Hello again all travel friends and gurus. I have much to share with you as I have recently returned from Germany after a week spent in that beautiful country. We (Rich, Elisa (daughter), and me) spent a glorious week in Germany and Austria. I'm here to tell you all about this amazing trip within this blog.
First, a little snippet of interest for those using the point system as we do. Travel points can be used for rental vehicles, Airbnb travel, hotels and flights. We used all in this last trip, with the exception of Airbnb. We rented a vehicle in Munich to travel to Garmisch, spent a night in Austria in the Sheraton there and used the points for free flights. The only real expenses of the trip was the payment for eating out, the food we purchased at the farmers markets, the tours, the train tickets to Austria, and the costs of the goodies we purchased, including souvenirs. Rich purchased a hat, which we conjoled him into purchasing because it looked so good on him. Little did he know the hat would cost him over $100 US dollars. Sometimes, when something is meaningful to you, you will spend more. It happens! Not frequently, but we do this from time to time for a meaningful purchase for which we have our hearts set.
Here's the accounting of our adventures in Germany and Austria.
Day One: We explored the MarianPlatz after taking the subway there. Taking the subway around town cost 12 euro or about $14 US dollars for 4 of us. The more people for the group ticket purchased, the cheaper the tickets.
One thing about Germany is that you can purchase group tickets for just about anything and the cost starts to diminish with more people.
We visited a few Catholic churches from the 15th-16th century. The cost to enter a church is $0 and these are a must-see. These churches are very ornate, with paintings, tapestries and sculptures that are simply amazing. To belong to a church, which is not mandatory, takes 8% of a German's income. If you don't belong, you cannot be married in a church or receive any other benefits that other members receive.
We had dinner out that night and went early to bed.
Day Two: We woke and prepared for our car trips to Garmisch, at the base of the alps and Lake Eibsee for a hike around the lake, which took about 2-3 hours at a leisurely pace. This also cost us nothing, as well as the car rental for which we used points. Again, $0.
It was a beautiful day. After our hike (when we took those beautiful alps photos), we checked into our inn where we were staying. We had dinner that night at the inn and then headed to one of the lounges for drinks and great conversation.
Day Three: We arose and went to breakfast, again a wonderful time of fellowship with Pia and her parents, Yuergen and Mara. Then, we all headed to Garmisch to walk this beautiful town at the base of the alps. Rich took a picture of a few Omas on bikes. I think I'll frame that one!
After lunch, we headed back to Munich and returned the car and prepared for our evening at the Oktoberfest. This took some money as we had to offer the waitress in the tent we entered to help find us a seat and then we proceeded to order and drink plenty of beer. That evening, alone, probably cost us over $100 US dollars. If you're going to Oktoberfest, prepare to spend a bit on the "incentive" for the waitresses to find you a table, the cost of the beer and a nice tip for the waitresses.
Day Four: We woke to an overcast, drizzly day. Travelled around the city on a "hop-on, hop-off" tour bus, and learned a lot of the buildings and culture of the city on this tour. This cost us $19 euro per person, which is probably about $22 per person for an hour tour. This ticket allows you the use of the hop-on, hop-off bus for the entire day.
After our tour, we headed to Nymphenburg castle, some pictures of which are included with the stunning lengthy façade of the building/residence and the stunning gardens in front and back of the property. The self-guided tour of the premises was $6 euro per person, again discounted since there were 4 of us. This was the castle where King Ludwig II was born. King Ludwig II went on to build Neushwanstein castle, the most famous in Germany and another "must-see".
Day Five: Rich, Elisa and I travelled by train, which was $39 total for the three of us, to travel from Munich to Salzburg, Austria. (For one person, the ticket is $25 roundtrip as opposed to $39 roundtrip for the group of 3).
While in Salzburg, we took the FestungsBahn Funicular (a kind of cable car) to the top of the hill where we toured the Fortress Hohensalzburg. This is one of Europe's largest existing 11th century castle complexes. It's a fortress that was never compromised or penetrated. The only reason it was surrendered to Napoleon is because Napoleon surrounded the castle so no supplies could go in and essentially nearly starved the residents inside. Surrender was the only option. We took the tour with hand-held verbal instructions included in the cost of our ticket to tour the fortress, which was $10 euro per person.
There were many other tours we could have done in the city and we spoke to some who took the bike tour for the Sound of Music and loved it. Those tours for the Sound of Music ranged from $50 euro to $800 euro with a range of services included.
What I do NOT recommend is the tour of the Museum der Moderne Salzburg, which cost us $12 euro per adult, but was a very strange experience, indeed.
Day Six: The next morning, before departing back to Munich on the train, we had breakfast for $30 euro for three of us. Thankfully, just about everyone we encountered spoke English very well and we never really encountered a language barrier.
One more day and we just again toured around the city and then spent the evening at dinner at our host's home. Wunderbar!
This is a long trip, with about 8-10 hours spent on a plane each direction. If you schedule a flight that is nonstop, you'll pay more, either with cash/charge or with points. We opted to have a stop in Charlotte. Unfortunately, this required a few hours in layovers and caused a looooooonnnnnggg day of travel, but did not cost us as much in points.
A few other details regarding travel within Germany:
*Ryan Airlines is a great inexpensive option to fly within Europe.
*Easy Jet is another inexpensive option.
*These are both British airlines.
*In some cases, you can fly for as little as $15 euro from Berlin to London.
*From Munich, however, it is always more expensive, so it may be wiser to check out the prices of flights between cities in Europe.
Per Rich, you can check Google flights to get the best prices.
Bon voyage for your next adventure, travel gurus. Please feel free to share with us your experiences, So many options, so many experiences, so little time. Travel will enhance your life. Live well, my friends!
Until next time... safe travels and God bless!
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