Day 15: May 14, 2015 - A Palace, Packing, and Another Dreaded Night Train

Since we were catching the night train that night, we decided to pack up our things and move over to the Ramada right by the train station to make it easier. We had breakfast at the Wolf-Dietrich then took a taxi over to the Ramada. We couldn't check into our room yet but they stored our bags for us. Al and I wanted to go to the castle that looks like the Beauty and the Beast castle but it ended up being too far away. So we decided to go see the Palace at Herrenchiemsee instead, which the concierge recommended. We had to take about an hour long train to get there so Mom and Dad went to buy train tickets while Al and I went to get breakfast at Starbucks. After ordering six vanilla bean frappes, the barista said, "Brace yourself, frappuccinos are coming!" We found the right train and got on. It was a nice, relaxing ride through the countryside. We passed a bunch of cows roaming. I saw one that was lounging and Al was like, "They're trying out for the cow Vogue - they're moovelous!" I was speechless. Mom, Dad, Jess, and Cor got a lot out of the train ride.

Once there, we found a taxi to take us to the palace. We had to split up and take two. They dropped us off at this lake. We bought tickets for the ferry and got on. It was a short little ferry ride across the lake. We got off, bought our tickets for the tour and walked up to the palace. It was raining and my toms weren't doing very well. The gardens and fountains were gorgeous.

We met up with our tour guide and started in the entrance hall. They were total nazis about taking pictures. You weren't allowed to take pictures at all on the tour and even if you tried to sneak one with your phone, they yelled and freaked out. They even escorted this guy out because he wasn't listening and continued to take pictures. The tour got boring real quick so I spent my time trying to stick it to the man and get a picture with my phone. I succeeded several times. Suck it camera Nazis!

The palace really was beautiful. They said it is very similar to Versailles in Paris. The king at the time it was built, King Ludwig II, wanted it to look like Versailles. He was young and less concerned with politics and war and more concerned with creating his dream home. They only finished three of the five wings, he died before they could finish it. 

Once the tour was finished, we headed back to the ferry.  On the ferry, Cory got a non-alcoholic beer. It was nasty! So of course, we all had to try it. 

When we got back to where the ferry picks you up, there were no taxis. We started walking back to the train station but we weren't going to make our train in time. Dad ending up running down the road to catch a taxi for us. He is such a good dad! We got back to the train station and back on the train in perfect timing. The train ride was riveting again. 

Once we were back in Salzburg, Al wanted to go get some of the cheesy Sound of Music pictures we had not gotten yet. So after another stop at McDonald's, we made our way around the city to get the pictures. 

I'm really mad I didn't put my left hand on my head like Maria does. Dang it! We'll just have to go back. 

We headed back to the Ramada to rest and pack. We got everything we needed to take home packed between the four kids as Mom and Dad were staying for another four weeks. We made sure we were each under 50lbs of luggage. Cory found a nice little place to sleep until our night train.