Grandma and Grandpa Robison Visit: Part 2

On Friday morning, the three of us drove down to Bern to go to the LDS temple.  It was a nice experience.  After that, we drove back home to pack up while Darren came home from work early so that we could drive to Austria.  We planned on visiting Salzburg and a place some WWII buffs might know called Eagle's Nest.

Me and Grandpa at the temple

The whole drive through Austria to the Salzburg region was beautiful.  The mountains are maybe even better in Austria than they are in Switzerland.  We made a stop in the Austrian city of Innsbruck to get some dinner and made a quick tour around the downtown area.  After that, we got back in the car and drove through Austria and into Germany!  Three countries in one day!  Salzburg is right on the Austrian/German border.  We stayed for the night in a town called Bad Reichenhall in Germany.  We didn't see much of the town because we got in late, went to sleep, had breakfast at the hotel, and left the next morning.  Before we left though, I opened some birthday presents since it was my birthday that day. 

Opening some birthday presents in Germany

Our first stop was to see Königssee, Germany's highest lake.  It is a beautiful and crystal-clear mountain lake.  We didn't spend much time there because we wanted to make sure we had enough time to see Eagle's Nest, which was something Grandpa wanted to see.

Us at Königssee

Eagle's Nest is a mountain shelter that sits on the summit of Kehlstein.  The building was a birthday gift to Hitler from his subordinates and it was one of his favorite residences.  It was taken over by the Americans after the war, but eventually was given back to Germany and is now a restaurant and popular lookout point.

Eagle's Nest as viewed from the parking lot of Königssee

However, when we got up to the parking lot for the bus that takes you up to Eagle's Nest, we saw that it was closed temporarily!  Yes, it was very sad and totally unexpected.  We were disappointed we didn't get to go up to the top.  We made the best of it though, by enjoying the great view from where we were and by getting some things in the bookshop about Eagle's Nest.

Grandma and Grandpa in Germany

The beautiful views in this part of Germany called Berchtesgadener Land

We then drove from Germany over into Austria to go see Salzburg.  Again, the drive to Salzburg was really beautiful.  We arrived in Salzburg, parked the car, and went to get some lunch.

The view on the way to Salzburg

These old minis are so cute

Lunch in Salzburg, complete with some birthday banana split!

We then spent the rest of the afternoon touring around Salzburg.  We walked by all the old downtown areas that included some places where Mozart was born and where he lived for a time.  Darren also picked up another pin for his Bavarian hat.  We should have had him bring his hat because he would have fit right in.  It seemed to me that most locals were wearing some pieces of traditional Austrian clothing, like the hats.

Downtown Salzburg busy with tourists on a Saturday

View of Salzburg and Hohensalzburg, the fortress atop the hill

Me and Darren at the Mirabell Gardens

We drove back to Zurich that night and everyone was kind enough to indulge me by having Asian food for dinner at Wagamama on my birthday.  By the next morning when we went to church, it had turned cold and rainy.  We spent most of the day inside, except for a short walk in the late afternoon when it stopped raining.  We then enjoyed a home-cooked meal by me, as promised to those who visit!

Us at our building where church is held

We walked around Rieterpark on the cold Sunday afternoon

Me with the turnovers I made for everyone for dinner

On Monday, it was still cold and rainy, but we were determined to have a good time anyway.  We stuck with our plan to go to Luzern and tried to get there early before the rain clouds got lower.  We drove to Luzern and jumped on the ferry boat right away.  We had delicious hot chocolate on the boat and we traveled to Vitznau.  We took the train up the mountain to the summit of Mt. Rigi.

Enjoying hot chocolate on the boat

Clouds were still high enough that we had some great views of Lake Luzern

About to pass into the clouds, which you can see in the picture

 We were able to get this before it started raining

We couldn't see anything from the top, but we did what every Swiss does and enjoy a nice lunch at the restaurant on the top of a mountain.  After lunch, we took the train back down where the rain had finally set it.  We got back down to Luzern by boat and I gave my grandparents a quick tour of the downtown area.

The covered bridge at Luzern, still with beautiful flowers

Me and Grandma in Luzern

We drove back to Zurich and had dinner at Zeughauskeller again because it is so good.  Then the next day, my grandparents packed up and I took them to the airport to fly back to Canada.  We had a great time with them!  It was a great trip!