Climbing inside of one of the waterfalls...
We did one of the more challenging hikes straight up the mountain to another village called Muren. From the top the view of the Alps was unbeatable.
Showing posts with label Backpacking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Backpacking. Show all posts
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland - Sept 6, 2009
This was by far the best day trip we did. Lauterbrunnen is an absolutely breath-taking village about 12kms out of Interlaken. We had to take a private train line (not covered by our EURail passes), but they gave us a 25% discount. It was only a 20 min train ride so it was cheap anyways. This is definitely heaven on Earth... It is the most beautiful stop we have made so far. The small village has a ton of Swiss charm (if you ignore the swarms of tourists). There are several massive waterfalls right in the village.
Climbing inside of one of the waterfalls...
We did one of the more challenging hikes straight up the mountain to another village called Muren. From the top the view of the Alps was unbeatable.
Climbing inside of one of the waterfalls...
We did one of the more challenging hikes straight up the mountain to another village called Muren. From the top the view of the Alps was unbeatable.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Fussen, Germany - Aug 19, 2009
On Wednesday we made a day trip to Fussen to visit the palaces. The town is about 2 and half hours out of Munich. The most famous sight is Neuschwanstein Castle. It is one of the most tourist visited castles in the world. This is actually the palace that Disney used as a model when creating Sleeping Beauty's Castle (the one in the theme parks). The "Mad" King Ludwig built the castle. It was pretty extravegant! It took over 17 years to build but he only lived it in for 157 days before he mysteriously died. His body was found in the river and it was never determined whether he fell, committed suicide or was murdered.
We don't have any pictures of the inside of the castle because photos were banned.
We also visited the castle down the road. It was his parents' castle, and the one that he grew up in. We didn't go inside this castle (both cost $15 each to go in), but it was still very beautiful from the outside.
The nearby Alpsee Lake:
We don't have any pictures of the inside of the castle because photos were banned.
We also visited the castle down the road. It was his parents' castle, and the one that he grew up in. We didn't go inside this castle (both cost $15 each to go in), but it was still very beautiful from the outside.
The nearby Alpsee Lake:
Friday, August 14, 2009
Frankfurt, Germany - Aug 14 - 15, 2009
Before we left Essen, Carolina and Edgar did some laundry (in the microwave)... So much for Jesse's built in napkins (socks)...
We arrived in Frankfurt on Friday afternoon. Frankfurt is a major business and transportation hub for Germany. It is home to the second busiest airport in Europe (Heathrow in London is 1st). It has a bustling financial district as well as a vibrant old city centre. We were lucky enough to get a good deal on a hotel right along the Rhine river. Our room overlooked the river and had a fantastic view of the Westhafen Tower.
Friday evening we walked along the river and explored a bit of the old city.
We spent the entire Saturday day walking around the core of the city. The tourist information centre gave us a 3 hour walking tour route map that led us along all the major sights. It had explanations for each location. Some of the highlights were the Dom (Cathedral), the old city hall and the central market area. Carolina absolutely loved the traditionally styled old German Buildings in the plaza. We also checked out the birthplace of Goethe.
We spent a couple hours visiting the museum of communication. We REALLY enjoyed this one. Probably because we are both a bit nerdy (Jesse much more than Caro of course). The museum walked through the evolution of communication tools. It started out with old letters and stamps dating back to the 1500s and progressed through to modern postal services. Then it moved through the invention of the telegraph, radio, the telephone, the television, the computer and finally the internet. Jesse was walking down memory lane with the old computers. Oregon Trail!!
Look Dad! I found your "Toaster" Cell Phone in the museum!!!
Carolina making a wish with an orange peel on her head:
We arrived in Frankfurt on Friday afternoon. Frankfurt is a major business and transportation hub for Germany. It is home to the second busiest airport in Europe (Heathrow in London is 1st). It has a bustling financial district as well as a vibrant old city centre. We were lucky enough to get a good deal on a hotel right along the Rhine river. Our room overlooked the river and had a fantastic view of the Westhafen Tower.
Friday evening we walked along the river and explored a bit of the old city.
We spent the entire Saturday day walking around the core of the city. The tourist information centre gave us a 3 hour walking tour route map that led us along all the major sights. It had explanations for each location. Some of the highlights were the Dom (Cathedral), the old city hall and the central market area. Carolina absolutely loved the traditionally styled old German Buildings in the plaza. We also checked out the birthplace of Goethe.
We spent a couple hours visiting the museum of communication. We REALLY enjoyed this one. Probably because we are both a bit nerdy (Jesse much more than Caro of course). The museum walked through the evolution of communication tools. It started out with old letters and stamps dating back to the 1500s and progressed through to modern postal services. Then it moved through the invention of the telegraph, radio, the telephone, the television, the computer and finally the internet. Jesse was walking down memory lane with the old computers. Oregon Trail!!
Look Dad! I found your "Toaster" Cell Phone in the museum!!!
Carolina making a wish with an orange peel on her head:
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Cologne, Germany - Aug 13, 2009
On Friday we went to Koln (Cologne) for the day. It is about a 1 hour train ride from Essen. This is definitely the highlight of Germany so far. What an amazing city! As soon as we stepped off the train we were greeted by the Dom (Cathedral). This is the largest cathedral in Germany. It is MASSIVE! I had to back up a couple blocks away from it to fit it all in the shot! We spent the morning walking along the downtown area, stopping to take pictures of the old buildings and churches.
Just as our day was getting started, disaster struck and our camera stopped working!! It had been giving us problems since Mexico and it finally decided to stop working. We continued checking out the sights without it. We were pretty pissed off at the camera, and then it started to rain... Luckily it didn't last long. The sun broke through and it turned into a beautiful afternoon.
Edgar had to write an exam in the morning, but when he was finished he met up with us. He was kind enough to head back to his apartment and grab his camera before joining us, so we were able to continue taking pictures.
We checked out an old market. The area was packed with great architecture, old churches, and a ton of restaurants and pubs. We made our way along the cobblestone roads down to the river. There is a Chocolate factory and museum along the river, but it was already closed for the day when we got there.
Since we were in Germany, of course we had to have some sausage!
Cologne is famous for a type of beer that is brewed throughout the city, called Kolsch. We had to stop for a glass! Edgar guided us to a world famous pub. The beer was pretty tasty, but we didn't have time to sit around drinking!
After exploring the old town market, we walked through the new market. It was full of shops similar to Konig Sallee in Dusseldorf. It was like a giant outdoor shopping mall. The best shop was definitely, hands down, without a doubt, the Lego Store!!! They had every lego set currently offered. Plus you could buy retro lego men and sets from the 70s/80s/90s. They also have pick-a-brick areas where you just fill a container with whatever parts you want and pay a flat fee like $15 per container. This leads me to some great news! We're going to Legoland!!!! It is about 45 minutes away from Munich, so Carolina agreed to take me while we are there! There is a very good chance that I will blow my entire trip's budget on lego, catch a cheap flight home and live in my parents basement building castles for the rest of the summer. If the blog suddenly stops, you'll know why...
Just as our day was getting started, disaster struck and our camera stopped working!! It had been giving us problems since Mexico and it finally decided to stop working. We continued checking out the sights without it. We were pretty pissed off at the camera, and then it started to rain... Luckily it didn't last long. The sun broke through and it turned into a beautiful afternoon.
Edgar had to write an exam in the morning, but when he was finished he met up with us. He was kind enough to head back to his apartment and grab his camera before joining us, so we were able to continue taking pictures.
We checked out an old market. The area was packed with great architecture, old churches, and a ton of restaurants and pubs. We made our way along the cobblestone roads down to the river. There is a Chocolate factory and museum along the river, but it was already closed for the day when we got there.
Since we were in Germany, of course we had to have some sausage!
Cologne is famous for a type of beer that is brewed throughout the city, called Kolsch. We had to stop for a glass! Edgar guided us to a world famous pub. The beer was pretty tasty, but we didn't have time to sit around drinking!
After exploring the old town market, we walked through the new market. It was full of shops similar to Konig Sallee in Dusseldorf. It was like a giant outdoor shopping mall. The best shop was definitely, hands down, without a doubt, the Lego Store!!! They had every lego set currently offered. Plus you could buy retro lego men and sets from the 70s/80s/90s. They also have pick-a-brick areas where you just fill a container with whatever parts you want and pay a flat fee like $15 per container. This leads me to some great news! We're going to Legoland!!!! It is about 45 minutes away from Munich, so Carolina agreed to take me while we are there! There is a very good chance that I will blow my entire trip's budget on lego, catch a cheap flight home and live in my parents basement building castles for the rest of the summer. If the blog suddenly stops, you'll know why...
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