Partnachklamm Gorge

On the fifth of July we decided to do some hiking and heard about this gorge that was pretty close.  Here is the entrance--it was like a tunnel.

We walked along this narrow rock path next to a rushing river.  Here is Marc next to the waterfall which  we could feel.

We walked through tunnels,

sometimes ducking under rock, and reached this!

It was breathtaking and powerful and very loud!  After the gorge we walked to the beach of the river where we saw lots of these.

Then we hiked up to the bridge which was about 200 feet above the river.  We crossed on this bridge.

This is the view looking straight down 200 feet.

We crossed the bridge and hiked uphill again and finally down to a little meadow village with a very cute little chapel.

We heard cowbells and saw one cow and also heard other bells and saw these.

A little closer....

We kind of took the wrong way down to the entrance and ended up walking/slipping down a very steep, switchback road/path with lots of gravel.  Marc saved me at least once from a total wipe out. Finally we made it back to the regular path and passed a lumber mill right beside the river.

And these haystacks I just loved!  Very quaint!

We went back to Garmisch-Partenkirchen where our room was and then went shopping in the little shopping area in town.

Sound of Music Part 4 (Gayle as Fraulein Maria)

As Gayle showed in the other posts, the Sound of Music bicycle tour was fantastic. 14 km (8.7 miles) over 3 and a half hours. We biked in the city and also in the countryside around Salzburg. When in the country, the guide played music from his bike and people could sing along if they wanted. Gayle did, of course. I did this video from my bike:

We also stopped at a big field where people could "frolic" like Maria. Of course, Gayle had to do that:

This was a dream come true for Gayle!!

Sound of Music part 3

The house used for the front is along this pathway.  You may remember it from the song "I have confidence".  Maria is heading to the captain's house for the first time swinging her bag and guitar case.  She does a heel kick as well. 

I'll blame my attempt at a heel kick on the camera delay!  Here is part of our group with the guide talking to us.

We didn't sing much until this point as we were in a more urban part of the city and we had to ride single file.  Along this path and for most of the rest of the way, he had an ipod with the soundtrack of the Sound of Music.  He said he wasn't much of a singer so that's why he brought it.  So we all (or a few of us) sang along to the songs as we were biking.  I had a blast!!!  And Marc actually sang a few notes as well. 
 We biked along views like this.

You can see a lttle farm in the distance.  Our guide asked if we wanted to stop for some milk there.  So we stopped and filled our water bottles up with fresh cold milk.  It was the best milk I've ever had!!  And it ws only 60 cents for a liter.  Such a great deal!  Here is the farm  and the milk machine. 

You put the euro coins into the slot and hold your bottle under the spout.  We all pooled our coins together and we only filled one of our bottles as we had no way to keep it cold going home. 
The locals dairy farmers are identified by having a cow painted with the flag colors on it.  We were in Austria so the cow looked like this.

After we finished our milk break we biked back to the city center singing along.
This day will live in our hearts as one of our very "favorite things" forever!!

Sound of Music part 2

We had a short break at a market in the square in the old town part of Salzbug. We got to eat pretzel which our tour guide bought that was 18" wide. We also saw the catacombs where the family hid in back of the abbey when the Nazis were coming after them and Rolf called them out.

 Then we had the hardest part of the ride. We had to ride (or walk) up a very very steep hill.  Marc's goal was to ride up the whole thing.  Mine was to get up as far as I could ride, then walk.  We both achieved our goals.  I actually did ok considering I haven't been riding much at all.  After getting to the top we rested for a few minutes to enjoy the view.

And look how close we were to the castle!!  Marc got to see it a lot closer up.  And also see how far we rode.  It was so much fun!

The place we stopped at was actually the abbey which is still an abbey.  Funny story--for the movie they hung a bell pull so that the nuns would know there was someone at the gate: the children coming to visit Maria, the Nazis, etc.  After the movie crew left, they left the bell pull up and so many people would come to ring it (after the movie was released) that the nuns were disturbed many times during the day.  They had to remove it to regain some peace!

We also saw the road where the children come up to the abbey and the road the family drove away from the abbey in their car.
Next we rode along a path in a more country like setting along a lake. And we came upon this!

The back of the captain's house where they tipped the boat over and where the captain and the baroness broke up on the balcony.  They also used the patio in back when the children met the baroness.  And here is the front of the house.  Notice anything unusual??

The front and back are different colors!! 

Sound of Music bicycle tour part 1

This was the second most favorite thing we did on our trip!!!  Both of us had so much fun and our tour guide was great!  We started out at Mirabellplatz and picked out our bikes.  I happened to get Fraulein Maria and Marc got Max Detweiler.

The bikes were a little hard to steer as the handlebars were really wide. We got on our bikes and the first stop was the steps at Mirabellplatz where Maria and the children sang Do Re Me.  So cool to see it!  The first one is from the top and the second from the bottom.

We then headed over the river through Salzburg and had to cross traffic, stop traffic, and take over roads at times.  There were thirteen of us including four kids.

The castle at the top of the hill was the one that Marc really wanted to see, but we didn't have time to hike up to it before our time for the ride.  Oh well!  Next stop the concert hall where the children were practicing with Max Detweiler.  They came down these steps afterwards.

 And here's the arch that I think the Nazis came through.  The horse fountain was so tall!!  I had to kind of jump up and still couldn't reach the water.  Apparently, Julie Andrews couldn't reach it either so they built another step or two so she could reach it with ease.

 And here is Nazi headquarters where they had the Nazi flags hung from.

Autobahn

The autobahn in Germany was interesting. You just stay to the right unless you want to go really fast. When we were going about 80 mph some cars would zip right past us. Surprisingly, Gayle was okay for me trying it out. Here is the evidence that I was going 158. Of course, that is in kilometers per mile which equates to 98 mph (and there was a motorcycle in front of us going faster).

Bern

We were in Bern for about 5 days and stayed in a cute modern (on the inside) hotel.  Breakfast was included, but was no way as good as Murren.  Here is a view of our room--windows wide open, no screens, not kid friendly!!

We walked around a lot in old town Bern.  Here are a few pictures from our hours of walking.  I went out during the day seeing sights while Marc was at the conference, then we both went out in the evenings.  This is the tower clock.

Sorry about the sideways video. I forgot they can't be rotated.


This is the most popular tourist attraction in Bern.  People gather around it before the hour and wait to see the action.  At the very top which isn't shown, there is a figure striking the bell to sound the hour.  Below are some parts of old town as we were walking around.

I was walking along the street and heard water hitting the ground and couldn't figure out where it was coming from.  Later that night Marc and I were walking along the same street and heard it again and looked up and saw this!

There are lots of statue fountains all over the city.  Here is the child eater.  Click on it to see it better.

The river Aare winds through the city and is gorgeous!  Here are a few views of it.

There are arcades (covered walkways) along the streets.  Here is a typical arcade.

And here is what happens to an arcade in the modern world. A shopping mall with all the modern stores you need!

And there were street performers like in any city, but we've never seen anything like this.  The bottom ninja is holding up the top one with only that stick.  Click to see it larger!  The top ninja's feet are white.

And finally a view of Bern from on top of a high hill.  There was a rose garden up there that I walked to one day.

We really liked the city, but love the rural area much better!  On to Germany!!