No, I didn't visit the Disneyland in France. Why go there when the rest of the continent is one great fantasy land? The Disney theme parks' signature centerpiece was modeled after the Neuschwanstein Castle in southern Germany. And Prague Castle, Vienna's Hofburg and Munich's Residenz contain historical and physical treasures beyond measure (one small table had six kilos of gold inlayed in it) and they're all huge. On my visit to the Residenz they set me up with an audio player for the Treasury portion of the self-guided tour. I asked about how to set up the residence part. 'We'll see you in about two hours and do it then.' They replied. It took me 2 1/2 hours just to do the first part - and there was still a 300 room palace to follow. Whew.
The Eisenhut was another outstanding hotel. It is situated in the heart of the middle-age city of Rothenburg (see a theme here?) and is run by the founder's great-great grandson. By comparison, it make's Yosemite's flagship Ahwanhee seem like a Holiday Inn. The hotel consists of three adjacent buildings built in the 15th and 16th centuries. The hallways make you feel like you're in a mid-evil castle. And the artwork is to die for.
The Autobahn was fun too. I won't say how fast I was going because my mother is reading this. Let's just say more cars passed me than I passed and that I spent most of my time in the slow lane. I also kept my speeds to a level I considered safe for my little Mercedes. And thank goodness for GPS. I never would have made it out of Munich without it, nor found my last two hotels.
So, my refrigerator will once again be covered with ticket stubs from museums and castles, metro lines and picture magnets - fond memories from my latest trip. What was best? Vienna? Warsaw? Amsterdam? Budapest? Munich? Brussels? Prague? Luxembourg? Rothenburg? Yes, yes, YES!!! But the real question is ... where next?
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