Tony and I were so reluctant to leave Hallstatt, but we were also incredibly excited to move to our next destination: a small B&B on a farm in Pinswang, Austria. First, however, we had an incredibly sobering stop to make. We headed to Mauthausen Concentration Camp, one of the first and the most severe concentraion camps. What was strange is the camp is tucked away on a wooded hill above a beautiful and serene Austrian town. Tony and I spent three hours wandering the camp and it's grounds and we're completely exhausted at the end-physically and emotionally. While I think it was an invaluable experience, I don't know if I'll ever go to another camp again. It was definitly one of the most chilling experiences I've ever had.
When Tony and I got back in the car it was difficult to reurn to the lighthearted tone that our trip had. This was further complicated by the fact we had a six hour drive in the pouring rain around hairpin turns in the side of the mountains to get to our next destination. When we finally reached Pinswang at dusk and saw the lights of our B&B around the corner with cows meandering in the yard I felt like I was home. (Come to find out later that evening, the cows were RIGHT outside the window in our room!) 
We sat in the restraunt and had a couple beers. It turned that the oner was celebrating his birthday in the pub that night with a large group of his friends so the bar had an incredibly boisterous feeling. Good beer and schnapps around good friends sitting by a ancient wood burning stove was EXACTLY what we needed!
When Tony and I got back in the car it was difficult to reurn to the lighthearted tone that our trip had. This was further complicated by the fact we had a six hour drive in the pouring rain around hairpin turns in the side of the mountains to get to our next destination. When we finally reached Pinswang at dusk and saw the lights of our B&B around the corner with cows meandering in the yard I felt like I was home. (Come to find out later that evening, the cows were RIGHT outside the window in our room!) We sat in the restraunt and had a couple beers. It turned that the oner was celebrating his birthday in the pub that night with a large group of his friends so the bar had an incredibly boisterous feeling. Good beer and schnapps around good friends sitting by a ancient wood burning stove was EXACTLY what we needed!We woke up the next morning and it was still pouring down rain. We took a quick walk around the property to get a look at the cows and the deer who were roaming around. We spent the rest of the day in the hotel's restraunt/pub eating good food, drinking great beer, playing cards, and getting to know our host. It was a wonderful rainy day. Oh and I made a new friend! A couple who worked at the B&B had the sweetest dog who was allowed to lay in the hallway. Anyone who knows me would not be shocked to find out that I spent the majority of the evening sitting in the hallway petting the dog! 
The owner got a good laugh at Tony whose wife had abandoned him for a hound.
The owner got a good laugh at Tony whose wife had abandoned him for a hound.Pinswang is only a few miles from the place where Sawarski crystals are mined. Tony surprised me at dinner with a beautiful Sawarski necklace I had been admiring (yes, even though I repeatedly abandoned him for the hound). Since we had a long day ahead of us we tried to retire early, but the owner insisted we celebrate with him and continued to give us shots of some of the best Shnapps I've ever had in my entire life-we slept well that night.
The next morning was bittersweet because it was our last day in Germany and we had a long drive to make it all the way to Heidelberg. On the way we stopped at Weiskirche which is a little church that houses a statue of Jesus that was reported to "weep" in the 18th century. 
The church was built in the baroque style, which I've always found overwhelming. My favorite part was outside the church ponies, cows, goats, and chickens layed around in the shade. (I took more pictures of the cows than the church!)
The church was built in the baroque style, which I've always found overwhelming. My favorite part was outside the church ponies, cows, goats, and chickens layed around in the shade. (I took more pictures of the cows than the church!)
Once in Heidelberg we got completely and utterly lost and had to stop several times before we got accurate directions to our hotel-VERY accurate directions. The men at the gas station literally spread out a 7 by 7 foot map and wrote down every road, every building, and bascially every street light we would pass during our 3 minute drive to our hotel-but they were extremely nice and we got there!Knowing we would be exhausted, we got a beautiful sweet at a fancy hotel for our last night in Germany. The hotel used to be a fencing school and dorm. The tables at the restraunt are the orginal tables used for the "cafeteria." As a result, both Mark Twain and Otto von Bismark carved their names into the tables. While our room was beautiful, the service was amazing, and the food was exquisite, the thing that impressed us the most was the TV. In the sitting room there was an antique looking cabinet with an old fashonied key. When you turned the key a flat screen tv raised up. Pretty cool!
After dinner, Tony and I spent the rest of the evening relaxing and recovering. First we took a dip in the enourmous jetted jacuzzi tub. (Added note: dont add bubble bath to a jetted tub-the bubbles litterally got up to three feet high at least!! Oops!) We spent the rest of the night laying around the sittingroom in robes, drinking wine, and watching BBC-the only English channel we got.
After dinner, Tony and I spent the rest of the evening relaxing and recovering. First we took a dip in the enourmous jetted jacuzzi tub. (Added note: dont add bubble bath to a jetted tub-the bubbles litterally got up to three feet high at least!! Oops!) We spent the rest of the night laying around the sittingroom in robes, drinking wine, and watching BBC-the only English channel we got. Well, I think that pretty much sums up our vacation. We had such a wonderful time that we would definitly consider moving to Germany or Austria if the opprotunity came up. The food and drinks were amazing, the scenery was the most beautiful I have ever seen, and the people were so friendly and welcoming. Wir lieben Deutschland und Osterrich!
The trail was absolutely beautiful. The river was roaring so loud. 
Somehow Tony convinced me to climb out on this log...only afterward did he tell me that the tree by my foot meant the log was probably rotting. 
When we came to a bridge the trail forked and we thought the waterfall was left-so we went left. After 45 minutes of hiking up hill we got to the waterfall...which was dried up because it hadn't rained...Oh well. 
We started hiking down and and then we saw another waterfall (with actual water) that was to the right of the bridge. 
So we hiked all the way down, crossed the bridge, and hiked another hour up hill. It was worth it though. The waterfall was beautiful. 
Then Tony notice a bridge above the waterfall and wanted to hike up there but the trail was marked "experienced hikers only." This is because the trail is basically narrow stairs carved into the mountain over a hundred years ago along the edge of the cliff with nothing but a frayed rope to help you up. Tony decided to go up and I, very wisely, decided to leisurely make my way back down. 
When we met back up it was time to go to the ice caves-but first we stoped at another one of the Trinkwasser fountains. Yummy!
We took a "sky taxi" up the mountain to the ice caves and were then told we had ten minutes to hike the rest of the way up in order to get there in time for our tour. Yep, MORE up hill hiking!
The tour of the ice caves was a fourty minute walk up slippery stairs. Can you tell I was pooped? 
The ice caves were amazing. I had never been in a cave before and it was beautiful!
After a wonderful day Tony and I decided we deserved a wonderful dinner. We went to the hotel next door that had an outside restraunt on the lake. It was beautiful and the food was amazing...until it started to sprinkle. I asked Tony if we should go inside and he said it was only sprinkling-no big deal. Then it started to RAIN. Everyone else grabs their food and makes a run for it. Waiters start to gather up tableclothes and wine bottles and everyone runs for cover-everyone except for us that is. Tony really wanted to eat outside by the water. Suddenly he gets up and drags one of the sun umbrellas to the table, rolls it open, and sits down. The waiter came outside to see if there was anything else to bring inside-and there's Tony and I eating steak, drinking wine, and having a great dinner under an umbrella in the middle of a downpour. I was afraid he would be annoyed at having to walk through the rain to get to our table, but I think even he found it incredibly romantic. 
All of the electric boats, tourist taxi boats, and shipping boats must go under a certain speed on the lake-and the speed in VERY slow. It was really nice actually because if you're on shore and watching the boats, it nice to see how lazily they float across the lake. It really adds to the feeling of relaxation; time literally slows down in Hallstatt.
After our boat ride we grabbed the BEST ice cream cones I've ever had, and went to sit on the lake and feed the ducks. The ducks and I really bonded in Hallstatt, I fed them every chance I got. Besides the regular ducks (Malards I think?) there were the small black ducks that dive into the water and hunt fish. They stay underwater a long time and were a riot to watch.
Next we went to the Bone Chapel. The chapel is an extremely old Catholic Church over looking the water. In Austria, burial plots aren't bought or owned-they're rented. Every ten years the porperty owner sends the relatives a bill and if they dont pay the rent-they're out and someone else rents the plot...weird. Well Hallstatt is a very old town built into the mountains and space for graveyards isn't abundent. About one hundred years ago, the Catholic Church decided to "clear out" it's graveyard to make room. 
They exumed all of the remains, built a small chapel, and painted the skulls with the person's names, the dates they lived, and a special design that states something about the person. The roses mean love or romance, a snake stands for pre-marital love or romance, ivy or laurels stand for courage and so on. 
The chapel will accept anyone who would like to be placed in the bone chapel, the last woman who did this died in 1981.
We spent the rest of the afternoon walking up and down Hallstatt's one street which never gets old simply because it's so beautiful. Many places in Halstatt have water spouts by the side of the road labeled "Trinkwasser" which means "drinking water." 
In Abu Dhabi, Tony and I have become terrified of tap water, not because of the taste, but because it will make you sick. We even have to use botteled water when we make coffee. So it took us a while to be comfortable drinking fresh well water out of the tap-but once we got up the courage it was wonderful! And it tasted great!
We spent the evening sitting by the lake reading, drinking a couple beers, and watching the ducks-again. 
That night we went out to a beautiful dinner outside on the water. The restraunt was under one of the largest trees I've ever seen-and the potato soup was to die for! After dinner we went to the main square to one of the two places to have a drink after ten o'clock. We enjoyed our glass of wine so much that we bought a bottle to take back to the hotel. We didn't have any glasses though so the owner of the bar let us borrow two of hers. Tony and I took the bottle to the lake and spent the rest of the evening wondering if we could just get waiter jobs and stay in Hallstatt forever.
After asking me twice if I was serious, Tony exited and we decided to go hit a couple roller coasters...until we got up to the gates. It as 45 Euros to get in! So we decided Legoland wasn't doing to happen on this trip.
Hallstatt is hidden in the folds of the Alps right on the lake. 
Tony and I spent a lot of the first day just staring wide eyed and slack jawed. 
Every corner of this tiny town looked like it was straight out of postcard or a fairy tale. It was absolutely beautiful. Our hotel was right on the water. 
It was ran by a grandmother, a daughter, and a granddaughter who were wonderful to us. The first night we had a room with no bathroom in it. But for the last two nights we switched rooms to a room with a balcony overlooking the lake. 
We had such a wonderful time that we decided to skip Vienna and spend an extra night in Hallstatt. We spent the afternoon walking around the town, drinking Austrian wine, and people watching.
The castle is made up of the homes of three families. Two of them eventualy sold their share to the Eltz family who has owned and resided in the castle for 850 years. (The Countess Eltz still lives there today.) 
We had a wonderful tour guide who answered all of our questions. In one of the rooms there was even a huge moose head which the family had hunted in Alaska in the 19th century. After the castle tour we headed to Baden-Baden. Gambling used to be illegal in France so the Germans built a casino & spa community right across the border so the French could come over and spend their money. 
Tony and I stayed at a little hotel/restaurant that is known for it cuisine. It turns out that this restaurant used to serve death row prisoners their last meal. 
The town was extremely beautiful-it actually looked more like what I had expected Paris to look like than Paris did! 
Tony and I found a beautiful Bier Garten covered by a canopy of trees and tried a few new kinds of beers. We had a great time even though the majority of our conversation consisted of "Can you believe we're in Germany?" Later we decided to go lose some money at the casino...which we did. We had to play the slots in the basement though because the fancy part of the casino required no jeans and for men to wear a tie. Outside of the casino was some kind of concert with German bands playing classic American rock. 
Tony and I sat on the lawn for a while before heading back up to the hotel. I say up because walking anywhere in Baden-Baden requires steep hills and stairs. The next day we headed off to Hallstatt which was by far our favorite place on the trip. So I'll save that post for later. Tschuss!
Tony and I left the UAE at 12:05 Friday morning and arrived in Frankfurt at 6:15 am so we were exhausted but incredibly excited so we grabbed the rental car, got sufficiently lost, tried to get directions in German, and finally headed towards the Rhine River and Mosel Valley.
After exploring part of the Rhine and being shocked at the tons of castles everywhere we decided to grab some lunch. Directly across from the Lorelei was a roadside Bratwurst stand which was really exciting since pork is rare and expensive in the UAE. 
We grabbed some Bratwurst and a beer and enjoyed a beautiful lunch sitting right on the Rhine and feeding the ducks! 
After a leisurely drive to the Mosel River and into the valley we found our room which was an apartment above a small private winery. 
The Mosel Valley is actually a celebrated white wine region; their most famous wine is called Schwarze Katz ("Black Cat"). 
Tony and I tried it later in the evening and even brought home a couple bottles. 
The streets are lined with beautiful grape arbors and we had a great time exploring this cute little town until dinner time.
Dinner was interesting for a different reason...We were eating on a balcony overlooking the river when we started to notice hoards of people congregating about a block down the river. They were even coming from the other side of the river over the pedestrian bridge. Pretty soon we heard someone yelling in a microphone which peaked our curiosity. Then a boat sails by...with about 10 Romans (Togas and all!) drinking beer and yelling. Then we see Vikings on the river bank yelling back at the Romans. Between a serious lack of sleep, a very long day, and this spectacle we were very confused.
Pretty soon the Romans landed and started drinking a bottle of Schwarze Katz with the Vikings and then they paraded from bar to bar carrying a woman on a chair...it was hilarious!
Tony and I went down to the Bier Garten and found out more or less what was going on. One side of the river used to be inhabited by the Romans and the Celtic Vikings lived on the other side. They would fight and taunt each other constantly. Well, this gathering celebrates the day the Romans landed on the Viking's side of the river looking for a fight but somehow they all started drinking together. Pretty soon they were all too drunk to fight and had a great time together...or something to that effect. So every year the town of Zell celebrates by reenacting the story. It turns out the owner of the winery we were staying at, Peter Weis, was even one of the Romans!
Tony and I had had such a long day we spent the rest of the evening on the balcony of the apartment.