Wow, this post is long overdue! It's been almost a week since we returned from Berchtesgaden. We were fortunate enough to spend our Columbus Day weekend there. What was extra special about it was that we spent it with some dear friends...the Smith Family. I've been friends with Paul since high school. He and I also went to the same college, graduated and commissioned together over 10 years ago. Paul and his family recently moved to Heidelberg, which is a little over an hour away from Stuttgart! So now we have more friends that we can link up with from time to time...anywhere in Europe!
Berchtesgaden is in Bavaria; way down south near the border of Austria. In fact, we had to cross into Austria only to make a loop back into Germany to get to our hotel. We left late last Friday afternoon. The Smiths weren't going to link up with us until late Saturday afternoon, so we just took our time getting there. By the time we got there, it was already dark, so we just went out for some dinner and turned in for the night.
The next morning, we were able to actually see take in the beauty of Berchtesgaden and the hotel that we stayed in, which was nestled in the foothills of the Bavarian Alps. Check out our view.
We had a nice breakfast and lounged around at the hotel. Later in the day, we decided to go to the Konigsee (a lake nearby) to see if we could go on a boatride. We were very disappointed when we discovered that we'd missed the last boat. Not only that, it was cold and rainy that day, so we were itching to get back to our nice, warm hotel room. Still, we enjoyed strolling around the shopping/dining areas near the Konigsee. The lake is beyond beautiful. You can't really tell from these pictures, but the water is so clear!
At the dock, there were tons of ducks and Sina simply adores them. She sees so many ducks in books, videos, and has many toy ducks for the bath. I'd venture to say ducks are her favorite animal. She kept pointing to them and saying, "duck!" and was content to sit there in her stroller amidst the cold and rain to watch them. She threw the biggest of fits when we pulled her away to
head back to the hotel.
When we got back to the hotel, our friends had arrived and we ended up meeting them at a restaurant nearby for dinner. It was nice catching up over a really nice German dinner.
After breakfast the next morning, we head out to the infamous Salzbergwerk, or Salt Mine where the famous German-brand, Bad Reichenhall, salt is produced. A portion of the factory, which has been in operation for over 500 years, is open for tourists and is such an exciting place. I think we adults might have had more fun than our little kiddos. Anyway, they gave us typical salt miner garb to wear throughout the tour. I was very pleased that they had them in all sizes...even for Sina!
Here we are with the Smiths (L to R: Paul, D.J., Cassandra and Joey)!
Isn't she the cutest?
Getting ready for our train ride!
So they load everyone on a little train that takes us deep into the salt mines. On this tour, they take us through the entire salt-producing process as well as the history of the mine. There were two slides that everyone went down on in groups....awesome!!! Before we head out on the tour, though, we took pictures!
At the deepest part of the mine, about 140 meters, was Mirror Lake. We went on a raft ride across it and witnessed a holographic light show on how salt crystals form. For a few minutes, it felt like we were on an Epcot Center ride. Too cool!
After the Salt Mines, we attempted to go to the Eagle's Nest, which is high in the mountains above Berchtesgaden. The place is widely known to once be a retreat for Adolf Hitler. Sadly, we could not take the bus higher up the mountain to the Eagle's Nest due to weather (snow!). Instead, we hung out at the Dokumentation Obersalzburg, an exhibition on the history of Obersalzburg (which became the second seat of power after Berlin during WWII) and the Nazi dictatorship. I was able to get a cool picture of the view from the top of the Kehlstein Mountain.
After this, we wanted to take our friends to the Konigsee not only see how beautiful the place is, but to eat as well. We were lucky that it hadn't rained the entire day, so we were excited to get out there again.
Of course, the ducks made another appearance and our little girl was entranced.
After a hearty meal and some shopping, we head back to the hotel...but not without a group shot!
On the way back to the hotel, we wanted some coffee and dessert. So we stopped at a restaurant/hotel on the way. We just happened to stop at a place that was filming a movie on Hitler. No kidding...there were actors getting their make-up and hair done and pictures taken in WWII garb. It was amazing! No pictures though. Sorry about that.
Time always flies by when you don't want it to. We could have stayed in Berchtesgaden forever! I mean, we practically stalled at breakfast just so we could hang out with our friends and breathe in the fresh country air a little bit longer. But all good things come to an end. Thankfully, this won't be our last adventure, nor will it be our last time with the Smiths! Thanks for joining us you guys!
It was a crazy busy week and now Malu's at drill for the weekend. Sina and I are solo for another day and a half!
Sorry for the long post you guys...have a great weekend!
