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23 September 2000 - Saturday

Morning

Oberpinswang, Austria

We arose at 7:00 am to a crisp chill.  I bundled up and dressed for a brisk morning run. The run took me on winding country roads.  The fog was still lifting and the early morning sun was just hitting the tips of the Alps, casting a pink hue throughout the valley.  I was traveling down the road for about a mile when I met up with some fellow "team in training" members... or about a dozen dairy cows with the clunky bells ringing as they made their trek back to their pasture.  All parties froze as we sized each other up.  Mind you, they were not roped, fenced or corralled in - just walking down the paved street.

Well, I stopped and went into a walk with a huge side step off to the right of the road for fear that the bull would take to my red windbreaker.  I am still not sure who was more startled, them or me.  Their keeper was a polite  gentleman walking behind the herd with his bike, who nodded as we all passed on our way.

As I returned on my run, I passed by the same herd, now securely tucked into their grazing pasture.  Not one of the cows let me pass by without mooing.  I am sure that they were letting me know that I was on "their highway."  We had a hearty breakfast before leaving the valley to begin our sightseeing in Fussen.

Fussen, Germany

Upon returning, we ate breakfast and packed up to get  an early start on our tour of Ludwig's castle, the Schloss Neuschwanstein.  This was the castle that inspired Walt Disney's Fantasyland theme castle.  The fog was even thicker as we approached the town  of Fussen.  We parked the car, and walked to get our ticket to tour the castle.  We found out that the castle was 1/2 hour walk up from the town.  We decided to walk.  It was truly enjoyable  as birds and waterfalls serenaded our journey.  Once at the top, the fog had begun to lift and rays of sunshine streamed through.  It was mystic.  The castle was literally above the clouds. The views were incredible.  One side was a waterfall for hundreds of feet, another side was a lake,  another side was the patched quilting of hundreds of acres of farmland, and the last side was woodlands.  We toured the 15 rooms that were completed before Ludwig's untimely death.  He had dedicated the castle to Richard Wagner, the German opera composer.  The magnificence of the structure was dumbfounding that such opulence, creativity, imagination and beauty were all combined in one place.

After the tour of the castle, we hopped back into the car and left Fussen, both vowing to come back and visit this gem of a town. The day was another 70 degree blue sky beauty.

Afternoon

Fernpass, Austria

The day was glorious as the white puffy clouds dotted the sky and the landscape, casting long shades on the lush landscape and surrounding Alps.  The air was clear and clean as I remembered in May.  We dined at a quaint lookout site above a glacier lake that was as green as emeralds.  We had lunch out on the patio and sipped on Austrian beer. We watch the tour buses marching like ants into this destination so their passengers could get a glimpse of the view below.

We headed on our way, with making a little  "stop" to ensure that the farmers crops were as fresh close up as they looked from the street.  We were "greeted" by an elderly gentleman on a bicycle.

Salzburg, Austria

We arrived at the Gersberg Alm in Salzburg, Austria around 5:30pm.  We found out that we were the last to arrive of the guests due today.  We checked into our room and went over to greet Dad, Mike and Marina.  There seemed to be a little confusion with Dad on our arrival, as he had expected us earlier that afternoon.  But all worked out as all of us laughed and chatted of our experiences in Europe so far this trip.  We had a toast of sparkling wine and proceeded to the dining room at Gersberg to have dinner.

Evening

The food and service at the Gersberg Alm was terrific and we all relaxed with Austrian wine and a wonderful dinner.  After dinner, we decided to go into the city and take our guests to the bar across from Mozart's Geburtshaus (birthplace).

Our friend and bartender, Janet, was working and greeted us with hugs and warm smiles.  She seated us immediately and brought us a round of after dinner drinks as the men puffed on their cigars.  The bar was quaint as I remembered and the help as friendly.  It was a "jolly" night as we all laughed and talked about life.  We retired back to Gersberg on well wishes and good luck kisses from Janet (who had also wed in the Mirabell Palace).

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