September 15, 2011

Day 9 - Salzburg to Vienna

Note: Rick was able to set up a way I could send you this blog directly to your e-mail rather than your having to remember to check it. I don't want to be presumptuous
though, so if you get this and you don't want it in your e-mail box, just let me know and I will remove your name. I promise it won't hurt my feelings.

We left Salzburg around 11 this morning. I think Salzburg was a little too crowded and touristy for either of our liking. We didn't see much of it but what we saw was enough!

We drove about 30 minutes south of Salzburg into Germany again to a lake we had originally planned to visit, Konigssee. We missed a turn the "lady" told us to make and ended up taking the scenic route through the mountains. Because of this, we passed the Eagles Nest, a headquarters/vacation spot for Hitler during the war. For me it was creepy to be so close to a place Hitler actually visited and brought back the uncomfortable feeling of the day before.

Actually, I'm kind of upset with myself for generally feeling uncomfortable in Germany. I keep looking at the elderly people and wondering if they were Nazis. I know that people my age or younger had nothing to do with the Holocaust but I still am triggered by just the thought of what happened here.

This the hotel we were going to stay in had our plans not changed.

Konigsee is a gorgeous Alpine lake and tourist attraction. They have boats that take you around the lake because there are hardly any places to land as the mountains come right down to the water. Our boat was filled with a tour group of elderly German tourists and the man who did the commentary only spoke German. He must have been pretty funny because he kept everyone laughing. It was weird being with about 100 people, not understanding a word anyone was saying and wondering if they were talking about us. Okay, now I'm getting a little paranoid here, right? Well that explains the mood I was in on the boat, trying to enjoy the scenery and not feel too weird.

The big lake and St. Bartholoma

We got off the boat at the end of the lake and hiked about 20 minutes to another lake. The whole area is a national park and really is quite beautiful. The hike and the scenery changed my mood and I totally enjoyed and appreciated the rest of the day! I've put in a few photos to give you an idea of the beauty. The little lake was like being in an impressionist painting.

The small lake Salet Obersee

Had to have a KROG pic! I do hiking and like it.

After we left Konigssee we drove to Vienna. It was supposed to take three hours but we didn't get here until 10pm because of a major traffic tie up on the highway. Our hotel seems to be in a pretty hip neighborhood and is really beautiful. I'm looking forward to exploring tomorrow.