We were meeting Mark and Tara in for the weekend at an Armed Forces Recreation Center in Southern Germany since we wanted to see Mark and Tara before their baby was born.
Travel Experience
The weekend started out with Seth spending an evening in Munich, while
I traveled from Zurich to Munich on train. We then went by train to Salzburg,
where Mark and Tara met us. It was too late to see the city, so we drove
that night back into Germany to Chiemsee.
In true Mark form, he had no idea of where we were going, but found the hotel on the first try. Once we arrived at Chiemsee, we loved being among other Americans at the AFRC - Armed Forces Recreational Center. Unfortunately, we arrived so late that there weren't any restaurants still open. So, Mark got some Macaroni and Cheese from the car and made it in the hotel's coffee maker! Tara was here discussing how that when she married a doctor, she thought life would be better than Mac & Cheese in a coffee pot. We just couldn't stop laughing.
The next day was bright and sunny with perfect weather. We enjoyed an outdoor American breakfast alongside a beautiful lake. We then decided to take the boat to a castle on an island in the middle of the lake. The lake was gorgeous, many sail boats were out and it was just so peaceful. The trip to the island was quick and we walked through a woods to get to the palace. We took the English walking tour and learned how it was modeled after Versailles. Mark's Tara was very tired and after the tour, Mark & Tara took a nap on benches outside the palace while Seth's Tara bought postcards. We enjoyed a mostly lazy day, exploring the castle and island.
Instead of heading back to the hotel for dinner, we ate at the top of a hill overlooking incredible views of the lake. It was beautiful to enjoy the scenery and company. After a quick walk around some of the rest of the island, we headed back to the hotel.
Seth and Tara were very excited to visit the local PX store since it contained only American products. We stocked up with more than we could carry!
On Sunday, we packed up after breakfast and headed for a day in Saltzburg. Mark and Tara were on their way back to Vicenza, but also stopped for the afternoon in Salzburg. Since Tara was so tired we enjoyed a carriage ride around town.
After Seth & I had been on the train for an hour, we looked out the window onto a beautiful lake that looked really familiar. The train we were on then went RIGHT BY the AFRC hotel!! Still, it was nice to see Salzburg even if it meant 2 extra hours of travel!
As our hotel was directly on the lake, we spend lots of time alongside or actually on the water. We ate good American-syle buffet breakfasts along the lake, we sat on the shore admiring the view while talking or reading and we could even see the water from our room. We also had to cross the lake to visit the island with the Versailles castle.
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Exhausted from touring, Mark and Tara take naps.
We felt the Chiemsee lake was gorgeous. The sight below with the mountains rising above a blue, shimmering lake dotted with sailboats and swans was typical of our entire weekend away.
When: Friday, 19 - Sunday, 21 September, 1996
Tourist Office:
Web Sites:
Flights:Seth flew from Heathrow to Munich and then waited for me as I arrived on the train from Zurich. We then flew home together from Munich to London on Sunday. We paid GBP 165.30 for Seth's ticket that we purchased on July 9th & my train fare was 149CHF = 81.54GBP. I can't remember if this was the train ride where I'd had such a crappy day at work that I decided to ride first class and really enjoyed laying back and looking up at the moon in my own private cabin as the train rolled along. It might have been when we met for Oktoberfest.
Flight for Tara:
14 Jul - Swiss Air 808 from London to Zurich
Flight for Seth:
19 Jul - Lufthansa 4071 from London at 3:15pm to Munich 6pm
Flight together:
21 Jul - Lufthansa 4104 from Munich at 7:25pm to London 8:30pm
Travel Times
Hotel: United States Armed Forces Recreational Center in Chiemsee, Germany
