12 August – Just a short drive from the Wolfgangssee, past Salzburg to Berchtesgaden crossing the border into Germany. There is a legend that the angels got a fright when god growled at them for taking so long to distribute the beauty spots around the world and they dropped them all in this area. I think they probably dropped a few in NZ first! It is a beautiful valley with the spectacular Berchtesgaden Alps on all sides. We rode our bikes along a great cycleway beside the river, past Berchtesgaden village and thru to the emerald green lake Konigssee. The area was packed with tourists. We caught a small electric ferry (no power boats) down the lake to the little St Batholoma church. Beautiful but very touristy. It started to drizzle while we were there and everyone suddenly wanted to return so we had to wait in a huge queue for a ferry. We stopped in Berchtesgaden village on the way home. Very cute.

13 August – It rained in the night and the cloud was down over the mountains. It did not look good for a visit to Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest, built for his 50th birthday by Martin Bormann in 1937. At lunch time the skies cleared a bit so we rode to town and caught the local bus up the hill where the next bus took us up a private road (spectacular) to the car park below the Eagle’s Nest. The last 124m was in an ornate brass lift which ended in the building. It was easy to imagine the old Mercedes Benz cars dropping off Hitler and his officers and them going up the lift. Unfortunately the building is now a restaurant so there is no admission. We walked around the building and climbed the last few 100m up to summit of the Kehlstein at 1837m. The views were great. The building itself was a bit disappointing however. We had decided to walk down from the summit to the local bus stop about 6 kms. The first 4 kms were on a great track but the last part we had to follow the road. We were a bit leg weary when we got back to our camp.

14 August – A beautiful clear day and stunning drive thru the mountains and villages to Innsbruck. We crossed the border back into Austria. The camp is 7 kms from the city with views of the mountains all around. It is very flash with a man-made swimming lake and a man on a Segway to show you to your site, but expensive! We caught the free bus into the city which has hosted 2 Winter Olympics (easy to see why) and enjoyed the old town with some unusual buildings. We sat and had a beer at a café watching the sights go by. Many people actually wear traditional Austrian costumes. It’s like they are all going to a fancy dress party. The Inn River flows thru the town (hardly a brook) looking like a typical glacier fed river. (grey/green) The whole city is dominated by the towering mountains in every direction. We are still a bit stiff and sore after our down hill hike yesterday.

15 August – Another great drive thru alpine mountains and villages to Fussen. We are back in Germany and this is the starting point for the Romantic Road which we will follow for a bit. We are in a camp about 4 kms out of the village on the shores of a lake. The area is dominated by two castles built by King Ludwig II. We biked to the most spectacular one, the Neuschwanstein Castle. It was built in 1869 and is a fairy tale theme. The Walt Disney Castle is based on this one. As usual there were heaps of tourists and we joined them to walk around the castle. We did not queue up to go inside as it is only partially completed. We walked up the hill behind the castle for a view from a bridge. This bridge crosses a water fall 100m below. It was packed with tourists also there for the view. We both got a bit nervous as it just seemed to be too many people on the bridge. After a quick photo we got off. Perhaps they have not heard of Cave Creek here! We biked back to Fussen. Halfway there the skies opened and it teemed. We were soaked to the skin despite our parkas. Unfortunately we got lost going back to the camp which was a bit miserable. We have never biked in such heavy rain!

16 August – We continued up the Romantic Road thru pleasant farming country. After a shop up we turned right (off the Romantic Road) towards Munich and stopped about 30 kms outside the city at a nice camp with another lake. After lunch we enjoyed a swim in the lake and a lie in the sun. We rode to the bahnhof (railway station) to investigate our visit to Munich tomorrow.

17 August – After a relaxing morning we had an early lunch and rode the short distance to the bahnhof and after some help from a kind lady bought a day partner pass for the S Bahn to Munich. (3/4 hours). We eventually found the tourist information in the huge central railway station and set off into the city. The whole centre is pedestrian only with very wide streets, shops on each side and cafes and bars down the centre. We climbed the St Peter’s Cathedral tower for a great view of the city, which is flat. The city was busy but as the streets were so wide it did not seem crowded. We passed the town hall with its famous clock and eventually found the Hofbrauhaus (the famous beer hall) and felt obliged to have a beer. We sat with a local who told us of the beer hall and its history. As it was still early, and the band was having its 2 hour break (it plays from 11pm until 4 pm and then from 6 pm until??) we walked to the English Gardens, a huge park bigger than Central Park, in NY. Hundreds of people were sun bathing and swimming in the very swift river that follows thru it. We passed the Chinese Tower with a Bavarian band playing for a huge crowd in the beer garden. Boy, do these Munich citizens know how to drink! We headed back to the Hofbrauhaus and found a table (they are actually long benches which you share. Part of the charm.) The band started and we got our beers. Luckily it was before 6 pm so Val could have a ½ litre stein. After 6pm they only serve 1 litres! The music was “um-pa-pa” Bavarian stuff with everyone standing and drinking for an Ein Prosit every 20 minutes. We had a typical Bavarian meal, roast pork and dumplings and pickled pork knuckle. The waitresses are huge frauleins in traditional costumes. Great muscles from carrying the huge steins! We retraced our steps to the Bahnhof (railway station) and caught a train labelled back to our town. Two stops from the town the driver made an announcement (in German naturally) and we stopped. The train was almost empty so we sat waiting to continue. The next thing the lights go out and the doors lock. We pushed an emergency button and the lights came back on and the doors unlocked. The driver spoke no English but signalled that we should wait and eventually a train would come and take us the rest of the trip. Fortunately he was right and we were reunited with our bikes for a ride home in the dark.

18 August – We rejoined the Romantic Road. It has been a bit disappointing as it is poorly signed. We passed thru the large town/city of Augsburg before ended up on the motorway to our camp near Donauworth, where the Danube River follows thru. After lunch and a rest we cycled the 6 kms to the town on a cycleway thru beautiful farming country with fields of corn, turnips, chives and parsley. The town was great with 2 beautiful churches. The Holy Cross Monastery had some fantastic frescoes. After an ice-cream in the square we returned to our camp. We will follow the Danube east for a couple of days now.

19 August – We headed east along the Danube River. It very quickly changed into a wide navigatable waterway. We have not had internet for the last few days so we stopped at a McDonalds to clear our emails. We are at a great camp on the banks of the Naab River, a tributary of the Danube. We have a great site 3m from the river. The camp game for young and old is to walk up stream and float down the slow flowing river to your site. The water was cool but very enjoyable. There are many canoes and kayaks on the river. Some thunder and rain. It is cool at night and damp in the morning.

20 August – After washing, we biked 28 kms (return) up the Naab River along a great cycleway passed some beautiful little villages. Every village, regardless of its size, has a spectacular church, most with stunning interiors and frescoes. There were lots of people enjoying the cycleway or on the river. Back to the camp for a late lunch and some more “floating down the river”. There plenty of signs of fish in the river but no one fishing seriously.