Memorial Day Weekend

We headed down to Southern Germany and a bit of Austria for our 4 day weekend. We were really hoping for nice weather because the Alps are so beautiful in that part of the country but alas, we got clouds and rain for the majority of our trip. There's always next time, right?

We took a ferry boat through a beautiful mountain valley to the small town of St. Batholomae on the Koenigsee. It was wonderful to get out of the car after 3 1/2 hours and see some of the most calm and serene landscapes I have ever seen. At one point on the ferry ride the driver stops the boat and blows a fluegelhorn and you can hear the echo bounce off all the mountains around you. The boys really loved that.

We walked around park of the Koenigsee. The water is so clear and beautiful.

Here we are on the ferry boat trying to keep 3 tired boys happy with lots of goldfish crackers!

Saturday we took the salt mine tour in Berchtesgaden. Everyone has to put on these nifty outfits before heading into the mine. There was a fun train ride into the mine and then 2 wooden slides (about 80 feet of pure FUN) and a boat ride across a "mirror" lake during the tour.

Almbachklamm gorge near Berchtesgaden. This was an amazing hike through a very narrow gorge with waterfalls and crystal clear pools of water to admire.

We left Berchtesgaden on Sunday and headed to Reutte. Along the way we stopped in Innsbruck, Austria. This is a photo of the famous golden roof in Innsbruck taken from the top of the city tower.

Tirolean history museum in Innsbruck. There were 3 floors of actual rooms taken from old houses and brought to this museum. We had a lot of fun looking at all the old furniture and beautiful woodwork in the ceilings and floors.

A garden near the Hofkirche in Innsbruck.

We have been in Germany for 18 months now and figured it was time to do the very touristy thing and visit Neuschwanstein castle. You can see the castle in the distance. It really is a fairy tale castle with all the glamor and architecture you would expect from a medieval castle (only it's not a medieval castle, it was built in 1876!)

Julian was a real trooper hanging out in the back pack for the tours. Here he is with Hyrum in front of the other "Kings Castle", Hohenschwangau.

Julian enjoys a break from the back pack while we wait for our tour of Hohenschwangau. The gardens were simply beautiful and the view from both Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein were simply amazing.

Goodbye for now Southern Bavaria. We expect nicer weather next time we visit!