In Salzburg.

After Neuschwanstein, our next stop was Salzburg. Our first order of business was a tour of the Hellbrunn Palace, which is famous for its trick fountains. We went for a guided tour of the gardens that included the absolutely creepiest ever water feature and a liberal sprinkling by some tricksy fountains (and a guide whose job it is to douse tourists every day).

Trick fountains in action.

Here is a movie of this bizarre creepiness of a water feature:

After Hellbrunn, we went into Salzburg to tour the Hohensalzburg fortress at the top of the hill. The views down into the city and towards the mountains were really beautiful, but I can't remember much about the actual tour of the fortress.

In Salzburg.

View from the fortress.

Our next stop was the Mirabell Palace's beautiful gardens. The sun finally came out, which was glorious. I'm pretty sure that, between Kirsten and I, we photographed every single flower in that entire garden. We also enjoyed sitting on a bench and watching a group of tourists wander into an exceptionally large puddle; they were all so engrossed in their cameras and phones that they weren't paying attention to where they were going, until they were in the middle of this large and deep puddle. I felt a little guilty, but it was pretty entertaining to watch their shocked faces!

After the gardens, it was time for our Mozart dinner concert, which was held at a very old restaurant (open since 802). The food and music were really fantastic. I got a little bit of the concert on video; you might have to turn the sound up to hear it.

The concert was really enjoyable and was by far my favorite thing we did in Salzburg. I have to admit, I didn't really like Salzburg. It seems like a city where no one lived, only visited by tourists, and it just had a weird vibe. Many of the statues around the city were slightly grotesque, plus the weirdness that was Hellbrunn Palace and the garden designed to trick people. And, while the city was pretty, I don't think I'd try to go back. I guess, with all of the traveling I do, I'm bound to come across places every now and again that I just don't match with, and this was one of those cases. But it was beautiful!

A castle, the Eagle's Nest, and a lake.

The day after our hike in Braunwald, Kirsten and Co. spent the morning exploring Zürich while I finished my laundry. (So exciting, I know, but when you only get to do laundry every 3 weeks, it's not an option to miss your turn!) In the afternoon, we all piled into the car and drove to Füssen, with a brief stop in Lichtenstein.

The next morning we got up bright and early to get in for the first English tour of the day at Neuschwanstein castle, which Ruth and I visited back in the summer of 2007. The castle is rather bizarre (and not really worth touring the inside, in my opinion), but the exterior and surroundings are very beautiful.

We toured the castle, took a brief walk around the town, and then packed into the car and drove towards Salzburg. Our first stop was the Kehlsteinhaus (or Eagle's Nest), a retreat house given to Hitler for his 50th birthday. The house is towards the top of a mountain, so the views are supposed to be magnificent. Of course, when we got to the top, it was absolutely socked in with fog. A severe head cold, combined with the cold and fog, meant that I stayed in the chalet while the others did a little bit of exploring.

Our last stop of the day was the Königssee, a beautiful lake not too far from Salzburg. We just missed the last boat tour of the day, but we still enjoyed walking through the town, doing a little shopping, and having dinner at a biergarten right on the lake.