Duane and Mai

My dad's friends, Duane and Mai, led us on a hike up to a monastery. The hike was beautiful with the sunshine on the snow...wow.

at 290 meters

We went up in the Olympiaturn (Olympic Tower). It wasn't really clear enough to see the Alps (which ppl claim you can see from there). But the view of the surrounding area was cool. This is the stadium that we saw the soccer game at. They also have the world's highest rock museum in the tower. That's random.

BMW

BMW Museum. Symbol of Bavarian success in the world market.

Hofbrauhaus

Hofbrauhaus. What a party! They really do know how to imitate Oktoberfest, 365 days a year. My dad happened to be visiting during Starkbierzeit (Strong Beer Time). During Lent (ironically) the brewries all bring out their special recipes and it's strong stuff! There's nothing in the world like German beer...

Doe, a deer...

Last picture of Salzburg. In the foreground is the garden of Schloss Mirabella, which was the setting of several scenes in the Sound of Music. See the fountain in the middle? And the archway of vines on the right? Yeah, it looks a bit different in the snow.

Mozart!

Back in Salzburg, the home of Mozart. And boy will they never let you forget that! This town sure enjoys capitalizing on Mozart...it's their favorite pastime. Well, I sure do enjoy the chocolate, but I'm not the biggest fan of his music. Sorry.

Zell am See

From Salzburg we went skiing at Zell am See, one of the four million ski resorts in Austria. I didn't get any pictures up on the slops because it was snowing and visibility was horrible. It was a nice trip nonetheless and here's a picture of me standing somewhere insignificant in the town of Zell am See.

Night lights of Salzburg. 

Yet another tour

If you're aquainted with the new 'Tour' methods, you'll understand this picture. They give everyone a little hand held device so that everyone can hear the tour in their own language. It's really weird to see everyone wander around a room...the voice will say something about the floor and everyone in the room looks at it even though the room is silent. I bet these weird devices could lead a whole tour group off of a cliff without many people noticing. Well, all conspiracy theories aside, after a few tours you get used to holding the stupid thing up to your ear and it's not too bad.

Salzburg from above

Looking down on Salzburg from the fortress. It was a gray, snowy day, but the city is just too beautiful to let that get in the way.

Fire away!

Here's a picture of my dad up in the fortress. It's crazy to think how well fortified the thing was throughout history just because of it's location up on the hill. It was built in like the 700s or something and was never once taken by force.

On the way to the fortress

I convinced my dad to hike up to the fortress instead of taking the train. The icy trail was kinda a bummer, but we were able to get a better view from the various points on the way. This is one of those.

Salzburg

Salzburg is never short on charm...what a nice place to visit. It's ridiculously touristy, but for very obvious reasons. Here's my dad standing on a bridge with the old town behind him and the fortress up on the hill above. We spent a little more than two days there.

Munich Residnce

Next stop was the Munich Residence. The castle right in downtown Munich. This was my favorite room. We ended up getting ourselves lost in this place. It's deceptively large. We ended up, in our confusion, getting a bigger and better tour than we paid for. It's a confusing castle, just trust me.

Odeonsplatz

I call this church 'The Yellow Church'...wish I knew the real name...

Paulaner Brewpub

Back in Munich. I'm standing in front of a cool German restaurant with some sort of pig statue. Um...who knows why...

Perfect conditions... 

New hat

Nice shot with the expanse of mountains in the frame. Those mountains are most likely in Austria. The ski resort at Garmisch is almost exactly on the Austrian border. Notice my dad's new FC Bayern hat...

More of that Zugspitze

Zugspitze in the background. Dad checking the map in the foreground.

Zugspitze

The Zugspitze. Highest point in the German Alps.

Garmisch - Partenkirche

We spent one day in Garmisch (location of the highest peak in the German Alps). The weather was amazing, the slopes weren't crowded at all, and we had a great time. I'm going to show off my photography skills now.

Deutsches Museum

Dad and I really loved the Deutsches Museum. It's like the Smithsonian of Germany and has some awesome exhibits. We spent hours and hours wandering around it. Way cool. This is kinda a lame picture of me in front of some sort of plane. (very specific, huh?)

Icy/snowy Munich - view from a bridge on the Isar. Though not the most desirable weather, it sure was beautiful. 

Champion's League!!!

Bayern Munich v. London Arsenal. Champion's League. One of the biggest soccer games of the year (until the playoffs this summer). The place was sold out and it was loud and crazy. During half time, we witnessed the largest snow ball fight ever - 65,000 ppl. Bayern won 3-1. They are awesome.

Where's the sunshine?

The first couple of days of my dad's visit in Munich was snowy and cold. We did our best to work through the weather and have fun. This is a picture of the Olympiapark in Munich, built for the '72 Olympics and still in frequent use.

Departure

My dad left yesterday. I just got a call from him to confirm his safe return home.

More photos and stories soon to come!