Travel Diary
May 1997

page 1

Tunnel Vision

Our early departure from Gimmelwald gave us a jump start on the other tourists. Our goal was Appenzell in Northeast Switzerland. We drove through Zurich and St. Gallen. By noon we were near the exit for Appenzell, but not wanting to stop so early we decided to head to Reutte, Austria.

In designing roads in Switzerland, engineers basically had three options. Design roads that go around mountains, roads that go over mountains, or third, roads that go under mountains. I think they chose to go under mountains whenever possible due to the number of tunnels we encountered. Driving through tunnels every 20 miles or so keeps the trip interesting and it even breaks up the monotony of hair-raising turns, 1000-foot cliffs, dare-devil hang gliders and rushing mountain streams that are associated with a routine drive across Switzerland.

The Accidental Tourist

We made it into Reutte in the early evening. With a population of only 5000, Reutte is quiet and pretty uneventful. We stayed here because it is only a half-hour drive across the German border into Bavaria, making it quite accessible to play tourists for the day. But, most importantly, a stay in the recently refurbished Jugendgastehaus Graben will provide us with great, economical accommodations for the evening and enable old dudes like me a chance to bypass the under 27 age restrictions found in all hostels of Bavaria.

Frau Reyman, who runs the hostel, was very charming and did not mind that five Americans stayed up past midnight talking in her dining hall.

We made fast friends with the Boutte's, a couple from San Francisco. His family is from Louisiana so by law we had to accept him into our club. Their friend Tonya was along for the ride and the five of us exchanged travel stories and orange Fantas that evening.

Their trip was similar to ours except they were going in a different direction. Since we met at the halfway point in our travels, we were able to share our experiences and talk about what each of us would encounter along the way. We heeded their advice about lodging in Munich and they decided to make reservations with Denise at the Chalet Fontana in Murren.

The next morning we ventured together to the fairy-tale castle Neuschwanstein, the fantasy castle of Bavaria's King Ludwig II. We stood in line with hundreds of other tourists from around the world and marveled at this 100-year-old castle. To give you an idea about the magnificence of this structure, keep in mind Cinderella's castle at Disney is patterned after it.

Down below Neuschwanstein is Hohenschwangua Castle, Ludwig's boyhood home. By car, take the 30-minute ride over to Linderhof Castle, the other cozy home of Mad King Ludwig. The gorgeous fountains and Italian-style gardens offer a glimpse into royal life 100 years ago. It is great to see the castles, but get there early to avoid large crowds and long lines. By early afternoon we were ready to get back on the open road.

"Gutten Appetit"

This is a great place to talk more about the food we enjoyed on our trip. After leaving the castle area, we stopped in Peiting and enjoyed excellent wiener schnitzel, pommes frites, kopfsalat, sauerkraut, and das brot. (breaded veal cutlet, French-fried potatoes, Boston lettuce salad, pickled cabbage and bread)

Our waitress thought we were crazy when we asked if we could sit outside because of the surprisingly cool temperatures, but we preferred the blue skies, bright sunshine and gentle breeze over the stuffy, smoke-filled café.

We made the mistake of ordering water and forgetting to say "no gas." One sip and my taste buds, not to mention my stomach were poised for a minor revolt.

After lunch we headed toward Munich and to a faster pace. Relatively traffic free lanes on the autobahn and we made great time. During our travels, I enjoyed the fresh bread and fresh green salads the most. Salads are freshly prepared with tender lettuce and vine-ripened tomatoes. I am not a big tomato eater and Adam is so he ate mine and we both benefited.

Although I always try to eat as many native dishes as possible when traveling abroad, I must admit it is convenient and okay to eat at the local McDonald's from time to time. Although more expensive than their American brothers and sisters, McDonald's was in most cases a better value in the bigger cities of Frankfurt and Munich. I ventured out and tried the Shanghai Shrimp served at the Mickey D's in the Frankfurt train station. Count on their value meals to run close to $7.00.

Most large roadside gas stations provide a variety of pre-made sandwiches, chips, bottled drinks and novelty ice creams. We enjoyed several such meals, all of which were very good and reasonably priced.

Most restaurants provide English menus and only once or twice did we encounter a waiter or waitress who did not speak English. Most eating establishments do not provided separate dining areas for smoking and non-smoking.

Bright Lights And The Big City

Upon leaving Bavaria, we headed toward Munich to brave the big city. Munich offers a lot of interesting museums, gardens, parks, festivals and of course all the modern conveniences you would expect in a big city.

Frankfurt offers similar experiences, but is less tourist-oriented and thrives as a financial and commercial center. Most travelers fly into Frankfurt and immediately head out of the city. Frankfurt is a hub for train and air travel and in my opinion best used as a place to change directions or mode of travel. It's very busy and expensive. It is though, a beautiful, big city with lots of skyscrapers, automobiles and traffic.

In both cities, you give up on the idea of finding a room for under $25. A good, clean and safe room that is. Our accommodations were fair and near the heart of the city. Once we parked the car and found a place to sleep, we were able to walk around and honestly, I felt very safe. In Munich, I found a nice sidewalk café with plenty of tables so I stayed out late and visited with a group of college students from Penn State and drank Coca-Cola's and watched people.

The key is to have a good city map in hand before driving into the city. Make reservations ahead of time and make sure the hotel has its own parking garage. Our hotel in Munich had underground parking, a great breakfast and a friendly staff who supplied us with maps and good directions to city landmarks.

Take time out to visit the train station in Frankfurt. It's a constant flow of people and trains at all hours of the day and night and is complete with several American fast food joints, convenience stores, bookstores, banks, and of course trains, trains and more trains. This place is pretty wild.

Word of advice. Be careful because people are moving so quickly and it is easy to be knocked down or stepped upon. I made the mistake of leaving a phone booth early one morning without looking for on-coming traffic and I was met literally head-on by a gang of commuters. With bent glasses and an embarrassed look on my face, I staggered out of the way and headed back to the hotel.

Salzburg And The Sound Of Music

We stayed in Salzburg and the surrounding area for two days. Salzburg, Mozart's hometown and the home of The Sound of Music is charming, extremely touristy, but a definite stop on your tour. We stayed in a Zimmer north of the old city and walked along the Salzach River through quite neighborhoods back to our room after a day of sightseeing. Salzburg is slow and Baroque. Enjoy walking the cobblestone streets and listening to street musicians. Mozart is of course king and his likeness is plastered on everything a tourist would want to purchase.

Some points of interest in Salzburg include: Mozart's birthplace, probably the most popular sight in town; the Mozart museum; the Hohensalzburg Fortress, built on a rock 400 feet above the Salzach River; The Sound of Music Tour.

For fans of this classic musical take this tour and visit sights you will recognize from the movie. You visit the stately home, gazebo and the wedding church. I took the tour on a large bus and access was limited to some of the sites, but our friends from California highly recommended Bob's Tours because the group is smaller and the van gets you into all the sights quickly and easily.

A short drive from Salzburg is Salzkammergut Lake District and Hallstatt. This area is a quiet land of glassy lakes, forested mountains and quaint villages. There are endless hiking, boating and spelunking opportunities.

Time was running short for us so we did not make it to Vienna. We managed to make a day trip to Mauthausen, a German concentration camp near Linz.

Death, Fear, Terror, Pain, A Place Of Warning... Mauthausen

Today, I cried.
I stepped past the entrance gate and found myself staring into the faces of 195,000 innocent people. Naked and abused shells of men and women with hollow eyes without hope confronted me. Bordered by wooden huts on the left and wooden and stone buildings on the right, I walked past painful scars, empty stares, sobbing mothers, innocence lost in a smallchild.

Today, I cried.
I hear the crunch of snow behind me. His boots are heavy and the sound is frightening. The emaciated body crumbles to the ground. A last gasp and he is gone. Blood mixes with the snow. I hear the fading crunch of snow behind me. His boots are heavy and the sound is frightening.

Today, I cried.
A shot rings out. I see dark smoke rising from the smokestack near the sick quarters. It's a peculiar smell, but slowly the smoke fades. Another shot is fired. The sky becomes dark again.

Today, I cried.
I stumble from the approach road and begin my ascent on the death steps leading into the quarry. Falling rocks greet each step. Stone and flesh meet, the latter loses. Someone else takes his place in line.

Today, I cried.
A few weeks after the occupation of Austria by German troops, high-ranking German SS and police officers visited the Mauthausen quarries near the Danube River and found them to be a suitable location for a concentration camp. On August 8, 1938, prisoners from the Dachau concentration camp were transferred to the Wiener Graben quarry and construction of the Mauthausen concentration camp was begun.

Between August 8, 1938, and liberation on May 5, 1945, some 195,000 persons of both sexes were imprisoned at Mauthausen and its sub-camps, and more than 105,000 were killed there or perished as a result of the torments of camp life.

Classic Germany...Rothenburg

We left Austria and headed back into Germany and set our sites on Rothenburg. During the Middle Ages, Rothenburg was Germany's second largest free imperial city, boasting a population of 6,000. Today it's her best-preserved medieval walled town, offering charming walks on cobblestone roads, tons of shopping and plenty of small inns and pensions offering clean rooms to lay your head after a day of siteseeing.

We chose Gasthaus Zum Schmolzer to lay our heads for the evening. This small pension offered great meals and great rooms. The pension was run by a cheery little man with a plump face and a constant smile and his wife, although she mostly stayed in the kitchen preparing hearty meals both for breakfast and for dinner.

We arrived fairly early in the afternoon which gave us plenty of time for walking around the old walls, taking pictures of meticulously manicured gardens and a visit to the Medieval Crime Museum.

This museum is one of the most important historical law museum of Germany and collects antique objects relating to the law of the 12th and 19th century from the European area. These people took their punishment serious. We saw it all. The rack, the iron maiden, the whips, the stockades and various instruments used to chop off and remove various body parts, most often, the head.

Just to be sure none of these instruments were still being used today, we stayed out of trouble in Rothenburg. I came to complete stops at stop signs and drove the speed limit. Seriously, this is worth a visit.

We spent Saturday night in Rothenburg and during the afternoon while walking in the city, a local wedding was taking place. A dozen cars zoomed by with their lights flashing and horns honking announcing to the town the marriage of a young couple. For 30 minutes horns could be heard in various parts of the city as the entourage made its way from the church to the reception hall.

That evening we experienced first-hand why so many Europeans view Americans as loud and arrogant. In the small dining room at the pension, we tried to enjoy our dinner but our conversation was drowned out by two nerds from the U.S. letting everyone in on their conversation. It might not have been so bad if their conversation would not have been boring and awfully pretentious. Despite the stares and snickering from other patrons, these two "losers" continued their disregard for other human life and kept on talking. After eating, I took the owner aside and told him not all Americans were the same as these two idiots and I gave him permission to send those two "Yankees" to the stockades.

The next morning we headed north on the Romantic Road toward Frankfurt. This is an incredibly beautiful drive, especially early in the morning. We drove through miles of rich farmland and quaint villages in the heart of Germany's medieval heartland. We passed numerous bikers enjoying Sunday strolls in the country and dreamed about taking the summer off to bike across Europe ourselves.

Castle Heaven And The Rhine River

On our last full day, we ventured north past Frankfurt up the Rhine River to Koblenz and then headed south into the Mosel Valleys and into a world of storybook images and robber-baron castles. As we followed the river, we stopped to take pictures of the castles and the hundreds of barges and cruise ships threading their way up and down the Rhine.

It was simply amazing to see so many ancient castles in one area. What's more amazing is the fact there were 300 independent little countries in medieval Germany with each wanting to levy tolls on passing visitors. On the river, with the help of chains and a tower, rulers would stop every ship and get a toll.

At St. Goar we crossed the river via the ferry and enjoyed a scenic ride between the barges and cruise ships. It was a beautiful day to be in the car and we enjoyed the wonderful sites. We stopped in Bacharach and did some shopping. Believe it or not, but we found the best deal on Swiss Army knives here in Bacharach.

We headed toward Frankfurt, keeping our eyes peeled on the small towns along the way hoping to find lodging away from the city, but close enough to the airport so we would not have to drive very far prior to catching our plane. We stayed in Mainz in a small Zimmer that sat above a gourmet coffee shop.

We found this place by accident. We found a hotel in a guidebook and as we were driving to find it, we came across the coffee shop and Zimmer. The manager did not speak English, but Isabella, a high school student working the counter did speak English and she interpreted our conversation and helped us secure a room. Later, her boyfriend Peter stopped by and they directed us to the best places in town to eat. We chose Isabella's favorite pizza place and were not disappointed in the huge Italian salad and vegetarian pizza.

This pizza had the most fresh ingredients I had ever seen. It was stuffed with mushrooms, onions, green peppers, black olives, green olives, spinach, tons of cheese and a zesty sauce. We walked back to our room through a very nice neighborhood filled with mini-mansions and children playing soccer in the street. We rested well that evening and were in the car heading for the airport by 6:30 a.m. the next day.

Check-in at the airport and the returning of the rental car were painless and quick, so we searched the airport for fun things to do and finished our shopping.

Back Home, Recovery, Planning For The Next Trip

The trip actually caught up with me two days after returning home. I was exhausted. Overall, we had driven 3000 km (1800 miles), visited three countries, slept an average of 6 hours a night and walked countless miles through castles, big cities and mountain trails. It was a great trip that was both educational and fun. We made a few mistakes, but we are better prepared for the next trip.