http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/Sashasmommy/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Sashasmommy en-us Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:38:45 BST Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:38:45 BST Today was our last real day for sightseeing... tomorrow we would head toward Munich and spend the evening packing and getting everything ready to go.But today we had one last stop to make... Salzburg the birthplace of Mozart. On our way from the car we passed through the gardens at Mirabell Palace with their colorful winding flower beds. The garden was used in the filming of the movie The S http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Austria/Salzburg-State/Salzburg/blog-296202.html We left Bavaria today for the last leg of our trip... a tiny town in Austria called Hallstatt. A lake on one side and a mountain on the other the town is so small they say you can walk from one end to the other in about 10 minutes. Mom and I tested this theory when she decided that we needed to go back to the parking lot to retrieve something from the car. Angie said she would sit down and ha http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Austria/Upper-Austria/Hallstatt/blog-294679.html This morning our hostess had to serve us breakfast early because the family was attending a wedding that day and they needed time to get ready. She explained the tradition of a Bavarian wedding... her husband and all of the other male family members would arrive at the happy couple's house at 4 am and start the festivities of the day by shooting off giant guns. The bridetobe would then get up http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Bavaria/Schonau-am-Konigsee/blog-294220.html We left Rothenburg reluctantly today... for such a small town we just didn't have the time we needed to explore it to the fullest. But we were on to another adventure... staying on a farm in Schnau am Knigsee Bavaria. Gasthaus Steinwandlehen is an absolutely gorgeous bed and breakfast run by the Fegg family... all of the rooms are inside their house on the second floor but we were staying http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Bavaria/Schonau-am-Konigsee/blog-293759.html Okay so it's been a while since I wrote... we now continue with our regularly scheduled program. At least one more day's worth.We continue our journey in Oberwesel... today we took a boat cruise on the KolnDusseldofer line up the Rhine River to take a look at more castles. Unfortunately the day was pretty dreary and the castles were shrouded in haze. The trip was still nice... the boat was ve http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Bavaria/Rothenburg-ob-der-Tauber/blog-290510.html We left Amsterdam today and drove to Germany... happy to be leaving the country where it costs money to go to the bathroom. Though we did encounter some very interesting toilets in the Netherlands including one that cleans the seat by itself. I wasn't entirely sure I trusted it but if I have to pay 50 cents at least it's doing something. We were on our way to Oberwesel on the Rhine River ho http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Germany/Rhineland-Palatinate/Oberwesel/blog-276788.html Today was supposed to be the day to go to Delft the little town with the famous blue handpainted pottery factory. We had skipped Zaanse Schans the day before due to lack of time so were faced with a decision. After realizing it was Sunday and looking up the Delft town website on Cees's trusty free internet terminal we decided that the shops in town might be closed and we didn't want to tak http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Netherlands/North-Holland/Zaandam/blog-274774.html Today we went to the Anne Frank House... the house where the 15 yearold Jewish girl and her family hid from the Nazis for two years until they were betrayed by one of their confidantes who exactly betrayed them remains unknown. They were arrested and sent to concentration extermination camps and only the father Otto survived. Anne died just a few weeks before the liberation. Her diary w http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Netherlands/North-Holland/Amsterdam/blog-274321.html Today we took a train and then a bus to Keukenhof Gardens. The flower fields weren't looking too promising on the way there so we were worried that the long winter had delayed the blossoming of the tulips. The gardens weren't at full bloom but it was still awesome.As we walked through the park we discovered a grassy area that had these giant bean bag chairs strewn about for lounging apparent http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Netherlands/South-Holland/Keukenhof/blog-273681.html My flight to Chicago was pretty uneventful though I was a little afraid that I would be late due to a late takeoff from Colorado. Mom was already waiting at the airport and Angie arrived just a few minutes after me.While we waited for the plane to board Angie decided she wanted to go get her shoes shined... in Detroit. An hour later when the plane started boarding Mom and I sat there wonde http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Netherlands/North-Holland/Amsterdam/blog-273664.html Sadly the last day of the tour. Today I passed on the optional excursion to Ischia and instead spent some time roaming around Sorrento. Nancy and I walked down to Marina Piccola and then down Via San Cesaro my favorite shopping alley. It was there that she was kidnapped. By a mime. Look it's a mime He had been so still I hadn't even noticed him. I got my camera out to take a picture of him http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Campania/Sorrento/blog-177340.html Today was the best day of the trip... we set off in the morning on a 3 12 hour hike on Sentiero degli Dei Path of the Gods. Luckily it was much cooler today than on previous days or it could have been a seriously uncomfortable 3 12 hours Antonio had been telling us all week that everyone always says this is their favorite part of the trip and I can see why. The views were simply amazing Th http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Campania/blog-177268.html Today we went to the Isle of Capri apparently pronounced KAHpree not kahPREE... The ferry ride on the way over was pretty bad... the ferry was packed and completely enclosed with no air and it was so hot. I was feeling pretty sick by the time we arrived and the fumes from all the buses and boats at the marina did not help. Capri was literally overrun with people you couldn't even walk dow http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Campania/Capri/blog-176973.html Today we did the famed drive along the Amalfi Coast. I had been planning on sitting on the right side of the bus to get the best views but by the time I got down there everyone had already boarded. Luckily Chris offered for me to sit next to her by the window since she's tall and can see over me. The coast is amazing... at one point we saw a swimming pool carved right out of the side of a cliff http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Campania/Amalfi/blog-176919.html This morning we took the bus to Termini and then walked to a village called Massa Lubrense. The path was overgrown in some places very lush with vegetation. We saw several different different kinds of herbs growing in the wild. Along the way we met the cutest little puppy black of course that was perfectly happy to have his belly rubbed by all 26 people. I was sure I could fit him in my suitc http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Campania/blog-176860.html This morning we climbed to the top of Mt. Vesuvius and looked into the crater that was created in 79 AD when the volcano blew its top and buried the cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum in hot ash and mud. Afterwards we had a short wine tasting of Lacrima Christi wine made with grapes grown in Vesuvius's volcanic soil. I got a delicious bottle of white wine to take home with me. We stopped at Ris http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Campania/Pompei/blog-176755.html Today we did a walk through Naples with a local guide. We saw the Galleria Umberto I built in the late 1800s as part of an urban renewal project. The marble floor contains mosaics of each of the zodiac signs it's a very impressive building. We walked over to the Palazzo Reale Royal Palace construction began on this in 1600 and it was finished in 1843. It was so beautiful on the inside everyt http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Campania/Naples/blog-176324.html I flew from Colorado Springs to Denver to Munich to Naples on United Lufthansa and Air Dolomiti. I had checked in online the day before through United's website but they only gave me boarding passes and checked my luggage through Munich. I didn't know they could check it all the way to Naples but apparently if you check in at the ticket counter they can. Note to self. I had to collect my lugga http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Italy/Campania/Naples/blog-176279.html