I Forgot Innsbruck!

 I just discovered that I neglected to post our awesome New Year's excursion to Bavaria with Derek, Renee, and Josten.  They preceded us there, and then we joined them in Innsbruck for three nights.  Due to the warm winter here in Europe, they hiked the Alps instead of skiing them, but they had a great time.  As Elder G and I drove into the beautiful mountains of Bavaria, we naively wondered if each big one was the famous Zugspitze!  Little did we know we were pretty far off!  Each time we came upon a huge mountain, we would ask ourselves, "Is this it?"

Or this?

We'd actually have to travel through many potential candidates before we finally got there

--and then this was all we saw since it was shrouded in clouds!

Here's what we missed!

But the Bavarian countryside we traversed was awesome!

En route to Innsbruck we stopped to check out the military resort/hotel, Edelweiss.  

We definitely plan to return there in the spring!

New Year's Eve found us in downtown Innsbruck, listening to a band imitating Elvis.  

Surprisingly, they were very good!

We listened to them once, returned to our apartment, and then returned again to get the "midnight experience."  Josten and I returned home before the bewitching hour, and Derek and Renee found a much larger band playing down by the bridge.

  

The next day we headed towards a ski resort located on a glacier.  

On our way, we drove through quaint little alpine villages, 

which eventually brought us to the ski area. 

We had an enjoyable lunch on our way out.  It was so warm that we even ate outside!

I'm always a sucker for a pretty church on a hillside!

We have one mystery needing to be solved:  What goes in all these little sheds peppering the Bavarian farmers' fields?  Hay for animals?  Farming tools?  We've yet to find out! 

We saw a few of these cute tiny churches and finally stopped to check one out. 

 Cute as a bug inside!

It turns out they are St. Christopher chapels for travelers! 

On our drive we passed an awesome monastery and stopped to check it out.  

It was closed for tours, but at least we got to walk around.

Sun-dial clock

 If I'm not mistaken, I think that date says 1732!!!

On our last day in Innsbruck we walked around the town some more.  

The Roman arch was really impressive. 

Both day and night! 

Here you can appreciate Innsbruck's beautiful mountain setting!

Although Christmas was over, there were still a few remnants 

of the popular German tradition of Christmas markets.

 There was a beautiful obelisk right in the center of town.

 And here's what we did every night after having a great meal out on the town:  

We played UNO and Yahtzee for hours!

 Derek, Renee, and Josten then headed for the Dolomite mountains in Italy, 

while we said farewell to Innsbruck.

We headed towards Neuschwanstein, the "fairytale castle," famous inspiration for the one at Disneyland.  Due to weather, mountain roads, and  holiday traffic, 

a 90-minute drive turned into four hours!!!

 

  

At least the scenery was beautiful!

Nameless castle ruins on the way.

Shortly before coming to the Neuschwanstein castle,
we encountered this one, also built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria.

After that miserably long drive, Elder G was not in the mood for a castle tour, so you can imagine his utter delight at our being told the tours for the Neuschwantstein castle were booked for the day! Consequently, we just got to appreciate it from a distance.  And with the bare trees of winter and not seeing it from its famous side view, you can imagine my disappointment!

Nevertheless, it's still very impressive! 

But until we return again, I will need to be content with better photos found on the Internet!!!

Until we meet again...