Munich, Germany

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May 31 - June 1

Munich, Germany

Another great drive through some beautiful country and into the heart of the Austrian Alps. We decided to take a short side trip to Innsbruck on our way from Villach to Munich. Innsbruck is kind of like a very large Banff. ( for those that know Banff. ) We are not skiers but it is obvious why the Olympics have been held here on several occasions with all the facilities that are available.

There are way too many “Austrian Post Card” photo-ops on this drive. Around every corner is another view of the mountains and the small farms built, it seems to the top of the slopes. And if you listen really close you may feel like; “the hills are alive -----------------.”

I have always been very impressed, after all these years of traveling through them, with the Canadian Rockies, and these are equally as beautiful and interesting. The roads are terrific and we went through some more amazing tunnels ( 5 - 6 KM long) and more being built to double the freeway. ( I think I'm going to get a job selling tunnels in North America )

We arrived in Munich in the late afternoon in time for a short walk around the center of town.

Sunday we spent the day on a road trip to see some castles and a palace in Bavaria, south and west of Munich. Wow !! Is this ever beautiful county side. We thoroughly enjoyed the day on the road. We stopped to see one of the most famous castles in Europe, the Neuschwanstein Castle, and we were not disappointed. It is spectacular !! Right next door is another smaller Castle. Due to some bad planning on our part and too many weekend guests we were unable to visit the inside of the castles but we enjoyed the walk to them and the photo ops. Neuschwanstein Castle is the one Walt Disney got his inspiration from for his fairytale castle.

Our next stop was Ludwig's Linderhof Palace. This was the favorite home of Prince Ludwig of Bavaria around the mid 1800s. Lots of gold and riches inside. A little over the top for our taste but quite a sight. It's hard to imagine why they needed so much bling in one house.

Finished the day with a short drive back to Munich.

Munich is a very nice city, very clean and very well set up to handle tourists. As most old European cities, Munich is no different, with a lot of history, lots of beautiful buildings and they are very proud of their Bavarian roots.

We enjoyed our visit to Munich and felt very comfortable here. Food is good and prices are not out of line ( by European standards ). For sure a car is an advantage here as the country side around Munich is worth the trip.

Tomorrow we are off to Vienna, Austria

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