Where I've Ben: Germany

Sunday, August 09, 2026

Austria-Germany 2026 - Munich

On the way to Munich, we had lunch at Soul of Espresso (archive.org) in Chiemsee, Germany. This is on Lake Chiemsee. On Herrenchiemsee Island in the lake is Neues Schloss Herrenchiemsee (archive.org) which was built by King Ludwig II (more on him later). You have to take a ferry to get there so we didn't visit.

We stayed at the Platzl Hotel (archive.org). The hotel is very nice but seems to be a consolidation of several buildings. Even the bellman got lost going between our rooms.

One block away from our hotel was what could have passed for Bourbon Street - beer halls, gelato stands, sidewalk restaurants. We played it safe and ate at the Hard Rock Cafe (archive.org).

Saturday we walked the center city. We watched the Glockenspiel (archive.org) in Marienplatz. You need to be there about 10 minutes before the presentation at 11:00 or 12:00.

Nearby is the Viktualienmarkt (archive.org). This is a sprawling 200-year-old market with over 100 stalls selling goods from fruit to meat and flowers.

Around the corner is St. Peter's Church (archive.org). We were particularly fascinated with the jeweled skeleton of St. Mundita (archive.org), the patron saint of spinsters.

Our last day of sightseeing was a drive to Hohenschwangau Castle (archive.org) and Neuschwanstein Castle (archive.org). I don't think we could have made it without our great tour guide. Remember the King Ludwig II I mentioned earlier? He also built these 2 castles. The Neuschwanstein Castle is often described as the inspiration for the Disney castles (archive.org).

We had a long night returning the Sixt Ford Tourneo in a rain storm. It took visiting 3 locations and an Uber ride back to the hotel.

Monday we headed to the Munich airport where we again had to negotiate the EES system. The confusion in Schiphol caught up with us. One of us was asked "Where did you enter Europe?" When we explained that the Schiphol border control officer had told them they were OK, the Munich officer said "Well, he didn't do his job." We were finally allowed to pass and board our flight to Atlanta.

Global Entry continues to amaze me. With a 767-400 dumping 238 passengers into Immigration, I panicked when I realized that there was only 1 Global Entry kiosk. However, you just had to walk by the kiosk. It even recognized and approved 2 of us at the same time. Now, if we could only get Global Entry for our luggage!

While it was great to get back to the land of air conditioning and sweet tea, we had an amazing trip and made lifetime memories.

Sunday, July 19, 2026

Austria-Germany 2026

My daughter put together this itinerary. Her goal was to experience "The Sound of Music", Bavarian castles, World War II history, and, oh, there happened to be a Formula 1 race in Austria that weekend!

The route was Vienna, Salzburg, and then Munich. Vienna isn't an easy place to get to from Memphis. It took us 3 legs - Memphis to Detroit, Detroit to Amsterdam, and Amsterdam to Vienna. Total travel time was 26 hours.

I had spent an afternoon in Vienna in 2006 so we at least had some idea of what to see. These included Schönbrunn Palace, St. Stephen’s Cathedral, Haus des Meeres, Museum der Illusionen, Spanish Riding School, and Mauthausen concentration camp on the way to Salzburg.

In Vienna, we stayed at the Marriott Bonvoy which was the only building in the ENTIRE trip that had an air conditioned public area, i.e. the lobby. The temperature in Vienna hovered around (sometimes above) 100°.

The Formula 1 race was in Spielberg, just over a 2 hour drive with no traffic. Three of us helicoptered to the race and the others visited museums and horses in Vienna.

We rented an 8 passenger van and headed out to Salzburg, about a 3 hour drive. We found a McDonald's on the way for a eagerly anticipated hamburger.

On the way to Salzburg, we visited the Mauthausen Concentration Camp.

In Salzburg, we stayed at the Hotel Sacher. The rooms were great and the service even better. Our rooms overlooked the Salzach River.

Salzburg was the general area where "The Sound of Music" was set. We found that the filming locations were not always as they were represented in the film which is probably typical. Still, we got to see many of the iconic sights and pose at most of them.

Salzburg is much smaller than Vienna and has a beautiful Old Town just across the river. The Old Town is full of restaurants, shops, and historic buildings.

The Berchtesgaden Salt Mine is just outside of Salzburg.

We then tried to visit the Eagle's Nest but it was pouring down rain which would have impaired the view.

The next day we drove to Hallstatt. Someone compared it to Eze without the stairs.

Our next leg was to drive to Munich. You knew you were in Germany when the speed limit signs disappeared from the Autobahn.

In Munich, we stayed in the Platzl Hotel in the central city. One block away was what could have passed for Bourbon Street - beer halls, gelato stands, sidewalk restaurants.

We hit several sights in central Munich including the Glockenspiel, the Viktualienmarkt, and St. Peter's Church.

Our last day of sightseeing was a drive to Hohenschwangau Castle and Neuschwanstein Castle. I don't think we could have made it without our great tour guide.

After an exciting night of returning the van, we turned in for a good night's sleep before the long journey home. At least on the return leg, we only had one stop in Atlanta after a 10 hour flight from Munich.