Parent's Trip Part Two: Munich, Salzburg & Hallstatt

Enjoying a boat ride on Lake Hallstatt

The second part of my parent's visit to Europe was filled with pastry and beer testing, boating, castle hiking, Austrian bands, and beautiful views with perfect weather. By packing the itinerary as full as possible, American style, with room for a few relaxing moments, we succeeded in our adventures to Munich and Austria. Here's the second part of the story:

Zwingenberg

After arriving back from London late the night before, we decided Monday would be more on the lazy side for all but Derek, who returned to work on Monday until Wednesday. Mom, Dad and I started the morning with a trip to the bakery down the road. After breakfast on the patio, we headed out for a tour of Zwingenberg. We strolled through my favorite and occasional running path through the vineyards as well as the Zwingenberg old town including the picture-perfect oldest church in town and the tower wall from the 1500's. We concluded our day with a cookout of fresh butchery bratwursts on our mini-grill, and Dad and Derek tested the beer they collected at the local Getränkemarkt. (a German treasure where you can purchase single beers for less than $1.)

Tuesday consisted of a trip to Heidelberg, a 45 minute train ride south of Zwingenberg. Heidelberg is one of my favorite German towns, if not my favorite. I have now been there eight times, and it never gets old! We took a stroll down the mile-long pedestrian shopping street, while stopping in stores and admiring old buildings and churches along the way. For a snack we stopped at a cute restaurant right next to the famous square and church of Heidelberg. Mom and Dad tried the homemade pretzels while I ordered the neuer wein and zwiebellkuchen combo. Neuer wein is popular at this time of the year and is only available now, as it's the newest wine available for purchase. The zwiebelkuchen is an onion (zwiebel) cake (kuchen) and was amazing! I found a recipe overview here. That evening we enjoyed a meal of maultaschen with mushrooms. On Wednesday, we hiked to the Alsbach Castle, a mostly up-hill hike that provides a stunning view of the Bergstrasse region. I love this hike because you climb up and up, and then all of a sudden a castle appears out of the trees. Later that day we ventured to Heppenheim, my original place of residence in Germany, where we tried my favorite homemade ice cream and took a walk around the Altstadt. Here are some photos from our time around Zwingenberg:

Dad overlooking the Bergstrasse region from Alsbach Castle

Mom and Dad in front of Alsbach Castle

Cooking out on our mini grill!

In Heidelberg!

Me and Mom in the Heppenheim marktplatz

Munich and Austria:

Maypole in Munich

On Thursday morning, we packed up the old Beamer and headed south on the A5 motorway, or Autobahn. Contrary to popular belief, the Autobahn is not always so speedy - with road construction and accidents, it can get backed up for miles and miles. We were lucky enough to experience this on our drive to Munich, the famous beer-drinking city of southeast Bavaria. After seven hours of driving (it should have taken four) we arrived to our lovely hotel in Munich. We wasted no time and hopped on a tram in front of the hotel to travel to the center of Munich. We stopped at the Viktulienmarkt for a late lunch of beer, bratwursts, potato salad and schnitzel before idling over to Marienplatz for a look at the New Town Hall with it's famed Glockenspiel. We finished the night by listening to the folk band in the famous beer hall of the Hofbrauhaus and a visit to the Augustiner.

Beer sampling at Munich's beer halls

On Friday we arrived to our quaint B&B, Haus am Moos, on the outskirts of Salzburg, Austria around 11am. We settled into our cozy rooms and then headed into town with the Salzburg discount card in hand. The card covered entrance into all major attractions in Salzburg, and my goal was to get the biggest bang for our buck. We started off the tour with a cruise on the Salzach River in route to the Hellbrunn Palace famous for its trick fountains. Built in the 1600's, the palace gardens are equipped with fountains that used to "magically" turn on when the emperor's guests were strolling through. We took the guided tour and experienced some of the fountains. It was fun, but not a highlight of the trip.

Family overlooking Salzburg

That evening we strolled through the packed streets and squares of Salzburg. Without knowing, we had arrived to Salzburg during prime time, during the Rupertikirtag fest. We admired the many booths selling pretzels, Austrian sweets and other gadgets. Before entering the beer tent, we took the gondola up to Festung Hohensalzburg, the Salzburg medieval fortress that towers over the city. The fortress dates back to 1077 and provides an intriguing and stunning view of the Sound of Music land.


After a steep climb down from the fortress, we found a table to share in the festival's beer tent.With a smiling, lederhosen-wearing band playing Austrian tunes as the crowd sang along, the tent provided an authentic, lovely way to spend an evening. After tasting a few beers and wine spritzers and accidentally ordering sauerkraut instead of a pretzel, we decided to make one more stop at the Augustiner Monastery. One unique thing you should know about almost every monk in Europe is that he brews his own beer. Known more as the Augustiner brewery than monastery, this beer hall and garden provided another great atmosphere of local hospitality. It was a great first day in Salzburg!

Here are some photos:

Water fountain at Hellbrunn Palace raising a crown to the ceiling

Mom and me over Salzburg

Sound of Music land

Salzburg old town overlooked by the fortress

I love this photo - how cute!

Austrian band in the beer tent

Outside of the Augustiner Brewery

This monk seemed a little creepy. 

Our quaint B&B - highly recommended!

On Saturday morning, we left the rain behind in Salzburg and headed into the mountains. Our final destination: Hallstatt, Austria in the Salzkammergut lake region. After an hour drive through the windy mountain roads by our professional driver (Derek), we arrived to the pastel-colored town. Nestled into the side of the mountain with house after house built atop each other, the town of Hallstatt proved to be charming and entertaining. After hurriedly finding the public WC, we found a boat rental and without signing any papers or paying, we were able to take off. We cruised around the Hallstatt Lake for an hour, taking in the breathtaking views of the surrounding mountain peaks and the tiny town of Hallstatt. It was the perfect way to spend an hour and 15 Euro. Another highlight from Hallstatt was the church and its graveyard. The town ran out of space in its mountainside graveyard, so many graves are crowded into a very small space, and some family members are even buried together. With the water and mountains surrounding this area, it was a beautiful place to rest in peace.

We finished the day with a lunch break at a outside bar and some window shopping at many of the local souvenir shops. We headed back to our B&B and found a local pub for dinner. It was a successful day, and a successful trip.

Mom, me and Dad in Hallstatt

Hallstatt town center

Lake view from our boat

Mom and Dad enjoying the ride!

What a cute town!

Hallstatt from afar.

Mountain reflection in the water

Hallstatt cemetery

Real skulls that were stacked in a small chapel. When the graveyard used to overflow, the bones came here.

Me and Mom's lunch: kaiserschmarrn. An Austrian dessert of pancakes with cream and fruit topping 

On Sunday, we took a detour to our German family's house near Stuttgart, Germany, for some kaffee and kuchen and so that Mom and Dad could meet some of the cousins. After some delicious homemade cakes, coffee, and water with ice (!), we headed home. The next day was a fast-paced goodbye as I got off the bus at the airport terminal before Mom and Dad. My train was leaving for Amsterdam, and they had a flight to the USA to catch. It was a wonderful visit full of memories and once in a lifetime opportunities.  I'm so thankful that I was able to spend that much time with my parents in the wonderful world of Europe!