Austria: Route to Reutte Journal
Breakfast at the Golden Rose was quite an extravagant event this fine morning! Fresh sunflowers dominated the breakfast buffet. Molly and I shared a small, candlelit table. It seemed such a shame to spend only one night in Rothenburg. Again I have to remind myself, it just leaves more for next time..
Our first stop of the day was the Dachau Concentration Camp. I forgot my camera on the bus and have no pictures. I always wonder if that was a subconscious act on my part. The camp itself was almost... bare. There was a beautifully rendered sculpture that commemorates the people who died there. All but two of the barracks in the camp were gone. I believe the ones that stood have been rebuilt. The rooms were very clean. I tried hard to imagine 400 prisoners living in quarters meant for 50. Unimaginable. I could never really grasp the real horror of it.
After walking around for a bit, we joined a massive crowd gathering in the little movie theater that showed a movie about the camp. Of course there were some graphic photos shown that made my eyes automatically shut. I don't know if it was because the day was bright and sunny... or that hundreds of Russian teenagers running and laughing. It just didn't seem to evoke the proper, somber emotions. I walked to the catholic chapel, one of three erected on site. I said a prayer for the victims and families, turned and started to walk towards the bus.
Jeff and Katy had prepared some snacks to tie us over to our lunch stop: a former monastery turned beer hall. After another uphill hike - boy, you have to get used to these fast. I stood in line with Dennis and Geni as we hugrily stared at the various roasted chunks of meat behind glass. Personally, it smelled wonderful to me; very reminiscent of roasted pigs served at family reunions. Although it didn't look appetizing, the roast pork was probably one of the best I have ever tasted. (As a Filipino, this is a very high compliment.) Thank you Dennis and Geni for the lunch! (They called it a late Birthday present). What German meal wouldn't be complete without HUGE steins of beer! (Coincidentally, the picture I took here eventually ended up on the Rick Steve's brochure announcing me as thier first online scrapbook winner!)
After Lunch, we climbed upwards toward the Church done in Baroque style: very, very ornate, lots and lots of gold leafing each wall, pillar and ceiling chock full of cherubs and cute angels! I grabbed some souvenirs at the church store: postcards and a thumb rosary - hey, lots of time on the bus. Later that evening, we arrived in Reutte (Pronounced ROY-tay; thanks Katy!) It is amazing to see the old border crossing stations that have been shut down only within the last decade.
Our fine, fine hotel was the Gushtuf Zum Schlioxen. It looked and felt like an old farmhouse in the middle of Yosemite Valley - complete with animals: Shetland ponies, goats, horses, rabbits, pigs, etc... Instantly, a few of us (OK, just me) was transformed into back into a little kid. I took some photos of our new furry friends and let the other ladies battle it out for the first washing machine we've seen in three countries.
Dinner was served smorgasborg style - lots of dumplings and meat. There was so much food! After dinner, a handful of us walked about half a mile down to the local school for an evening performance by the local Bavarian band. They played Austrian music which was both fun and upbeat... and yes, another accordion player!
There was a local girl strolling amidst the onlookers with a flask and what looked to be mini pewter wine glasses. Dave ordered us a shot - it tasted very good - sweet, like peach schnapps. After a few minutes, we noticed the girl still standing by our table. Much to our embarrassement, we didn't realize that we were drinking out of community cups! We quickly finished our drinks and handed the cups back to the patient lady.
A few songs later... a set of three older gentlemen - all with cheshire cat grins brought us ladies (Tina, Molly, Cathy and myself) a shot of that same liquor. Their reasoning: "You ladies look cold with your legs out" At which one of the trio pointed to our bare legs. (I guess we looked out of place being the only ones wearing shorts.) We all laughed. A flurry of photographs and video taping commenced along with toasts back and forth with the locals. What fun, they enjoyed us Americans as much as we enjoyed them!
We walked back at sunset. Molly, Tina and I finshed our laundry and hung our things to dry. They issued a warning for me: don't hang my underwear up - someone might take it. We all had a good laugh. The three of us gossiped and cackled like little old ladies! I thought to myself: My God, I don't think I remember the last time I ever hung laundry to dry. My world back home, which now seems so far away and distant is chock full of dry cleaners on every corner!
It was getting late and our group settled in for the night fairly early. I just wasn't sleepy. I told Molly I was going to sneak a peek downstairs to see if anyone else was still up. As I made it to the bottom floor, there was Dave - looking like a lost puppy. He was staring at today's schedule that Katy put up.
He told me he wasn't sleepy either. Well, with the hotel restaurant closing and it was now to cold and damp to walk outside. We settled nicely on the landing between floors. We talked about the how this trip was going so far, about various people in our group and the dynamics between all ther personalities. He kept harping on how much people overpacked and how most of the group - mainly the women - didn't follow Rick Steve's packing list.
I laughed and tried to explain why this happens, but no excuse I came up with was good enough. And so it went back and forth between the two of us. Then an admission from Dave, "Women don't need all that stuff. Beauty is from within." My retort: "That's a bunch of crap Dave, the 'Au Natural' look still takes at least a half hour to achieve."
Our first stop of the day was the Dachau Concentration Camp. I forgot my camera on the bus and have no pictures. I always wonder if that was a subconscious act on my part. The camp itself was almost... bare. There was a beautifully rendered sculpture that commemorates the people who died there. All but two of the barracks in the camp were gone. I believe the ones that stood have been rebuilt. The rooms were very clean. I tried hard to imagine 400 prisoners living in quarters meant for 50. Unimaginable. I could never really grasp the real horror of it.
After walking around for a bit, we joined a massive crowd gathering in the little movie theater that showed a movie about the camp. Of course there were some graphic photos shown that made my eyes automatically shut. I don't know if it was because the day was bright and sunny... or that hundreds of Russian teenagers running and laughing. It just didn't seem to evoke the proper, somber emotions. I walked to the catholic chapel, one of three erected on site. I said a prayer for the victims and families, turned and started to walk towards the bus.
Jeff and Katy had prepared some snacks to tie us over to our lunch stop: a former monastery turned beer hall. After another uphill hike - boy, you have to get used to these fast. I stood in line with Dennis and Geni as we hugrily stared at the various roasted chunks of meat behind glass. Personally, it smelled wonderful to me; very reminiscent of roasted pigs served at family reunions. Although it didn't look appetizing, the roast pork was probably one of the best I have ever tasted. (As a Filipino, this is a very high compliment.) Thank you Dennis and Geni for the lunch! (They called it a late Birthday present). What German meal wouldn't be complete without HUGE steins of beer! (Coincidentally, the picture I took here eventually ended up on the Rick Steve's brochure announcing me as thier first online scrapbook winner!)
After Lunch, we climbed upwards toward the Church done in Baroque style: very, very ornate, lots and lots of gold leafing each wall, pillar and ceiling chock full of cherubs and cute angels! I grabbed some souvenirs at the church store: postcards and a thumb rosary - hey, lots of time on the bus. Later that evening, we arrived in Reutte (Pronounced ROY-tay; thanks Katy!) It is amazing to see the old border crossing stations that have been shut down only within the last decade.
Our fine, fine hotel was the Gushtuf Zum Schlioxen. It looked and felt like an old farmhouse in the middle of Yosemite Valley - complete with animals: Shetland ponies, goats, horses, rabbits, pigs, etc... Instantly, a few of us (OK, just me) was transformed into back into a little kid. I took some photos of our new furry friends and let the other ladies battle it out for the first washing machine we've seen in three countries.
Dinner was served smorgasborg style - lots of dumplings and meat. There was so much food! After dinner, a handful of us walked about half a mile down to the local school for an evening performance by the local Bavarian band. They played Austrian music which was both fun and upbeat... and yes, another accordion player!
There was a local girl strolling amidst the onlookers with a flask and what looked to be mini pewter wine glasses. Dave ordered us a shot - it tasted very good - sweet, like peach schnapps. After a few minutes, we noticed the girl still standing by our table. Much to our embarrassement, we didn't realize that we were drinking out of community cups! We quickly finished our drinks and handed the cups back to the patient lady.
A few songs later... a set of three older gentlemen - all with cheshire cat grins brought us ladies (Tina, Molly, Cathy and myself) a shot of that same liquor. Their reasoning: "You ladies look cold with your legs out" At which one of the trio pointed to our bare legs. (I guess we looked out of place being the only ones wearing shorts.) We all laughed. A flurry of photographs and video taping commenced along with toasts back and forth with the locals. What fun, they enjoyed us Americans as much as we enjoyed them!
We walked back at sunset. Molly, Tina and I finshed our laundry and hung our things to dry. They issued a warning for me: don't hang my underwear up - someone might take it. We all had a good laugh. The three of us gossiped and cackled like little old ladies! I thought to myself: My God, I don't think I remember the last time I ever hung laundry to dry. My world back home, which now seems so far away and distant is chock full of dry cleaners on every corner!
It was getting late and our group settled in for the night fairly early. I just wasn't sleepy. I told Molly I was going to sneak a peek downstairs to see if anyone else was still up. As I made it to the bottom floor, there was Dave - looking like a lost puppy. He was staring at today's schedule that Katy put up.
He told me he wasn't sleepy either. Well, with the hotel restaurant closing and it was now to cold and damp to walk outside. We settled nicely on the landing between floors. We talked about the how this trip was going so far, about various people in our group and the dynamics between all ther personalities. He kept harping on how much people overpacked and how most of the group - mainly the women - didn't follow Rick Steve's packing list.
I laughed and tried to explain why this happens, but no excuse I came up with was good enough. And so it went back and forth between the two of us. Then an admission from Dave, "Women don't need all that stuff. Beauty is from within." My retort: "That's a bunch of crap Dave, the 'Au Natural' look still takes at least a half hour to achieve."
posted by Jenny Rose at 12:16 PM
1 Comments:
Wow. You do a great travelogue. I did the Best of Europe in 21 days this past summer (2006) and fell in love with each place we visited. I wanted to hug Herr Yung, and I didn't want to leave Venice. Thank you for keeping such a detailed record, as it reminded me of many of the things I have already forgotten.
All the best.
Dahnyul
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