Following the 101st

After a traditional weisswurst breakfast (white sausages, a pretzel, and a beer) in Munich, we hopped a noon train to Salzburg. As we headed into the alps, it didn’t come as a surprise that lots of Salzburg is vertical—-tall cathedrals, fortresses on cliff sides, and even Hitler’s Eagle’s Nest nearby. This was a city jam-packed with tourists though.

Armed with rain coats and an umbrella, we headed to Old Town where we took the funicular to the Hohensalzburg Fortress, an 11th century castle and compound that is basically a museum of Middle Ages city. We saw armor and weaponry from many eras, the original heating system, and a spectacular panoramic view. Later that evening, we tested the local schnapps, got caught in a downpour, and shared a table with a German family at a schnitzel place.

The next morning, we took a bus tour to see the Eagle’s Nest, complete with gold elevator and Italian marble fireplace. This fortress was created in 13 months in the late 1930s by paid labor. It was always heavily guarded by SS. It was used for meetings and parties but the only ones who ever stayed were the guards; all else traveled back down to residences. Hitler only rarely visited as he didn’t like heights. Our guide Mikro had a classic German villain voice, and he was amusing and animated. The views of the alps all around us were spectacular despite the low-hanging clouds. Everything was green, and there were wildflowers in every color. This location seemed to be the start point of many hiking trails. At the end of the trip to the top, we came down to Berchtesgaden for lunch and got to see the traditionally painted buildings and a cool cemetery.

That left us another half day to explore Salzburg, so we had to make our way to the Sacher Hotel for Sacher torte and strudel—-so worth it!! Then we went to find St. Peter’s church grounds to see the gates where the Von Trapps were hidden by the nuns. We found lots of interesting graves, monuments, and cathedral decorations. As recommended, we ended our evening at Augustiner Brauhaus where the monks still brew the beer in the abbey like they’ve done for centuries, complete with ceramic mugs you rinse yourself.

There was far more to explore than we had time for, but it was good fun.

After a few late trains, we finally arrived at Munich Hbf near 7pm. We navigated west to our hotel to drop our bags and then found a train back to Marienplatz for dinner and a walk. Hofbrauhaus is a Bavarian staple, so we found good German food and an oompa band. The city blocks were crowded even on a Sunday evening!

The next morning, we had a scheduled tour to visit Dachau, the prototype for Nazi concentration camps. This one was in operation from *1933 as a place to send political dissenters; what better way to get rid of the opposing voices than to disappear them…. Its capacity of a few thousand became exponential by the time Dachau and its subcamps were liberated in 1945, and the conditions were just as frightening and unbelievable as the pictures show. The German engineering efficiency is easily seen in the design of the extermination facilities: four chambers to defumigate clothing from prisoners for reuse, then the ‘bathhouse,’ then four ovens bracketed by corpse rooms to store the bodies before disposal. It was easy to see the way this camp influenced operations in others like Auschwitz. Our guide Alan was amazing, as were our Finnish, Canadian, and Australian friends.

We had most of an afternoon left to explore Munich and we found many interesting things. Munich’s architecture, for one, spans many centuries and styles, so that was fascinating. We sought out the Sophie Scholl and White Rose memorials, German youth who opposed the Nazis and tried to distribute information to the populous. By chance we also found a statue of King Ludwig that had been overtaken by memorials to the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. There was even gelato for lunch; I had chocolate and caramel rosemary while Jason had tiramisu and Parmesan. Yep. Parmesan. At five, we watched the Marienplatz glockenspiel perform to a huge crowd. For dinner we found a good pub and a game designer’s networking session. All in all, Munich was a great place even if it was very crowded!

After breakfast in Amsterdam, we caught a train to Liege, Belgium, and then we picked up our rental car. I was the driver and Jason navigated.

The scenery was beautiful, hilly and green. Bastogne is about an hour from Liege. Once we settled in at our condo, we got out and walked to the town center. To our astonishment, we found a classic car circuit on display. We settled on a restaurant with a patio near the cars for better people-watching, and we put my French to use to order.

Our full day was spent viewing everything we could about the Battle of the Bulge. We saw several monuments and the 101st Airborn Museum before a lunch and coffee break. Then we drove to the Bastogne War Museum, the Mardasson memorial, the Bois Jacques foxholes, and others. Taken all together, the impact of the terrible circumstances and exceptional bravery magnifies.

Dinner was a lovely place set up by our host set in a train car, the Wagon Leo. We remarkably managed to stumble upon places the locals found themselves, so we had as authentic of an experience as you might hope for.

After a lovely and much needed night’s sleep, we headed back to Amsterdam Centraal to begin a walking tour (thanks, Rick Steves!). We learned lots about Amsterdam’s history and unique features.

After the walk, it was snack time. Fresh made stroopwaffels and apple turnovers in a lovely square in front of two book shops.

From there we walked to museum island and people watched until our tickets were available at the Rijksmuseum. We saw some amazing special exhibits as well as Rembrandt and Vermeer. We even saw one of the crew who are restoring The Night Watch.

Then we were off to Prisengracht to see the Anne Frank house and the surrounding area. We found a cafe that served a Dutch tasting platter and tried the sweet and the savory—-from pickled herring to orange sauerkraut to speculoos ice cream and more.

After we took a bus—-the tram broke down—-to the hotel to rest and find dinner. 20,000+ steps later, we had to pack to leave by train for Bastogne tomorrow. Whew!

Two backpacks; check.
Passports; check.
Time to kill in the United lounge; check.

But the first plane was delayed and diverted due to wind 🫢 which changed our connecting flight, and ugh….

But we pressed on. We made it only three hours behind schedule, and so far Amsterdam is lovely, and tiredness is sinking in.