue of Mozart
on our way to the funicular.
The view from up top of Salzburg to the north
and the mountains to the south. Eagle's Nest, Hitler's hideout, is up there in the mountains somewhere (behind Beverly).
During electrical rework on the fortress, medieval walls were discovered buried in much later constructed walls.
During "free time" following our guided tour, we opt to eat lunch at one of the Christmas market stands in the fortress and, of course, partake in some gluwein (hot mulled, spiced red wine).
Our friends posing for their Christmas card picture.
Back at the hotel, checkout is effortless and our luggage is expertly loaded onto the bus for us. We take a few moments to relax in the outdoor patio before boarding the bus. It is definitely warmer today. There is no need for hats or gloves.
Even the pansies are trying pop out and bloom.
We arrive at our hotel in Munich after hearing about the history of Hungary, the residence of one of our expert guides,
where I meet a new friend.
As in Salzburg, hotel checkin is easy peasy (a term we learned in France) and we were in our room in no time.
We have a few minutes before our lecture so we step out of the hotel and find a Christmas market a half a block away at Sendlinger Tor, one of the old gates to the city.
After that, we are treated to a very interesting lecture of the history of Bavaria including questions and answers about recent political events in Germany and worldwide.
It is time for dinner as we walk as a group to the nearby restaurant, Hackhaus, of one of Munich's major breweries.
Sorry, I missed the picture of the main course, beef, but I did not forget a picture of the apple strudel with amazingly good ice cream.
We walk to nearby Marianplatz, the city's main central square by the town hall with the famous glockenspiel, now decorated for Christmas with another Christmas market.
We shop at the Christmas market where Beverly buys stars ... yes, stars,
and gaze at the elaborate moving display windows in one of the department stores. This still picture of just a small portion of the windows does not do these display windows justice.
Then we are wished "Holy Night, Silent Night" on our way back to the hotel for the evening.
Guten nacht.
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