The summer home of The Fuhrer in winter

On our way to Munich, my history buff husband really wanted to visit "The Eagle's Nest" in Berchtesgaden, Germany.  This was the summer home of Adolf Hitler.  The actual "Nest" was a home the 3rd Reich had built for Hitler for his 50th birthday.  Hitler however was afraid of heights so he rarely ever went up tho the "Nest".  There was a museum that allowed its visitors to explore the beginnings of the 3rd Reich and Hitler and his horrible reign.  It was very interesting and disturbing.  It was more extensive then we had expected so there was a lot we didn't see.  Munich and its yummy beer was calling us.  Still, the Bavarian Alps delivered.  The scenery was amazing!

A quick stop in cute little Salzburg

After Vienna, which we loved, we stopped in Salzburg for some more Mozart and good Austrian scenery.

  

We went to the Dom, the church where Mozart was baptized and performed later in his life.  Rick Steve's book The Best of Europe was our constant companion.  It was filled with all kinds of interesting tid-bits.

We found a store with Patrick's family name, Wille and wandered through the adorable cobble-stoned streets.  It was a lovely little adventure before heading to Hitler's summer home, Berchtesgaden. 

Rock me Amadeus...Vienna, Austria

After much debate we drove from Venice to Vienna.  We thought it would be a much longer drive than it turned out to be.  The scenery was gorgeous. (Patrick: "I gotta hand it to 'em.  They do a nice job with their mountains.")  I likened the scenery to one of those winter villages that people put out around the holidays as decoration.  It was so picturesque.

We found a great hostel that had private rooms and bathrooms.  We explored the freezing cold city on foot and then returned to the hostel to do laundry.  We decided to have a beer at the hostel bar while we waited.  But you know how that goes...one beer turns into some Hungarian wine and lighter fluid shots of some Hungarian liquor.  It was the best time we've had doing laundry.

The next day we found the Burggarten with a statue of Mozart, road the Ring, visited St. Stephen's Cathedral, and the Haus der Musik.  It seems Vienna was the home to such greats as Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Strauss, Mahler...   We learned all about their lives in Vienna (Beethoven was a nut, living in over 30 places in Vienna) and their music.  We also got to "conduct" the Vienna Philharmonic and interact with other cool sound displays.

The next day we rode the subway (different from the above ground ring) to the Schonbrunn Palace.  It was the summer home for the Austrian royal family until 1918 when the empire fell.  It was a wonderful history lesson.  We also saw the Hofburg Imperial Palace near the Vienna City Hall.  

That night we went to the opera.  It was beautiful although the opera itself left much to be desired.  Just not a great opera.  Then we went ice skating in the park in front of City Hall.  They had 2 rinks with ice paths connecting them.  There was also stands with warm wine and yummy food.  We had such fun sliding around the path.  


I was beat after all that but Patrick was determined to find a place to watch the Super Bowl.  I went to bed (loser) and he found a betting place that was televising it.  All the commentary was in German but he said it was one of the better games he's seen.