Day 9

---

Amber's Journal:
I think today has been one of my favorite days of the trip so far. We spent a few minutes in Munich looking at Olympic Park then left to drive down the "Romantische Strasse" or Romantic Road, to Fussen. I think I was expecting it to be a little more exciting than it was but it was a fun drive through beautiful country and cute towns. It seems like everywhere we go it is so green and lush and beautiful. Anyways, we drove to Fussen and bought a ticket to see Neuschwanstein Castle (AKA the Disney Castle). It is perched on the cliff on a very high hill surrounded by mountains and it is enormous and very cool looking. Before you get to the castle there is a bridge called St. Mary's bridge that offers a really cool view of the entire castle while standing over a deep ravine with a rushing river and waterfalls. The castle itself was only 1/3 finished because the king (Ludwig) mysteriously died but the little bit we got to see was really cool. It is actually a relatively modern castle built in the 1800's with running water and a telephone. One of my favorite parts is the view from the castle. The surrounding countryside is breathtaking. It is covered with green meadows and pastures and tiny villages and surrounded by gorgeous mountains and several lakes that are this beautiful aquamarine color. I could totally live in a place like that. After that we drove on to Innsbruck, Austria. The drive takes you up through the Alps and was absolutely gorgeous. It's exactly what you would picture when you think of Austria. We passed through a town called Reutte that looked cool but we didn't have time to stop. I love mountains in general, and I especially love my Rocky Mtns but these mountains here are beautiful in a different way. My very favorite thing about them is how green they are. The hillsides look like they are covered in green velvet. Even under the trees! It seriously looks like somebody landscaped the mountains with nice soft grass that is kept perfectly manicured. I just want to go roll in it. Another thing that makes them pretty is that there are large valleys with lots of open space surrounded by huge mountains jutting up steeply around it. The mountains here are actually not nearly as tall as ours but seem huge because we are at a lower altitude. And there are lots of waterfalls and beautiful lakes and cool towns with old church steeples standing out against the mountains. We are staying at a hotel called Gasthof Badl in a town called Hall in Tirol, near Innsbruck. The hotel is cool and our room is nice and so are the people. We spent the evening in town which was cool because it's like hanging out in Breckenridge or Estes Park except the main town center is totally medieval. Tons of very old buildings and churches. We saw one building that was built in 1200 A.D. and people still live there! It is a very cute little town. We ate dinner at an Italian restaurant and our server, Maria, was super fun to talk to. I think I mostly loved today because of the beautiful things I got to see. I'm sure there will be even more to see tomorrow on our way to Venice. Also, tomorrow is our one-year anniversary!!

Preston's Journal:
Today I think was one of the best days of the trip so far. Leaving Munchen, we got to stop at Olympia Park. That and BMW look really neat, but we didn't have much time, so just took pictures. From there we drove to the Romantic Road... very pretty country, cute towns, lots of cows, but I wasn't real impressed. What I was totally impressed with, however, was Neuschwanstein Castle (the Disney Castle). The area around the castle has beautiful forests, hills, rolling farmland, as well as the towering Alps, and lakes. The castle is breathtaking in itself, but perched on a hill with this type of landscape, it is simply spectacular. While built in the late 1800's, the castle is amazing, and the tour is well-worth the price. While our GPS mislead us several times today, it was perfect for helping us find a McDonald's in Fussen (which is much classier in Europe than America). Driving from Neuschwanstein (which continued the pattern of steady during-our-trip construction) we entered the Alps and Austria. While we were able to see them in Salzburg, being in them was spectacular. I know good mountains (being from Colorado) and these ones are gorgeous. Green-carpeted meadows, varying shades of green, snow-covered granite peaks, and villages in the valleys. While I will always love the Rockies, I think the Alps have come to have a special place in my mountain-loving heart. As we came to Hall-in-Tirol, we passed Innsbruck which is much bigger than I thought it was. Our hotel ended up being on the exit for the town, so it was very easy to find (oh, remember to ask if given price is per person, or total). At the hotel we went to take our stuff up to the room, Amber packed the maps into her bag, even though we would be walking by the car on the way out. So we discussed this, and she brought it up to the room. After getting settled, we then headed out the door... after exiting the hotel, I remembered the map Amber had "needed" to take up to the room. So we had to go back to get it. Then we stopped by the car to get the umbrella. Across the river in Hall, I asked Amber about the map... she had left it in the car... what am I going to do with her?! ;o) We walked around exploring Hall, which is actually a very charming, old town. At one place we stopped to ask if they had an English menu. They did not, but one of the cooks knew a little English and translated for us. So after this effort we naturally decided to eat there. I had a very good pasta, and Amber got what they said was a small pizza but was actually almost as big as Little Ceasar's. One of the waitresses, Maria, started talking to us a little bit. We learned some German from her, and she learned some English from us. We laughed a lot, and had a great time! I hope the rest of the trip is as enjoyable as today was (and may it not rain on us too much). Yay for Europe! And yay for learning German from an Austrian in the Alps!

---

Photos

Neuschwanstein Castle
aka, the disney castle