A Wish For a Weekend

Sometimes when you visit somewhere (actually almost everytime I visit somewhere!), you wish you had more of one thing specifically- TIME.  That is precisely what I wished for after I got my first taste of Salzburg.  Home of The Sound of Music (not really, but you get the idea).  Perfectly settled at the base of the Alps. Castles.  Ancient Churches and their Cemeteries.  Monasteries. Nunneries. Oh the histories.  Oh the legends.  Wobbling down those cobblestone streets.  Panting up those eternal staircases.  Getting slightly lost in gorgeous alleyways. The possibilities are endless!

Town Squares

Imagine setting up your booth at the local farmer's market with buildings prior to the 20th century as your backdrop?  I'm sorry Chico but your markets are slightly lacking in this department.  I know its not your fault, just a result of location and your slightly more recent establishment as a town thanks to Bidwell and men like him who followed thru with their dreams and explorations.  Yeah, Salzburg traces some buildings (such as Hohensalzburg Fortress) to having foundations from the Roman Empire Era. Ah. So grand.

Or perhaps maybe you would like to dine upon this restaurant's patio?  And may I add with its lovely striped umbrellas offering you shade should it begin to get too hot?  I think I will say yes...

Perhaps you prefer fountains?  No problem.  We've got you covered.  Also within this square (though not pictured) were several teams of horse-drawn carriages available for hire as you take your lovely tour of the wondrous Salzburg.

Starving?!  Yes.  You have come to the right place.  Der Salzburger Wurstelstand.  All I know is I saw "Hot Dogs" and NEEDED to stop.  PS.  Hot Dogs might be my most favorite food in the world.  I know.  I've been tormented my whole life by people trying to discourage my love of this great food and attempting to explain how they are made and whatnot; but...I do not care.  I will always enjoy this classic, charcoaled specialty courtesy of your local campfire.  

River Walk - The Salzach River

Whenever you debark from a train and need to reach a destination, try to find a path that will lead you by water.  It rarely disappoints.  And ALWAYS head towards the castle. Duh. Is there really any competition when there is a castle in the mix?  Just look at it!  Sitting on the "hill" so perfectly, evidence of the insane strategic defense choice since the beginning of this region's discovery and settling by a variety people groups.

Oh the buildings lining the river!  How beautiful they all are in their many differences!

Churches

Again, of course.  They're right up there with castles in my book.  Especially when you can envision Maria floating down the aisle in her gargantuan wedding dress to the tune of "How do you solve a Problem like Maria?"

And then we have the nunnery over here with its absolutely beautiful and peaceful private courtyard-garden-cemetery.  Serenity at its utmost beneath the walls of the fortress looming above.

High within the fortress itself we have an even more petite and ancient church building, again, showcasing its own lovely courtyard-garden-cemetery.  Nonnberg Abbey.  I entered this one actually and took no pictures just because I wanted to remember more how it felt than how it looked.  Walking into the cool as a cave interior, the only other person inside was an elderly nun sitting in one of the wooden pews.  Huge pieces of stone floors, wooden trim all around, the doors closed behind me as I stood in the still semi-darkness.  Silence all around.  No humming. No murmured whispers of tourists.  No shuffling of feet.  Just silence.  But a restless sort of one.  What is a church building without people?  Its just another building, albeit a beautiful, exceptionally historical one.  Revered yet not holding any value in and of itself.  Some boast in their churches... "Some boast in chariots and some in horses, but we boast in the name of the LORD our God. " Psalm 20:7  Do these people know who their God is that they claim to serve?  Have they hunted Him down with all of their being, desiring to know Him as He declares Himself to be in His Word?  If this is how that nun I shared this small sanctuary with at this moment, regardless of language and culture, viewed my Lord then perhaps we are indeed sisters and will see one another again in eternity?  Who knows?

THE Fortress Hohensalzburg

Up alleys and stairs after stairs after stairs....

We finally reach the fortress walls!  INSANE.

And so we enter one of the many "courtyards" of the castle.  There is a full on village in this fortress.  Stairs closed off leading to portions of the fortress long untouched, cobblestone paths leading to each of the different quarters, an overlook above the far walls yet outside the fortress walls, an observation deck, and private apartments boasting their very own beautiful little entryways.  Yes, I can easily imagine it being a bustling village of trade and interaction.

Mirabel Gardens

Don't you just want to bust out in "Do-Re-Mi" when you enter this garden?!  The song is running through my head as I'm writing...  So, of course, when we entered we wanted to recreate a few of the scenes from the movie.  Only a few were successfully captured.  We were definitely running down the tunnel instead of riding bikes (unfortunately), they sprinted to tap the nasty gnome/troll heads in the random garden (just look at their speed in that photo!), we would've run around the edge of the fountain except for the man sunning himself in his speedo on the very public bench so we declined that, but we finally stood excitedly on the VERY STEPS of the song finale.  And we may have hopped a few up and down while reciting as much as we could remember from that very lovely harmonized portion of the song.  *sigh*  

Salzburg, we love you.  We are so thankful you exist and for the rich history evidenced in every corridor, town square, bell tower, fortress, alleyway, garden and everywhere else these slight detours led us! 

Though others may have had these very same travels, all the opinions, stories, and photographs above are my very own (with a few being credited to my sister and best friend) as we did travel together this round.  Woo!  Let's keep exploring where you're at folks, wherever you be!

Triple Threat Travels

I have finally uncovered the key to how I travel and, go figure, there is a sports analogy that describes it perfectly.  The Triple Threat.  When handed a situation, you put yourself in a position of attack that allows you to choose a direction given your environment.  Sometimes you make the right choice, other times it is a failure, and sometimes it is a failure BUT those with you are able to make a play off the move you made and thus a score!

A destination researched,

the journey planned,

and the detours that may or may not happen. 

Our case study adventure today will be a very well-known castle in Bavaria made even more famous by a certain Mr. Disney. Oh Yes.

1. The Destination

Neuschwanstein.  Heard of it?  Thought so.  Created by "mad" King Ludwig whose life is enshrouded with mystery and intrigue, this castle was never completed due to its vast cost and Ludwig's untimely death.  The version of the legend that I have heard tells of the occurrence happening while Ludwig was under the supervision of his "psychologist" (pretty much).  One day after a typical walk around the lake below both family castles, neither of them showed back up to the castle.  They were found dead in the shallow waters of the lake.  Super suspicious right? According to the version I heard, there was an investigation and there were findings indeed BUT they have remained locked up, never to be revealed to the public.  This is the story I prefer to have associated with Ludwig.  Maybe he was mad, and by "mad" maybe it was characteristic such as high functioning Autism or Asbergers or Bi-polar disorder. Maybe he committed suicide.  Maybe there was quarrel.  The options abound and since the conclusion is "locked away", we will never know.  

On that note.... NEUSCHWANSTEIN!

2. The Journey

We took off early in the morning from my friends' apartment outside of Munich for the several hour long drive.  And say hello to your designated-stick shift-Euro driver.  Yep.  I drive a stick shift once every few years and usually its because I am in Europe and apparently that's the only option.  This round was MUCH BETTER than that one time in Amsterdam...

And I LOVE IT!  I could drive forever on that autobahn.  Especially when I have full control over where we pull over to observe the "lay of the land."  :)  Those Alps kept taunting us with passing glances until I could take it no longer and announced, "We are pulling over!"  We found this random "road" alongside the autobahn we were on; obviously its part of someone's property, very much a single car road encircling that plowed field in the distance and most likely leading to the owner's home.  Seriously a super random road in its character. But aren't those always the best?

And there it is.  The turnoff for Neuschwanstein that we missed the first time...coming from either direction... THAT CHURCH! THOSE MOUNTAINS! We might have been slightly freaking out with this view.

The camouflaged castle. 

The first true view of the castle from the mid-way part of the hike.  People, do wear proper shoes. I was ok because I had well-worn boots to trek the world in but my sister's feet wanted to die mostly as they were still in recovery from Munich.  Be warned and learn from our mistakes!

A wall!

We fixed ourselves in the corner of the courtyard upon a four foot wall that separated us from the massive drop-off into the ravine below.  It was beautiful.  To the right, just barely out of the camera's frame, is a lovely old door that, yes, I did try to open.  One day one of these doors is going to be unlocked and boy are all those other people gonna feel dumb because they never even tried.  Oh the adventures in store behind those seemingly locked doors!   It has only paid off one time so far but that one time was absolutely worth the habit built despite all the other door rejections!

Nevertheless, sitting in the corner upon that sturdy wall, not only to the front of us was the courtyard but posteriorly was an only slightly obstructed view of Marion Bridge.  Again, how beautiful!  The Alps were literally Ludwig's backyard.  And a waterfall. And a lake on the other side. And a valley before.  gosh Ludwig. 

 Just imagine living here.  I can't help but pretend every time I am in a grand house, palace or castle.  What stories these walls could tell if they could come alive with the past.  The conversations, the debates, the very lifestyles and choices of the individuals.  What colored them?  What truly remains in these locations absolute original?  The personalities of the individuals-King, servants, architects, etc?

3. The Detours

How can you not detour when the drive and hike has views like this?!

This made my sister and I laugh and instantly think of our family.  My dad has a habit of finding weird things on our family travels and increasing tall tales with every locale.  If there is not a legend, he will create one.  One of the best and most familiar to us is the "Jack-a-lope."  Obviously its a mythological Texas creature that happens to be a mix between a jack rabbit and an antelope.  Well it looks like Bavaria might have its own mythological creature...the Wolpertinger - wings, antlers, feathers and fangs all attached to a small animal. And is it smoking?!  Yeah. I don't even know.  But a sibling may have received one as a souvenir because we only get the classiest gifts for family.  Oh my gosh.  I'm laughing everytime I look at this picture.

Our final detour (besides our lost pit stop at McD's for the ever predictable wifi and banos) began with the idea of trying to find Ludwig's other castle on pretty much the other side of the mountain.  Drive drive drive.  But when the view opened up to this emerald lake, we were ok with whatever the castle may or may not have to offer.  Drive on the speed-limit-less single laned road around the lake with blind turns ever few hundred yards?  It was ok because we had this lake as the view.  We go thru a small town, past a weirdly huge busy hotel as we were starting to enter the mountains again and then road signs. "Christy, what do those signs say?"  "I don't know! I don't know German that well!"  Let's just keep driving to see how far we can go.  Sure enough, those roads signs meant the road was closed about 2 miles in.  Ha!  It was just like driving up the foothills back home as you enter the timber line.  Except for the huge fancy modern hotel.  And the quaint town. And the emerald lake with the snow capped mountains.  Oh so beautiful!  

Our day outing was amazing!  We planned, we researched, we took chances, make changes, and followed random ideas.  We had a plan but were willing and able to go with whatever got thrown into our path; ready to attack the situation from a variety of angles!  

Get out there people!  Adventure and explore as much as you can, wherever you can, for as long as you can!  Enjoy the plans, make the most of the journey, and more than anything, take those detours and LOVE THEM!  Continue on your adventures wherever you may be and wherever you may or may not go and remember: 

"An adventure is only an inconvenience right considered.  An inconvenience is only an adventure wrongly considered."

-G.K. Chesterton