From Rothenburg, we headed to Munich by train. Dan and I have traveled by train a lot in Europe since being here and love it. It’s such a nice way to see the scenery and it’s nice not having to worry about directions and driving in another country. 
We were all starving by the time we got there and we ended up at a traditional restaurant for lunch.
The boys enjoyed their plates of weiners and mash..something about sausages just grosses me out (but I LOVE burnt hotdogs!)..
Afterwards, we all just walked around a little bit..need to work off that food somehow!
The town square..
It ended up being an early night as we were all exhausted and had an early morning the next day. We headed to Neuschwanstein Castle. This castle was built by the King of Bavaria, Ludwig II, in 1864 and was the inspiration for Sleeping Beauty’s castle in Disneyworld. It’s in a town called Fussen and is absolutely beautiful. I’m sure it’s a tourist trap but it’s so worth it! Here are some views from the train on our way to Fussen..loved that ride, it was gorgeous.
There is another castle in Fussen, the Hohenschwangau castle. We didn’t tour it but still thought it was beautiful..
Ok..I’ve realized how out of shape I am when it came to actually getting up to Neuschwanstein. You could take a horse and carriage but the lines are insane so those who don’t want to wait or pay hoof it up the road on their own. It’s about a 30 minute walk (give or take) up to the castle but is well worth it. This is on the way up..
Almost there!! I loved this view through the trees..
Finally there!! This place was gorgeous!
View of Fussen and Hohenschwangau Castle from Neuschwanstein..so pretty!
Another beautiful view..
Ok, this is a view of the gorge that is near the castle..see the bridge back there? That’s where people get the “postcard” shot of the castle. My mom and I didn’t venture out there but Dan did. I thought he was crazy but was loving the pictures he took!
And here are some of the pics Dan took..
On his way back down to Fussen..
One of the cute little restaurants along the way..
A view from town..
Can you tell I love these little houses??!!
The castle was awesome and the day was perfect. We definitely plan on going back again some day.
The next day was a little more sobering. We all went to Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site just outside of Munich. Dachau was basically the first camp and was used as a “model” for camps that came over it.
This is the entrance to the camp…there was only one way in and one way out. These words stand for “work makes one free”. Everyone from political prisoners, people who were different (as in handicapped, homo-sexuals, people with religous differences such as being a jehovah witnesses, etc), to Jewish people were imprisoned here. Obviously there are a lot more types of people that they brought here but these are just a few.
This is a plaque in honor of the U.S. troops who liberated Dachau in 1945..
This is just one part of a large map of Germany and a few surrounding countries during World War II. You can see two main camps of Dachau and Mauthausen…all of the other little squares were smaller concentration camps. As I said, this is just a small part of the map and even this is overwhelming. Seeing the whole thing is even more overwhelming. We all know of a few camps but I never had any idea that there were so many. Being there was truly a learning experience.
This is a sculpture that was done by a former prisoner. This statue represents the prisoner and shows him standing in a way that would have gotten him tortured…he is not standing straight, has his hands in his pockets and has his head held up high. Most of all, this man has the number one thing the Nazi’s tried to take from him during his years of oppression, his dignity.
Ok…on to a lighter note. After our learning-filled morning at Dachau, Dan, my parents and I just wanted to wander around Munich a bit since we didn’t have much time there.
We headed over to the Hard Rock for dinner with my parents..it was our anniversary gift to them. They celebrated 35 years the next day! The Hard Rock was the perfect spot because, right across the street was the famous Hofbrauhaus. This is the main place for Oktoberfest and is absolutely insane!!
My parents, enjoying the crazy atmosphere..
It took a lot but we talked mom into getting this big beer…she’s doing awesome, huh?! Ha-ha, just kidding She hates beer but she humored us!
Dan and I with a few of our table “friends”..these guys were from Paris but there were also people from Costa Rica, Germany and Switzerland at the table. The atmosphere is seriously crazy but such a good time..everyone is just having fun and making friends with everyone.
Germany was amazing and I’m so happy that we got to enjoy this trip with my parents. We had such a nice time!! We will definitely be going back…the people were so nice and every place we saw was beautiful. Love Germany!
