Beer Halls, a Frozen Lake, and Castles: Germany and Austria

On another rainy day in Munich, we sought out the kosher restaurant and the Jewish museum. Both were unfortunately closed for the winter holiday :-( But at least we found them!
This is the Ohel Jakob synagogue:

Across the plaza is the Einstein kosher restaurant:

Because those were closed, we found a different place to eat: a beer garden and beer hall! This is the Der Pschorr in Munich, and it was a traditional hall, with the waiters dressed in lederhosen and the waitresses dressed in traditional Bavarian garb.

I got a cabbage stuffed with mashed potatoes, carrots, and onion with a tomato sauce and small salad.

Back at our hotel, the Hotel Linner, we found these little marzipan pigs in our room!

We needed to make a bathroom stop on our way to see castles (!) and we pulled into this campsite.

We noticed a lake behind the campsite and discovered that it was completely frozen over! You can see remnants of fireworks that the residents had set off on the lake. Because the ice was so thick, the ice didn't crack or melt from the explosions.

VIDEO: This is what it sounds like when you try to "skip" a rock over a frozen lake. You'll hear a tinny echo.

Andrew and Christine on the pier:

VIDEO: Me dropping a rock onto the surface to try and break the ice.

Water rippling beneath the inches of ice.

"Auf Wiedersehen" means "Goodbye" in German

The Neuschwanstein castle! This is the castle on which the Disney castle was based.

Walking up to the castle:

A horse-and-buggy ride was offered for a few Euros, but we decided to hike it up the trail, about a 45-minute walk.

The Hohenschwagau castle sits on the opposite mountain. Another short hike in the opposite direction, the castle could be reached in about 30 minutes. 

The Neuschwanstein from afar:

A little waterfall on the mountain:

Made it to the top! Group pic.

Can you find me?

VIDEO: Castle exterior

Rob and me in front of the castle doors! The castle was closed because it was New Year's Day, so we just walked around the outside.

Check out those gargoyles:

VIDEO: Horse and buggy ride down the mountain. I opted for this so I didn't ruin my knees walking downhill...

A church below the mountain that we passed on our way out of the Schwangau.

On our way to Venice for the evening, we drove up and down the Alps, hugging the curvy roads, and even through tunnels (blasted sometimes miles-long).

We took a pit stop in Innsbruck, Austria for a late lunch before cruising on to Venice.

This is Innsbruck: a colorful, quiet city in the aftermath of New Year's celebrations. We saw remnants of fireworks and boozing on the streets that would hang around for another day or two until it was cleaned up. It looked like a fun time!

Dinner for me was a vegan carrot-ginger soup:

Then we drove another 3 1/2 hours to the Venice airport, where we parked in a long-term lot. We found the water taxi that runs from the Airport to the Guglie (Jewish ghetto), where we had an apartment. We had just missed the 10pm taxi so we had to wait for the 11pm boat... We got to the apartment by 11:45, thankfully only having to walk across the canal from the taxi stop to our place. We plopped into bed and got a good night's sleep.
The next day was Shabbat, so I was not able to take photos, but I walked around with the group to the market and St. Mark's Square and Cathedral and did some shopping and eating! The next day, Sunday, we revisited the same places so check out the photos on the next post!