Part II: Germany-Lichtenstein-Austria 27 July-4 August 2013

Day 5-Wednesday 31 July 2013
We left our Hungerburg "home", and the Innsbruck area of  Austria ~750.  We had an Eagle's Nest tour planned for the afternoon @ 1pm.  Our goal was to get to the salt mines south of Salzburg, Austria, do a tour there, get a quick bite to eat, then do our 1pm tour.  Even though it was only about an hour to the salt mine, we knew we'd be pushing it.




An "Ausfahrt" is an exit.

To get to the salt mine, in Bad Durmberg, we left Austria,
 travelled through part of Germany, then reentered Austria.
 Here, we are reentering Austria.

Many of the border crossings didn't have signs.  We have more prominent signage between our states.  Many times, the only reason we knew we were crossing into another country was because the satnav spoke up, and then half a km down the road, we'd see a EU sign with Deutchland (or whatever country) listed.

To travel about in Austria, you are to have a vignette (official sticker) on your car.  Authorities can stop your car if you do not have one.  Now, we were in Austria from Sunday through Wednesday, without having one, driving about, back and forth between Germany and Austria, etc, and never got stopped.  And it never crossed our mind to get one (and we didn't know where to get one).  Out luck was about to run out.

There were signs (in a foreign language), and pull-offs as we were re-entering Austria, but we didn't really know what it was all about, if it was just a stop over the border, or what it was, and we continued on our way.  Very soon there was a checkpoint, and we had to pull off, as we did not have the little vignette.  We were just over the border-not even a half mile.  We paid a fee of some sort, most likely with a fine attached, and carried on to the salt mine.  This little episode probably took 30 minutes out of our day.


This was the kids and my view while G dealt
 with the authorities and obtained a vignette.
  Apparently Aldi in Austria is called Hofer.
  We did see many Aldi throughout our trip,
as it is based from Germany, I believe.



Finally, we made it to the salt mine.

At the mine, we donned these fun little miners' outfits.
  Here we are, standing in line for the train to enter the mountain.

We had one of those mandatory entrance photos taken.

The first thing you do on the tour, is straddle benches,
 and you take a train ride deep into the mine.  Once you
 are far enough, you go down the first of three slides
 (long slides) to get deep enough.  This photo is taken while
 on the train, going into the mountain.

The shot taken just like they do on rollercoasters, on the first slide.
 I just love W's facial expression!  I don't think his eyes or mouth
 can open any wider.  Note J's hair blowing in the breeze,
and the speed in the bottom right of the photo.  They were going
 over 16mph. I also went down this slide (only slide I did go down),
 but we did not purchase the picture.  No need to humiliate myself,
 is there?  My expression does not show quite so much exhilaration. 



W pretending to be a miner.



Within the mine, we crossed the border from Austria,
 back into Germany.  I told you we were really near the border
 when we were stopped for not having the vignette.  We criss-crossed
 between Austria and Germany so many times during our entire trip.

Within the mine, there was this lake, I think they called it Mirror Lake.
  This is taken on the boat we travelled in.

I said there were a total of three long slides/chutes
 that plunged you deeper into the mine.
  The first was the shortest.   I do not care for heights,
and the first chute was enough for me.
 For chutes 2 and 3, I opted for the stairs.
  Here I am on the stairs, and you can see
 part of a chute behind me. It's not so little.
  Some family members thought it was funny
 that I did not care for the slides,
 and decided to take a fuzzy pic of me.  Rascals!!



We went 210 meters underground.



There was a tunnel in the mine that was dug in 1560.  That's old!

 My impression of the mine was that it was good for the kids, who loved it.  I learned that St Barbara is the patron saint of miners.  Lots of transportation-train ride, boat ride, chutes...  And we got tiny salt shakers as souvenirs.  I am glad we did it, as salt was very important in those days, with people feuding over salt mines.  Salt determined wealth.  Hard to believe when salt is so inexpensive nowadays.  And its the namesake for Salzburg. 

After the salt mine tour, we travelled 15 minutes down the road to
 Berchtesgaden, Germany.  Here is the sign as we entered Germany.
 I believe the second (white) sign is the sign for the Bavaria region
 of Germany we were entering.

We checked in for our 1pm Eagle's Nest tour, and dashed across the street and got some sandwiches to eat for lunch while we were waiting.

Going to the Eagle's Nest was not on our first list of things to do on our regional trip.  We wanted to tour Dachau, easily reached from Munich.  Although Dachau was a "work" camp, not a concentration or death camp, I still thought it might be a bit much for W/N.  I'm sure there are images there that they just aren't quite ready for.  The Anne Frank house in Amsterdam had a story to accompany it, and was easier to understand/explain to kids, and was a tad more upbeat.  Dachau is more difficult to explain, particularly man's cruelty and the atrocities of humankind.  The Eagle's Nest tour was our substitution for not seeing Dachau.

There are a few Eagle's Nest tours available.  We chose one that is recommended by many travel magazines, is internationally acclaimed, and operates the only authorized historical tour of the Eagle’s Nest, operated by a team of historian-guides.  This tour lasts four hours, and much information is presented.  This tour is the only tour allowed inside the Documentation Center.  (Documentation Center is a museum telling of the history of Obersalzberg-the mountain village Hitler took over-and the rise of Socialism and the Nazi dictatorship.)  I would've liked more time here.  There's a lot of info there, as well.  You can read more about the Documentation Center here.

Hitler was friendly with his neighbor, who ran the Hotel zum Turken.  Hitler tried to purchase the hotel's land, however, it wasn't for sale.  In time, the hotel owner was sent to a concentration camp.  Go figure.  You can read more about it here.  Some real neat photos at this site too-from then, and now.  Also lots of other comparison photos-of Borman's house, Goring's house, Berghof (Hitler's house), Eagle's Nest, bunkers, etc.

The hotel Hitler took over, along with the
 rest of the mountain.  It became the command center
 of the mountain.  There were bunkers beneath,
 connected to a large network of bunkers.
  You can visit the bunkers today, and even stay at this hotel.

The Third Reich was in command of the entire mountainside.  There were checkpoints at various positions along the road going up the mountain, controlling who went up the mountain.  Hitler even had his own platform at the train station.  People would line the streets, hoping to get a glimpse of him, or to hear him speak.

Our tour took us along the Obersalzburg area, showing us where various leaders' homes had been, while telling us about Hitler (did you know he's actually Austrian?  Fought in WWI, on the German side?  He was found not physically fit enough to fight for Austria, so he joined the German army.).  The mountainside was bombed heavily in 1945; the Eagle's Nest was missed.  When the remains of the buildings were demolished ~ 1952 (to discourage brown tourism), they decided to leave the Eagle's Nest intact.  We went to the Documentation museum that I mentioned earlier, and from there, entered the bunker system.  The bunkers were built as air raid shelter, war headquarters, and possible last refuge for  Nazi leaders.  They were very extensive-some 70 rooms, maybe more.  Each leader had his own bunker connected to his house, and their bunker connected to the network.  There are more bunkers in Obersalzburg, and Berchtesgaden.



Glimpse of the Eagle's Nest, at the top of the mountain.
  Hitler never spent the night there, and is only
 recorded to have been there 14 times.
 Eva used it more than he did.

Entrance into the bunker system from the Documentation museum.



This picure, although blurry-sorry!-shows the extensiveness
 of the bunker system.  Included are some of the
 buildings on the mountainside.
  Really unbelievable how extensive a network they were.

This shows the power for the bunkers.
 Its a sub generator.  There were several
of these throughout the network.



A set of three rooms off one of the main hallways
 of the bunkers, the first room with a tipped over safe.

Unfinished airlock



Across the way, you can see where digging was stopped.
  It nearly connected to the passageway
 we are standing in, near an elevator chute.

Another view across.



This bit of tunnel was also unfinished-lead to the
 Platterhof Hotel which stood near the base of Obersalzburg.
 The Platterhof is an old hotel.  As it was on the mountain,
 the Nazis took it over and remodeled it.  After the war,
 it was repaired and renamed the General Walker hotel, ~1952,
 and turned into a US Army recreation area for officers.
 US troops were stationed at Obersalzburg until 1995 (50 years).
  The mountainside was returned to German possession in 1995,
 and the Platterhof was turned into a parking lot in 2000.

The French actually got to the Eagle's Nest, before the Americans did,
 on 5.5.1945, which is difficult to make out in this photo (last line).
  This etching is difficult to read.)  US troops came a day later.
   The US would occupy the Obersalzburg section of Germany.
  This site (click) has a lot of good photos, including one of the above.
 There is a lot of photos and info about the bunkers, as well as good
 and plentiful info/photos (old and recent)
 of the Third Reich/Obersalzburg.  Check it out.

After the bunker tour, we took buses to the base of the mountain, where we walked down a long tunnel (Hitler would've been driven in), where we awaited the elevator to take us up through the mountain to the Eagle's Nest.

This way.



Such a beautiful view, in stark contrast to
 the macabre plans/decisions made here.

On a lighter note, these hills are the hills/mountains
 that the Van Trapp ran off to in The Sound of Music.
  Lots of tours and tales from the movie that were
 available for you to take.



Or did they run over here?  I don't remember!!
  One way was Germany, another was Austria.
  I think this view is toward Austria,
 which is very, unbelievably, near.

Do-a deer, a female deer, Re-a pocketful of sun, Mi-a name I call myself........



Sign above the entrance to the tunnel to reach the Eagle's Nest;
 reads "Erbaut 1938" (Built 1938).
 At the end of this tunnel is a waiting area.

Ceiling in the waiting area.  You are awaiting the brass elevator,
 which will take you through the mountain 407 feet to the top,
where Kehlsteinhaus, the Eagle's Nest, is.



Also in the waiting area.  Some kind of fancy marble.

Views from the top/ Eagle's Nest veranda.



View from the Eagle's Nest

More view



And more view

This sign is on the side of the tea house.



Marble fireplace, a gift from Mussolini

A lot of chipping away of the marble and taking of trinkets
 was done when the war was over.
  People took chips of the fireplace.



More views

It seems like there are a lot of views.
  It really is beautiful and stunning scenery.
 You look one way, then another, and one vista is more
 spectacular than the next.  And you just want to
 remember it all, and keep taking photos.



So, how many pics does it take to get all of the view?

Pretty as a picture



"The hills are alive...."

After touring the Eagle's Nest, we went back on the bus, and went back down to Berchtesgaden, while Ms Tour Guide told us of the demise of each of the SS leaders.

Unbelievably, what I don't  have photos of, are the buses and the view on the way up to the Eagle's Nest.  The road is incredible.  No public is allowed on it, only one certain type of bus, with two braking systems.  The buses are on a very strict time schedule (I think it was every 4 minutes, or every 7 minutes.)  They check in per computer on various parts.  On the way up or down, our driver even pulled over, as he was ahead of schedule.  Glad he did so, as he was awaiting a bus from the opposite direction.  A lot of the road is one lane, no shoulder, sheer drop offs, inclines of up to 27%.  There were many times, if I was on the outside of the mountain, I could not look-you swear you're going to go over.  Once you arrive at the top, there is a 407 foot tunnel (see the pic with the Erbaut 1938 on it, above.  This is at the entrance to the tunnel.)  Tourists walk it, but Hitler did not.  There used to be lion door handles, but they were removed.  The road to the Eagle's Nest, and the tea house itself were all built in 13 months.  He left it in July, 1944.

Service roads and barracks were built to house 250 people while building Kehlsteinhaus and the road leading to it.  There is even an underground shooting range, kindergarten, and a theatre to seat 2000 people.  The workers were mainly Austrian and Italians.  There was a brothel on the mountainside, so the workers would not mingle with German females.  Prior to the war, Hitler spent about 6 months/year on the mountain-then at Berghof mainly.

Really, a fabulous tour.  So informative.  Well worth the extra money.  Take the tour!!!


There are three rivers/streams that meet in Berchtesgaden.
  This is one of them.  Again, hard to see the clarity
 and color of the water, but its clear, with a turquoise tint.

 At the conclusion of the tour, we travelled about 30 minutes to Salzburg, Austria.


Salzburg, Austria



Festung Hohensalzburg (Hohensalzburg Fortress)
Salzburg, Austria

We checked into our hotel rooms for the night (need to get two rooms, wherever we go, which is a positive, as well as a negative), then it was off to find some food.  We didn't want to go to the city centre, but found a place maybe a mile from our hotel.  Menu was not in German, or English, but Croatian.  We ate at a Croatian restaurant.  I must've forgot the camera, as I have no pictures of the food!!  The waiter spoke some broken English, and we did manage to eat, though I don't recall what we ate.  Time for bed.


Day 6-Thursday 01 August 2013

We had a city tour planned for 9:30am.  We were picked up at the hotel promptly by our tour guide, Marco.

Salzburg is a UNESCO World Heritage site.  One of the first things we saw was Mirabell Palace and Garden.  The palace was built in 1606 by Prince-Archbishop Wolf Deitrich, and he and his wife had 15 children here.  It now houses the mayor and city council.  The Marble Hall, where Mozart once performed, hosts concerts and awards ceremonies, and can be toured.  Photos from Mirabell Garden will be shown later.

We saw various churches.  There are 42 churches in Salzburg-40 of those are Catholic.  We also saw the Mozarteum, a university specializing in music and the arts.



Leopoldskron Palace across the lake 

This is Leopoldskron Palace.  The pond/lake is man-made:  1 km long by 200 meter wide, and 6 feet deep.

Leopoldskron Palace-
scenes from The Sound of Music were shot here.



Leopoldskron Palace-currently privately
 owned, but available to rent
Salzburg Festival originated here

Leopoldskron was owned by Prince Archbishop of Salzburg from 1736.  After the palace left family ownership, most of the works of art were lost.  1918-1938 Max Reinhart lived in the palace, and restored its lost glory.  In 1938 he left to escape the Nazis, and died in 1943 in New York.  His wife returned in 1945.  Since 1947, its been owned by an educational institution.

Hellbrunn Palace

This is Hellbrunn Palace-built for another Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg, Markus Sittikus von Hohenems.  There are no bedrooms in it, as it was meant as a daytime summer residence, for fun, and for hunting games.  No one actually lived here.



More of Hellbrunn Palace

Little Month Palace, built over 1 month

The tale goes that a visitor of the Prince-Archbishop challenged the Prince-Archbishop to build a building to improve the view.  The Prince-Archbishop accepted the bet, and when the visitor returned in a month, this building had been built.  Now it holds part of a museum, as you can see by the sign.


Hellbrunn Palace--now a folklore Museum

Other sights we saw included the birthplace of Christian Doppler, the Hotel Sacher, Museum of Modern Art, St Peters Monastery (oldest building in Salzburg-built in 1696 to spread Christianity), and many more sights. 


Birthplace of Christian Doppler-
for whom the "Doppler effect" is named

Upon completion of the tour, we were left downtown.  We went to the Mirabell garden--which was magnificent. 



Mirabell Palace on the Left, garden on the right

Mirabell Garden-
the fountain is in The Sound of Music



Mirabell Garden

Mirabell Palace and Garden



Mirabell Garden-over 30000 flowers!

Mirabell Garden



Mirabell Garden

Mirabell Garden

From the Garden, we walked to Mozart's Residence and toured it.  It wasn't the best.  Interesting, yes, but definitely not what I'd call enthralling.



Mozart's Residence-he lived here from age 17,
 renting the top 8 rooms with his family.




Mozart's Residence

 We also saw Mozart's birthplace, Mozarts Geburtshaus, but have no photo of it.  He was born on Jan 27, 1756, and died in 1791.

From there, we came to the Marionette Theatre.  They have these beautiful and intricate marionettes throughout Salzburg.  We'd wanted to take in a show, but our schedule did not permit.  This theatre has been around for 100 years, so there were many puppets on display.  Just amazing.  There also was a display of some of the marionettes at the Salzburg Fortress.



Marionette Theatre
 

Sample of the marionettes

These are some of the sets they use for the
 puppet shows.  They are just as developed
 as the sets for a stage production,
 which, I guess it is.

The Salzach River, which divides
 Salzburg into Old (Altstadt) and New.

Mozart as the subject of subway art

On the right is Salzburg Cathedral, Residenzplatz.
  White building across the plaza is a museum.



Residence Fountain in Residenzplatz (Residence Square)

Inside Salzburg Cathedral



Inside Salzburg Cathedral



Salzburg Cathedral-ceiling



Salzburg Cathedral-organ



Salzburg Cathedral-organ

After oohing and ahing over Salzburg Cathedral, we went up on a funicular to Hohensalzburg Fortress, built in 1077.  It is the largest, fully preserved fortress in central Europe.



Views from the fortress were amazing

Salzburg from the Hohensalzburg Fortress
Salzburg means "Salt Fortress"



More of Salzburg from the fortress

Salzburg is surrounded by mountains-
Untersburg, Monchsberg and Kapuzinerberg



Mountains everywhere you look-
at the northern boundary of the Alps chain

Kids climbing on a pile of cannon balls



Best look out!

"The hills are alive with music"

Salzach River separating the city of Salzburg

Looking down from the fortress into the plaza



Check out how intricate this sign is

Smile!  Can't wait to bring
 this photo out again in 10-15 years!!



Ok, so this is the Stiftskeller I really
wanted to eat at.  If the kids were a tad older.....

Exterior of Salzburg's Stiftskellar Restaurant

Not only is the the Stiftskellar a well regarded restaurant, is also has Mozart dinner concerts.  They are fine dining by candlelight in a baroque hall, with the orchestra dressed in period historic costumes playing Mozart.  The dinner is prepared according to recipes of that era, and served during intermissions.  (OK, a little cheesy, but also really neat.)  I really wanted to go to this.  Kids would be ok with the music, I was more nervous about them sitting still long enough, and eating ok.  I guess it gives us something to go back for (like we need an excuse!).



Hohensalzburg Fortress from below



St Peter's Abbey
On the right in the distance (follow the path)
you can see the arches for some of the catacombs.

St Peters is the oldest continuously active monastery, and dates from 700.  There are two chapels within the cemetery-one of which is dedicated to Thomas Becket of Canterbury.  All kinds of people are buried here.  Old ones, including relatives of Mozart and Haydn.   We also noticed some more recent tombs from 2011-12. The catacombs are just unbelievable, carved into the side of the mountain, with the Fortress towering above.

Munich is about 90 minutes to the northwest of Salzburg.  We left Salzburg, and headed for Munich to check into the hotel, return our car, get dinner, etc.  On the way to Munich, we saw more typical scenery. 

Typical village with the church rising above the village.

I was a little nervous about our accomodations in Munich.  I had not done a lot of planning for this trip, but was planning our US trip (a lot of logistics involved there!), wrapping up end of school things, etc.  Munich was particularly hard to find a room for.  Finally, a week before we were to leave (!), G and I sat down one night, and were looking for places to stay.  Expedia or TripAdvisor put up a deal.  You wouldn't know where (the name of the hotel), but they could tell you the general location (ie-by the airport, city centre, what neighborhood....).  And they gave you a percentage off.  I don't recall if they told you the actual price you'd pay.  But they did tell you the # of stars it was.  So we went out on a limb, reluctantly, and booked a room in this fashion.

It ended up being some of the best rooms!  It ended up being a Hilton, and I called a few days ahead to let them know we wanted adjoining or nearby rooms.  Of course, they couldn't guarantee anything....blah, blah, blah.  When G checked in, I reminded him to get rooms near each other.  They did not have rooms next to each other (but actually, they were closer than some of our rooms have been), so instead, they upgraded our rooms to junior suites!  And... the rooms had AC!!  Score.



Hallway in our room



Is G tired from the activity in this picture,
 from travelling, or just tired?

We dumped our belongings, dumped the car, and went for dinner.  Ended up we were near where G has stayed before, and we went to a restaurant he's been to also.  He even recognized the waitress.


Day 7-Friday 02 August 2013
We slept in today-everyone getting run down from being off schedule, eating different foods at different times, walking more than usual.  Our time in Munich would not be complete without a city tour, now would it??   We caught the S-Bahn to central station, where we caught our hop-on/hop-off city of Munich tour bus at 11am.  It did have a live guide on-board, but it was a pretty poor tour.  They did show us about the city, but seemed as if they gave minimal information.  We've become accustomed to proper bus tours.  And we were riding on top of the double decker bus, and it was HOT and sunny!  But inside, it's difficult to see well, and creates obstructions for photo-taking. 



G using one of the kids sun hats to protect his head. 

Angel of peace-symbolizing the 25 years of peace
 after the Franco-Germanic war. 
The angel fell off in 1981,
and had some repair work done.



A portion of Nymphenburg Palace

A portion of Nymphenburg Palace

What do I say about Nymphenburg Palace?  It is a huge complex, and was the summer palace of Bavaria's rulers.  Built 1664-1675, the place is surrounded by 490 acres of gardens.  The place is just enormous.  Please read more about it here, it really is magnificent.  We would've liked to have toured it, but it was miserably hot, and the kids were not in the mood.  We also didn't have tickets.  I'm sure we could've bought some, but the thought of standing in line in the hot sun did NOT appeal to any of us.  So we stayed on board our bus, but agreed at the next stop we'd get off, as we were roasting.  We got off at the BMW part of the tour, for some relief, and stayed there for about an hour, though we could've spent much more time here.  They had a trick BMX racer going up and down the escalator, and there were various kid activities sprinkled through the car exhibits, which were very interactive.

 

The next stop was at BMW World



BMW World, Museum and Headquarters



"Do ya like my ride?"



They had a trickster cyclist doing all kinds
of neat tricks-this fella just rode up the escalator.

They had a lot of interactive things, and nice areas for the kids. 



W painted his Mini yellow and red.



Then he popped a wheelie.



Can he reach the handlebars?

We're cool

We hopped back on our hot bus to return downtown, to see/hear the glockenspiel move/chime, which it does it daily at 11 and 12, and at 5 March through October.   On the way, we saw a few more sights/landmarks.



Siegestor, or Victory Gate

East side of Palace of Justice



Heilig-Geist-Kirche, Church of the Holy Spirit

Clock tower of the Old Town Hall,
 near New Town Hall



Old Town Hall

New Town Hall in Marienplatz, Munich

You can see Mary's column on the right side
 of the photo, and the glockenspiel in the center

The Mary column was put up to celebrate the end of the Thirty Years War.

 

The glockenspiel

Building on the opposite side of the Marienplatz.
 I just love all the windowboxes.



The glockenspiel at rest.

First the trumpet players go around.

The first enactment is of a wedding--of the gent who started Hofbrauhaus.  A jousting match is also depicted, both of these scenes performed on the upper half of the glockenspiel.  Then, the bottom level men dance.  They rotate, as their stage is rotated.  Finally, the golden bird on the top level (can see pretty good in the last 2 photos), comes out and chirps three times.  The whole "show" lasts about 15 minutes.  There are 43 bells, 32 life-sized figurines in the glockenspiel.  You can read more about it on the wiki page, or here, or see part of it on a you tube video.



Then the guys march by with their flags...

(still marching)



...ride by on their horses,

prepare to joust,



Man down!  Bavaria's won again!

And the lower level dancers individually
 rotated, as well as the entire scene rotating.

We left Marienplatz, and went on to Hofbrauhaus.  On our way, we saw more street performers, and the kids got caught up in one with a magician.  Kids are having fun with magic tricks of late, and always love Harry Potter.



This street performer...



...liked crowd participation,
 which J  helped with willingly.



W also participated in the show.

Then it was on to the iconic Hofbrauhaus.  There, we sat at long banquet tables, reminiscent of WI weddings from the 70's and 80's.  A family of six from New York joined us.  There was a singing group of Germans near us, and the polka band was sitting near us also.  Throughout this trip, G and I have been seeing bits of our upbringing, and where it came from.  Much of the German heritage has been washed out/lost, but is more than alive and well in Germany!

 

Hofbrauhaus.  Look at their open mouths--
they're all singing a German song quite enthusiastically.
  Reminds me of our college days' entertainment.

Interior shot of Hofbrauhaus.

Oom-pah-pah
7 piece band



G and his German hat, by the German singers



W wants in on the photo



Hofbrauhaus



We went to Hard Rock for dessert.  I love
 the sign support, and the modern decorated
 building in the background.

More street entertainment,
 with Hofbrauhaus in the background.

Then, it was home to cool off (it was 37 C--which is about 98/99F), and get some rest.


Day 8-Saturday 03 August 2013
This day was a bit of a lazy day for us.  We only had one thing planned: going to the Deutches Museum, a science museum.  They were supposed to have a pretty good kids area.  On the way, we passed this fountain, which was pretty quiet when we went by in the morning.  Kids still walked all around it, and examined it.

Then we got to the Deutches Museum.  You can see the kids in front of the museum in both of these photos.



I believe this is a zodiac clock,
 with the astrological signs for the hour markers.

The museum had MANY demonstrations, so many that we weren't able to see all the ones we wanted.  One that we did see, was this one on electricity.  It had super high voltage, and a tesla coil.  They simulated lighting striking various things, grounded and ungrounded, and set one thing on fire from the "lightning".  They also put a man up in the caged ball (shown below), and had him shielded from electricity.  Museum was super, but all W and N wanted to do was the kids' area.  So G and I alternated checking things out with J, and managed to see a portion of the museum.



DANGER:



High voltage



N wants to learn to play his guitar



W and the xylophone



Hamster wheel.  Run, W, run!!!  Faster!



Somehow, they always gravitate to the water. 

 What is it with kids and water??  The kids spent a few hours playing with the water feature, while J and I explored other areas of the museum, and tried to catch various shows/talks that were being put on.

First spotting in a shop window

 Walking home from the Deutches Museum, we walked by a few shops.  One of them had this in the window, and J made me take a picture of it.  Its a math book.  Our dear J really enjoys his maths, and made me take a pic, so we could order the book online.  When we were home in August, during one of our visits with some friends, we went to Discovery World.  Wouldn't you know, this same book was found (only in English), and we had to purchase the math book.

Wading in the fountain

 I guess there is a shortage of public swimming pools.  Everyone was wading in the fountain with the heat.  Our boys had to join in.  Notice the boy in his undergarment.  Our boys weren't quite so brazen.


Sunbathing

Again, shortage of swimming pools?  Notice the rocky beach-hard to tell from the pic, but its rocky.  Not where I'd choose to sunbathe.
On our way back to the hotel, we stopped at the Gasteig to eat.  The Gasteig is a large cultural hall, which hosts the Philharmonic, has several theatres within, a conservatory, as well as the municipal library.  The eatery was unique, and had every type of food.

Then, it was home to pack up.

Gasteig, Munich

Day 9-Sunday 04 August 2013
Not much to report this day.  Part of the S-Bahn was down for some maintenance, so we caught two different buses to the airport for our flight back to the UK.  We were home but a few days, before departing on Thursday our US visit.

Highlights of the trip included the Eagle's Nest tour, Neuschwanstein, driving on the autobahn, snow in July, playing at the Deutches museum, and BMW World.  A big minus was that W lost his camera, sometime on Day 8.  He had it when we left the museum, and he says when we left the Gasteig, but somewhere, he lost it.  We've called the hotel several times, to no avail.  Maybe Father Christmas will bring him a new one.

Next trip commentary will be our half term break when we went to Northumberland.  Stay tuned!!