Sadly, for the last two days, it has been pouring rain.  This inclement weather has totally “washed away” all our fabulous Swiss hiking plans.   However.   .   .   .  we woke up today (Friday) to brilliant sunshine.   It is the only day until we leave on Monday that is not supposed to be raining.   We decided to make the famous sojourn to the “Joch” which is Europe’s highest railway station at an altitude of 11,333 ft.   The Jungfrau region, which is located in Switzerland’s Bernese Oberland, is absolutely one of the most alluring places on the planet.   The glistening mountain landscape is home to the Alps’ highest concentration of glaciers along with hundreds of dazzling waterfalls.   Words cannot describe the jaw-dropping, exquisite scenery we experienced from the top of the Jungfrajoch to the bottom of the lush-green Lauterbrunnen Valley.

We took the beautifully scenic drive to Interlocken Ost and boarded the cogwheel train for the initial ride up this famous landmark.   As we slowly chugged up the steep mountain with snow covered peaks, the dramatic mountain landscape took our breath away.  Our first destination was the quaint Swiss town of Lauterbrunnen. The town, located high in the Alps is another quintessential Swiss beauty or maybe a Swiss Shangri-la?

After changing to another cogwheel train at Lauterbrunnen, we plodded up the mountain to Kleine Scheidegg where we boarded our final cog-driven machine to the Jungfraujoch.   This 5.8 miles section of the trip produced very few views as most of the trip was in tunnels leading to the 11,000+ ft. summit.  During our long “tunnel” trip of 4.35 miles, the train stopped twice to allow us a 5-minute photo shoot of the spectacular views from large pane windows that were placed in the mountain face.   The train crossed through two mountains, the Eiger and the Monch, climbing nearly 4,600 feet to the top station.   These trains are always crowded but on a beautiful clear day like Friday (particularly after days of rain), it was PACKED.  It was interesting that the two primary groups of visitors were Chinese and Indians.   Our “research” indicates that the Chinese absolutely adore Switzerland.  They do indeed because they are everywhere-bus loads of them.   Seeing the Indians at the top of Jungfraujoch was perplexing to us because their numbers were large and you don’t see them in many other Swiss locations.   We subsequently found out that part of the movie “Bollywood” was filmed in this location (hence they do have a buffet restaurant at Jungfraujoch, so named).

Once you arrive to the top of the Joch, there are various activities available including exorbitantly-priced lunches, zip lining, sledding, and hiking in addition to the various venues that you can visit (round cinema, ice cave, etc.).   Inside the Jungfraujoch, there were a labyrinth of tunnels, the Spinx Observatory (which measures atmospheric pollution and weather conditions), the plateau and the exit to the Aletsch Glacier.   We took the super-fast elevator that wisks you up 1,000 feet in a matter of seconds to the terrace of the observatory.  W e decided to take the 1 1/2 hr. round-trip trek in the snow (with our hiking poles and boots) to a small hut-restaurant on the glacier.  At that altitude, you really feel it in your heart.  Also, the sun was bright and sunburns were quick to form.  After a few hours on the top with the great scenery, we were off to ride the 3 trains down the mountain through a couple of different towns to get another “view” perspective.   It was a day of fantastic vistas, tired legs and burning skin as we didn’t bath ourselves with enough suntan lotion with the high altitude sun.  While the train ride to the top was insanely expensive at close to $500, this alpine sensation should be on everyones “top 100” bucket list.   Unfortunately, more rain is on the way tomorrow.


Lucerne, Switzerland is spectacularly scenic.  The scenery is almost too magical to be real.  With the precarious weather forecast for the next few days, we decided to go up to Mt. Pilatus right away.   We read about the many legends surrounding the prodigious “Dragon Mountain” a.k.a. Mt. Pilatus.  In the Middle Ages, the bleak crevices of this mountain were believed to be the abode of a well-meaning dragon and spirits.  There is also a legend that says the body of Pontius Pilate was ultimately disposed of in a tiny remote lake on Mount Pilatus.  His ghost was seen every Good Friday in the middle of the lake resulting in the local priests and government officials making it illegal to climb the mountain or use the lake.  In 1585, Lucerne’s priest along with the townspeople climbed Mount Pilatus and threw stones into the lake to challenge the ghost.   Nothing happened!  As a result, they believed the spell was broken and allowed everyone to then climb the mountain and enjoy the lake.

As we ascended up to Mt. Pilatus via a 4-person cable car and then a large tram, the views were absolutely spectacular along with the soothing greenery covering the mountain, the lovely flora & fauna cover and the wonderful sound of cow bells on phase 1 of our journey up the mountain.  We unloaded halfway up and got on the larger tram for the very steep but smooth ride up to the top.  It started pouring rain!   We “landed” in the rain with the clouds sweeping over the massive view from all directions – yuk!  It became quite apparent to us that the weather is extremely unpredictable on these Swiss mountain tops and that cloudless, perfect-weather days are probably quite the phenomenon rather than the usual.  When all else fails, eat – so we had an early lunch and waited.  Miraculously the heavy clouds began to lift and the sun was trying to come out.  We bolted out the door and climbed the multiple trails to various viewpoints on top.  Within minutes, it was cloudy again on one side but gorgeous on the other side of the mountain.  We furiously took pictures and within about an hour, it started raining again and clouding over.  We feel very fortunate to have captured a “window” of picture-taking time.  We were so disappointed that we could not do our planned hikes – another visit?

Our next stop today was a visit to downtown Lucerne.  Lesley visited Lucerne when she was 15 years old.  She was in such awe over this quaint, little city, she had made a promise to herself that she would return in a few years.  .   .   .    not 48 years later!  The city felt quite a bit different than how Lesley remembered it.  The Old Town section of Lucerne is charismatic and still exudes a good amount of Swiss charm.  There are numerous Swiss clock towers throughout the Old Town area, enchanting wooden covered bridges, swans floating gracefully along the river and awesome snow capped rugged mountain peaks enveloping the city.  The only unfortunate change to the city is all the tacky retail like H & M stores that have invaded Old Town and diminish the city’s persona.

Someone said to us that Lucerne is like a vain woman:  shallow, boring, self-important and expensive.  We totally disagree on the first three descriptions; but, oh how true it is that Lucerne is very expensive.  We were shocked that it cost us $22 to take a legit cab ride for 1/2 mile from the train station in Lucerne to the Hertz car rental.  The tram and gondola ride up to Mt Pilatus was only $140; since we opted not to take the cogwheel train for another $80. (If the weather holds up, we plan on going on the Junfraujoch, which is th highest train station in Europe at about an altitude of 11,500 ft. Who knows what that will cost!)  We bought a few minor groceries today that didn’t fill two foldable “Deer Valley Green Bags” for $120 – Yikes!  It is so fabulous here, the Swiss probably could ask any price and we would pay.


On Saturday, we did a 7-mile round trip walk (in the rain) to the Olympic Park where the BMW Museum is located.  (We were told that the museum is one of the most visited sites in Munich.)  If at all possible, we both try to walk everywhere when visiting each city.   .   .   even if it is raining!  There are two buildings at BMW:  The museum and BMW Welt (World) where they display all their new cars.  Inside the BMW museum you are taken through a skillfully designed labyrinth of corridors and levels with exhibitions “boasting” about the company and all the benefits it provides its employees. (Did we really pay an admission fee for this?)  Although BMW has laid out nine decades worth of their automobile history; we just didn’t feel enough great history was illustrated in an easy chronological way.  We did see engines, aircraft, motorcycles and various BMW models.

The BMW Welt, a separate building, looks like a large silver salad bowl.  It is an architectural triumph of sorts and was worth the walk to the complex just to see it up close.  It is strictly a product show room that showcases the latest Beamer and Rolls Royce models. The exhibition also includes models of the future, which have yet to hit the roads.

On our rainy walk back from the BMW Museum, the streets were blocked off due to some sort of charity sports car event.  The most fabulous car we saw and probably will ever in our life see again was a zebra-striped Rolls Royce. It was an unbelievable sight.  We always seem to see some very intriguing sights by walking a city!


The Hohensalzburg Medeival fortress, one of the largest in Europe, overlooks Salzburg and is over 900 years old.  It was originally built to guarantee the safety of the archbishops, while also serving as a barracks and a prison.  It is quite imposing as we walked up the steep hill for a visit.  There is a funicular but who would want to use that?  The views from the highest fortress tower are the highlight of the adventure. The museum has a few interesting artifacts; but, it is underwhelming to say the least.

After walking down from Hohensalzburg, we visited St. Peter’s Cemetery.  The cemetery, dates back to the 700’s, and its catacombs are some of the oldest in the world.   It is a very beautiful and peaceful spot within the bustling Old Town area. The Von Trapps hid from the Nazis in this cemetery.  Also, close by is the Nonnberg Nunnery where Maria from the SOM lived.

Next, we meandered by Mozart’s birthplace apartment. We decided not to take the house tour which only included a few rooms of furniture and a small museum.  We then strolled over to the Mirabellgarten.  These colorful gardens are lovely with many exquisite patterns of flowers on show. Yes, it is where the children learned to sing “Do-Re-Mi” in the Sound of Music

We considered area tours but most are centered around “The Sound of Music”.  There is Hallein Salt Mine in the area (hence the name of the town) but we felt that since we had visited one in Kraków, we would pass on a salt mine visit here. The other area attraction are the Ice Caves which is additional hour outside of Salzburg.    We could not see both in one day; so, we chose to explore the town of Salzburg.

A very curious fact is that Salzburg’s most prominent citizen today is quite a contrast to Mozart.  He is the energy-drink tycoon Dietrick Mateschitz, a.k.a. Mr. Red Bull – one of the Red Bull founders.  We were told that he has a mysterious mansion at the edge of town and owns several chic Salzburg restaurants and cocktail bars, and employs 6,000 people.  Apparently, his personality is like the beverage that made him rich and powerful.  He is known as the “high-energy, anything’s-possible cultural Terminator”!


Mittenwald is a “living fairy-tale picture book”.  Prior to our visit on Thursday, we read that Mittenwald was voted one of the 10 most beautiful villages in Europe – and indeed it is that and much more.  This idyllic Bavarian village is situated in a beautiful valley created by the Isar River and surrounded by majestic mountains.  It is a 2 1/2 hour train ride from Munich. The scenery is so lovely that our time on the train “sped” by.  We just can’t get enough of these charming Bavarian towns!  What makes Mittenwald so unique and incredibly picturesque are the enchanting and masterful frescoes on all the building and homes throughout this historic town.  The houses look exactly like Hummel houses – wooden roofs, impressive exterior decorative paintings with ornately carved gables and flower boxes under every window.   Other places exudes grandeur and historical charm; however, we hate to say it but this place is so darn “cute”.  This town .  .  .  if it had cheeks, you would want to pinch them.  Mitterrand is also famous for its violin manufacturing; and, of course, wonderful hiking trails.

While the spectacular surrounding mountains and lakes in Mittenwald were begging to be explored, the weather set some limitations on us.  We had originally planned today to visit Garmisch-Partenkirchen (about 20 minutes from Mittenwald) to go up by cogwheel train and cable car to the Zugspitze.  It is Germany’s highest peak.  The cloudy and rainy weather nixed this mission.  We were so disappointed.  Like Garmisch-Patenkirchen, Mittenwald has the Karwendal Cable Car to whisk you up to the mountain top, as well.

We had a delightful light lunch at a quaint Bavarian restaurant in the center of Mittenwald.  One side note – they clearly don’t have many English speaking tourists – none of the restaurants had English menus.  Although it was quite cloudy, we decided to risk it and take a 45-minute hike to one of the lakes since we had our rain gear in tow.  As we were about to reach Lake Lautersee, there was a picture-perfect meadow with an incredibly adorable church and a flock of sheep with loud bells clanging around their necks.  One can only image that it could be a scene out of the movie Sound of Music!  Lake Lautersee was crystal clear and it’s depth accented with gradient shades of blue.  There was also a few quaint restaurants and a couple of small lodges surrounding the lake.  The entire, glorious scene was even more entrancing with the enormous sawtooth Karwendal and Wetterstein Mountain ranges that hovered over the lake.  And then . . .

It started pouring.  We began walking back into town and decided to make the next train and visit Garmisch-Partenkirchen.  Our phone said it would take us 30 minutes to get back to town and the train was leaving in 25 minutes; so we ran like crazy fools and just made it within 2 minutes of departure.  We discovered that Garmisch-Partenkirchen for many centuries were separate towns but were forced to merge by Hitler ahead of the 1936 Winter Olympics.  GP is much larger than Mittenwald.  Despite the merger of the two towns they still appear to have their own identity with Garmisch being modern while Partenkirchen still has those fabulous fresco painted houses, churches & building like Mittenwald along with cobbled streets.  As we entered the town by train, there was an enormous ski jump; however, our Park City ski jump is longer and higher.  There are lots more restaurants and shops here; but we, loved the quintessential Bavarian town of Mittenwald best.  Both towns are hiker’s heaven.


On Wednesday our first, and most important, stop was Munich’s surf spot.  Apparently, is it one of the world’s best known river surf spots in the world and is surfed year-round.  The Eisbach River drains into a canal at the base of the Englischer Garten Park in Munich.  The city (or locals?) have placed boards at the end of ropes (think a wooden swing dragging in the water) that creates a “surf break”. The short board surfers drop in from each side of the canal and surf the river.  They actually surf opposite what occurs in the ocean.  With ocean surfing, you surf the break following the direction of the water.  In Munich, you do the opposite – you surf against the flow of the water.

We discovered that surfers have been surfing the river since the 1970’s; however, Eisbach River surfing was illegal until 2010.  It was great watching guys (yes, there were only males) drop in. There clearly were different levels of experience; and, it was great seeing some of them just drop their board in the water and jump on to it.  Unlike ocean waves, you have no time to paddle in and stand up-you need to be ready to ride from the moment you hit the water.

After lunch we visited the Munich City Museum.  The museum was supposed to be about the development of Munich as a city; but, we came out more perplexed than enlightened.  The exhibits were organized in a confusing layout with historical artifacts and then suddenly you see a conveyer belt with fake food and appliances from the 1950’s!  They also had a special exhibition on fashion through the ages (some of those German dresses were pretty ugly!) which Lesley enjoyed.  The special puppet and musical instruments exhibitions were enjoyable.  The national socialism permanent exhibition was the most credible part of the museum.  Although it was rather poorly arranged, we were surprised by the upfront and frank handling of the subject.  It traces the birth of the Nazi party in Munich up until the end of WWll.  We have seen so much about WWll and the Holocaust on this trip, we feel like experts on the subject.


Much of Munich is modern, very clean and rebuilt after WWll.  While many of the building have been designed to give the impression that they are older than they are, Munich just simply hasn’t “dazzled” us like Prague did.  The fact that Munich was the birthplace of the Nazi party is perhaps why we feel it has such an austere, cold feeling about it.  As a result, the Holocast & Nazi history is clearly visible throughout the city. We started our first full day, Tuesday, taking a 3-hour Old Town walking tour of “Munchen”.  We met at Marienplatz which is the most popular tourist destination in Munich.  The square has lots of bustling activity with several beautiful churches, nice shops and restaurants on the streets branching out into the square.

The imposing “New Old Town Hall” at Marienplatz sits on the square with the famed Glockenspeil.  The animated show at the Glockenspiel, with its “fantastical” tower, adorned by dragons and gargoyles offers up fabulous shows daily that draw huge crowds.  The almost life-size figures come to life with a spectacular 15-minute performance which recounts a royal wedding, jousting tournament and ritualistic dance.  The show occurs two or three times a day depending on the time of the year.  After watching this show, we wondered why the astronomical clock in Prague and its procession of miniature figures at the tower each hour for 15 seconds gathers such incredible crowds.  The Glokenspiel is so much more impressive compared to the tiny wooden apostle figures that come alive hourly at the astronomical clock in Prague.

One of our first stops, after the Glockenspiel, was St. Peter’s Church which is one of the most iconic sights in Munich.  The church is incredibly ornate inside.  What makes it sort of creepy (sometimes, we can’t stop using that word) is that St. Mundita is lying in a side alter.  The saint is a gilt-covered and gem-studded skeleton in a glass case with false eyes in her skull which is wrapped in netting.  In addition, jewels cover the mouth of this relic’s rotten teeth.  It was.  .  .  Yuch!

The Viktualienmarkt is Munich’s largest outdoor food market.  There is a ton of dried meats and cheese and a variety of animal parts including pigs snouts at one butcher shop!  Germans must have a high standard for fruits and vegetables because they were all perfect but at a very lofty price tag.  We decided to buy a small piece of salmon at a fish store at the market.  It ended being delicious but the most expensive piece of fish (about 1 lb.) that we have every bought in our life!

Lesley was in Munich 48 years ago when she was a teenager on a high school trip.  Her most vivid memories are visiting the Hofbrauhaus.   .   .   .  and drinking the mega-size beers at 15 years old! (The drinking age in Germany is now 18 years old).  The Hofbrauhaus is also where Hitler founded the Nazi Party in 1920.  Our tour guide really berated the Hofbrauhaus; but, we think the Muncheners are secretly proud as punch of this beer garden.  Our guide took us to the Hofbrauhaus and had lots of stories to tell and acted like a proud Papa about this famous place.

We made a number of other stops with our 3-hour walking tour but we think the above highlights were the most interesting, excluding some museums & churches, for our first day outing in Munich.