Around the world in 30 days - Leg 3 - Germany

Day 19 - Frankfurt - Munich

Lufthansa promptly touched down Frankfurt main at 9 AM. It was a long night, boarding at 2 AM and flying west. Clearing immigration at Frankfurt was not very pleasant but wasn't terrible either. We were heading to Munich and has a reservation on ICE. I had given comfortable amount of time for connection. With out luggage and 2 cranky kids, I did not want to rush and miss the train. It was a bit of a task to navigate from the terminal to the train station. With rolling luggage it was a relatively easy walk, but I must admit, with the wash room stops and stops at coffee shops we did get lost sometimes. 

Inside German ICE	View from ICE

I love trains and wanted to be on the third generation ICE. I have rode on the Thalys and TGV, couldn't wait to experience ICE. The ride from Frankfurt to Munich was amazing. It was on a hily terrain so I didnt quite feel the speed like I felt on Thalys. The scenery was beautiful.

We arrived in Munich at around 5pm. Tired and jet lagged. We stayed at Four Points Sheraton, Munich central. The room had a stove, microwave and sink. A quick trip to Aldy's and we got eggs, bread and Milk.More details about Europe stopover vacation to India.

Day 20 - Munich

Waking up was so hard with the jet lag and all. So took it easy on the day at Munich. My plan was to go to Andechs monastery for some hearty beer. But we ended up walking a lot to the Octoberfest gardens, lunch and beet at Munich central, the city Rathaus with the musical clock. It was wonderful sunny day. I also bought a Bayern Bavarian ticket to travel to Salzburg the nest morning.One of the reasons I picked Munich (Bavarian region) was the Bayern Bavarian ticket. I have to tell you this was the best value and I got what I wanted from Europe, Bavarian alps, lush country side, trains, medieval castles, cute churches, gushing rivers powered from glacier melts. Was just like from the scenes of DDLJ.

Day 21 - Salzburg

Today we will add another country to our countries visited list, Austria. It was amazing that with a 6.75 euro train ticket took us to Austria. The ride to Salzburg was very picturesque. The onion dome churches with the mighty Bavarian alps in the background is a photographers dreams. We wasted no time in Salzburg. We watched Sound of Music and wanted to cover most of the places. First stop to Mirabel Gardens. Then we walked to the old city and then to Nonberg Abbey. After a quick beet at a local beer garden we walked to Hohensalzburg fortress. The views from the fortress was wonderful.

Day 22 - Neuschwanstein castle

Today was the trip to the fairy tale castle , the most famous attraction of Bavaria. Again after a quick and comfortable train ride to Fusen we took the bus to the castle. It was very crowded and the first English tour of the castle we got was for 4pm. With the ticket we proceeded to Marienburcke bridge. The view  from the bridge is wonderful to get a full picture of the castle. The tour was interesting. It was a wonderful day.

Schwangau castle	View from Neuschwanstein
Neuschwanstein castle	View from Neuschwanstein

Day 23 - To Neuhaus an Der Pegnitz

Today was travel to Neuhaus for our much anticipated medieval fortress stay at Burg Veldenstein. We also wanted to enjoy the German train system DB. So for one last time with our Bayern Bavarian ticket we took a train to Nuremberg and then a transfer to Neuhaus. We picked this castle because we could easily reach it via public transit, particularly the train system and it was very affordable. It was also on the train line to Cheb in Czech Republic which we wanted to visit , but did not. Neuhaus was so beautiful we stayed.

 Sadly Hotel Burg Veldenstein is now closed. 

Day 24 - Hotel Burg Veldenstein

We spent the day walking around town and exploring the fortifications. A picture says a thousand words , here are a few thousands.

Day 24 - Hotel Burg Veldenstein

We spent the day walking around town and exploring the fortifications.

Day 25 - Trains , Trains and More Trains.

Today was our trip from Neuhaus to Frankfurt. We stayed overnight at Frankfurt to catch an early morning flight. In hindsight , I should have taken an ICE from Nuremberg to Frankfurt Airport. Instead to save about 100 euros we bought a pass , Schönes-Wochenende-Ticket. This ticket offered unlimited travel through Germany on regional trains for EUR 44. I love trains and I could have easily spent the whole week on trains. But with 2 kids and quite a bit of luggage, it was not a good idea. Besides with the time saved I could have  squeezed in some sights in Nuremberg.