Gallivanting in Germany and Austria - Part 1

My family and I made our way around Germany and Austria with a tour group - Trafalgar Tours. And, in less than two weeks, we were able to visit the biggest major cities and biggest cities in the two countries. We whirled around the two countries, stopping by in Munich, Berlin, Vienna, Salzburg and a couplre other main cities - making time, of course to stop by Neuschwanstein Castle and the Black Forest. But, because there is so much that we did in time that we were there, I will be dividing the post into two sections: the first will focus on the time spent in Germany and the second will revolve primarily around Austria and its major attractions.

To begin, lets discuss a bit about Germany's history. Germany was first identified as a distinct region by Julius Caesar, who referred to the territory as Germania, distinguising it from Gaul - later known as France. Following the fall of the Roman Empire, the Franks conquered the other West Germanic tribes. When the territory was finally considered independent of the Frankish Empire, in 962, Otto I became the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, the medieval German state.

Germany was considered to be part of the Holy Roman Empire (HRE) until the HRE's collapse in 1648, where Germany was divided into numerous independent states. Germany was eventually unified under Otto von Bismarck in 1871. The German Revolution of 1918 ended the monarchy in Germany, and eventually lead to the establishment of the Weirmar Republic. Less than 20 years later, Germany was taken over by Hitler and Nazi Germany's aggressive foreign policy took control of Austria and parts of  Czechoslovakia and Poland. Folowing WWII, the country  was divided into West Germany and East Germany. It was finally united in 1990.

After that ton of history, its time to start discussing those major landmarks and cities in the country. To keep it short, I'm going to talk about what I thought were the top three most memorable must-see attractions in Germany.

Number One: Neuschwanstein Castle
While this particular castle doesn't have as much historical significance as many of the other palaces in the country, it is definitely one of the more picturesque ones. The palace was built on a hill near Fussen in southwest Bavaria, Germany. It was commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavaria as a homage to the playwright, Richard Wagner.The palace was intended as a personal refuge for the king, but was opened to the public immediately after his death. Since then over 60 million people have visited the castle. For those readers more familiar with Disney classics, the palace was the inspiration for Disneyland's castle.

Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Germany

Number Two: The Black Forest

Black Forest Cake, sprayed
with Cherry kirsch, a special
liquor

This forest is a wooded mountain range in southwestern Germany, and is bordered by the Rhine valley to the west and south. The forest got its name because of the thick growth of conifers in the forest blocking out most of the light in the forest. It was also used as the setting for Hansel and Gretel. Other than travelling in the forest, one of the highlights was travelling to one of the many clock/woodwork shops in the general vicinity, and trying the famous Black Forest cake (which, for the record, was absolutely delicious!)

One of the clocks at a woodwork shop in the Black Forest.
When the hour strikes, various pieces of the clock move.

Number 3: The Berlin Wall

Of course one of the most visited sites in Germany, the wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). The wall completely cut off West Berlin fron East Germany, as well as from East Berlin. While much of the wall, now, is gone, the grafitti and artwork left on the wall were definitely worth looking at and, like many of the tourists there, we we able to buy and take home a very small piece of the wall.