Europe 1979 Seville to Bavaria

Seville Cathedral

The Bullring

The view from the top of the cathedral in two directions.

Tourist transport.

The Alhambra, Grenada

Lucern, Switzerland

The Kapellbrucke, the wooden foot bridge over the Reuss River in Lucern, Switzerland.

Marienplatz, Munich

Dachau

Deb and I in the Haufbrauhaus, Munich.

Castle Neuschwanstein

The Berghof was Hitler's home in the Obersalzberg of the Bavarian Alps near Berchtesgaden.

Deb and I climbing around on the site of the Berghof.

We spent time in Seville visiting the the third largest christian cathedral, after St Peters and St Pauls. We toured the bullring, but did not see a bullfight. Then we took a train to see the Alhambra in Grenada. This is a beautiful fortress built by the Muslim Moors from North Africa in the 8 and 9 hundreds. After they were driven out of Spain, in 1492, the site became the Royal Court of Ferdinand and Isabella, where Christopher Columbus received royal endorsement for his expedition.

We visited Lucern, Switzerland the impressive walled city by the lake of the same name. We climbed the ramparts for a wonderful view of the city. We also took trains up into the Alps to Interlaken and Grindewald, but found it too expensive to stay.

When we got to Munich we couldn't find a place to camp, so we took a  two hour train ride south to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, where we could camp. We pitched our tents and then took the train back (the joy of having unlimited train travel via a Eurail Pass). We went on a tour of Dachau, one of the concentration camps of the Nazis. It was an incredibly depressing place, and even though it was not one of the major extermination camps, the presence of the ovens and the barracks were sobering. It was the only time that Deb and I had a fight, I think caused by the oppressive environment.

When we got back to Munich we went to the famous Hofbrauhaus for dinner and a beer. The place huge and had three floors. The top was the restaurant where they served all manner of German sausages. The main floor was the beer garden and where locals had their own personal steins locked up behind the bar. We were amazed by the waitresses who could carry three huge beer mugs in each hand. We enjoyed the food and drink and talked to many different people, both local and tourists. 

We had made particular notice of the times of the return trains to Garmish. So, at the appropriate time we walked back to the station only to find we had mistakenly checked the schedule for a week day and this was the weekend. We had missed our train! The only thing we could think of to do was to walk back to the Hofbrauhaus and stay there until the trains started in the morning. So, we continued to drink. There were a group of Canadian soldiers that Deb was talking to because she was a forces brat, her dad having served in the air force and had been based in France. A couple of guys were trying to pick up Deb, which made things awkward. I remember, vaguely, waiting until one guy who was particularly aggressive left. We left about a half hour later and found him passed out on the sidewalk. I really don't remember how we got back to the tent. All I remember was waking up sweating to death in it about midday. So, thanks Deb for getting me back!

We visited the famous Castle Neuschwanstein built by King Ludwig II which was the model for Walt Disney's Disneyland. It was an amazing place full of beautiful artifacts. We also took a tour to the Berghof in the Obersalzberg of the Bavarian Alps. This was Hitler's retreat from the pressures of war and where he stayed with his closest comrades. It is perched on the top of a mountain and can only be accessed by a elevator that rises up through the rock into the foundation of the building.