Bratwurst to Panini

Bratwurst to Panini, Strudel to Gelato....I think we ate our way from Germany to Italy! Fortunately, with all the site seeing and long days exploring, we worked off the extra calories we consumed so that we didn't gain any weight! The only problem we have now is how to share what a wonderful trip we had with our friends, the Thomsons, in the space of one blog entry! I just prepared an 8 page summary with photos to send to Landon, so I guess if anyone requires more detail, let me know, and I will forward our full report on to you as well! For blogging purposes, I'll try to keep this more brief.

I loved Munich, with its quaint bakeries, beer gardens, beautiful parks, farmers markets and impressive buildings. We saw the Olympic site, BMW headquarters, the Church of St. Peter, Residence Museum, and the fabulous view from the tower above the glockenspiel in Old City Hall. We ate at Hofbrauhaus and der Ratskeller, two famous Munich landmarks, and absolutely loved German food.


Sally and I also had a very educational and emotional experience touring Dachau, the Nazi party's first concentration camp. In fact, we recommended Scott go back there the day we left (he had several hours to wait for his flight to Sweden), and he was so intrigued, he spent 5 hours there as well.


After Scott was done with his trade show, and Jessica flew in for her fall recess, we headed together down to see the Neuschwanstein Castle, after which Disney patterned the Sleeping Beauty castle at Disneyland.


We went to Salzburg next, home of the Sound of Music and Mozart.


We attended a dinner theater there, where Scott got to show off his folk dancing skills, went to Sunday Mass at the Salzburg Cathedral, and took a tram above the city to the Salzburg Fortress.


Next, we stopped at Hallbrunn Palace and trick fountains, a summer villa created in the 1600's for the amusement of the Archbishop/Price. Fountains would shower his guests with water when they least expected it, and the grounds had fountains, grottos, and even a water-driven miniature village theatre.


We took a tour of the Hallein Salt Mines near Salzburg, and went deep underground to learn how this operation put Salzburg on the map centuries ago when salt was a rare commodity.


The beauty of Venice was striking, as we toured the Grand Canal, wandered through the streets and bridges, and enjoyed wonderful food on the water's edge.


We traveled via vaperetto (Water bus) to Murano to see a glass blowing factory,




then to Burano with it's brightly colored buildings.


and delicious gelato.


We saw the Piazza San Marco, toured the Palazzo Ducale, ate panini. And of course, no trip would be complete without a gondola ride, captained by the very handsome Armando Benedetti Giovanni. Or whatever his name was....as you can see, his name isn't really important, right ladies?





We will cherish these wonderful memories for many years to come!