Munich, Fussen - and our first snow :-)

What a pain, Greg and I typed up a long blog entry after our day in Munich and obviously I didn't hit "post", because it's not here.  So I'll have to start again!!  When I wrote last we'd had a day in Nuremberg, back at the house Aaron and Antonia whipped up a magnificent Bavarian feast - roast pork, home made dumplings and bread sauce.  Andrea and Karl came and it turned out Andrea had been busy too, she had a whole crispy roast duck, plum sauce, roast goose legs, red cabbage, home made sauerkraut (the tastiest I've ever had) and to top it off, red wine puddings.  (Greg wants me to note that we've eaten sauerkraut all over Europe, as a comparison!) We were full to the brim, it was delicious.  A lovely way to celebrate our time in the Bavarian Outback (as Karl assured us it was!).
The next day we took the train into Munich.  We arrived into bright sunshine and a blue sky.  Wow, the sun felt sooo good.  I can understand why Europeans long for summer and holiday in tropical locations.  We kept switching to the sunny side of the road to enjoy the warmth of the winter sun.  We watched the Glockenspiel do it's thing, but I didn't get any photos - I was busy snapping away but didn't see the flashing message: "no card".  Whoops, I'd left it in the computer when I downloaded my last lot of photos!  Liam was busy taking a video of it on the little camera.  We walked to the New Museum which had four Van Goghs, Liam got to have his photo taken with a second "Sunflowers" plus other lovely art works.  The audio was good too.  We retraced our steps back into Marienplatz (home of the Glockenspiel) so I could re-take all the photos I thought I'd taken on the way there!  Then we went to the Deutsches Museum, a technological museum showcasing human achievements, particularly German achievements.  Liam and Bella really enjoyed it. Back on the train to Schwandorf to find we had a 30 Euro parking ticket.  We hadn't been able to find a park at the train station, and drove all around to find one, but could only buy a ticket for two hours.  Schwandorf seriously need to do something about their parking options!  Another small drama was when we arrived in Munich when Greg announced he'd been pick pocketed.  We couldn't believe it!  Luckily Bella reminded him he'd shoved it down his jocks for safe keeping, and we were all relieved to discover it was indeed still there!!
Yesterday we drove from Haselbach to Fussen.  The first two hours were spent in the worst fog ever.  We could hardly see a thing!  Half an hour from Fussen, the fog started to lift - and we hit roadworks.  We had no idea where to go, and a kindly Bavarian going the opposite direction took pity on us and led us on an alternative route - we thanked him profusely and gave him our card, to stay with us if he ever comes to Australia - the kindness of strangers.  Soon after he left us (heading in the right direction!) we came across such beautiful snow capped mountain views that Greg pulled over and insisted I jump out in the cold and get a decent photo!! Well OK then.  I'm so obedient :-)
Fussen was so beautiful.  Next to a lovely lake, with the two schlosses in the

snow capped mountains across the lake - Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles.  Our hostel room had a mountain view, so I quickly took a photo (just as well as it was foggy again this morning!) and we headed up to Neuschwanstein. Its said to be a 45 minute walk but it's really about 20 minutes, but reasonably steep.  You certainly warm up as you climb, but when we took off our coats we could feel the sweat freezing - very different to Darwin!

While waiting for our tour time slot Greg, Liam and I followed a few others up behind the closed off path to the Marien bridge (naughty, I know) to get photos of Neuschwanstein from the other side.  Now,THAT was a steep climb - very good for your quads Greg says!  But worth it for the views, and Liam was able to access some icy snow and throw snowballs at his father, who promptly started throwing them back (it doesn't take much to entertain boys!).  The path has of course been closed because of the snow and ice, but we made the trip safely!!
Today the kids and I went to Hohenschwangau, the castle Ludwig grew up in, that is adjacent to Neuschwanstein.  Not as big or spectacular, but still very interesting, especially if you love castles as much as Liam and I do!  Bella doesn't mind them either.  To make it even more special it was snowing when we got out of the car - our first snow for this trip!  The only downside is that you can't take photos in either castle, but we got lots of the exterior!!
Now we are in Salzburg.  Bella, Liam and I are looking forward to the Sound of Music Tour tomorrow!!