Germany, Austria & Switzerland Photo Blog

Tour: Germany, Austria and Switzerland

Dates: September 17-27, 2024

Tour Director: Patti Olson

Tour Director Highlights: This European tour included so many fabulous places to visit, including several ancient walled cities and many with protective fortresses guarding them from high above. Such a rich history and colorful buildings. From the dense Black Forest to the high, snowy Alps, each day included a new thrill. See the comments with each photo and journey with the group along the way.

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: Our driver who met us in Zurich was Arno. He drove us on the 2022 tour, also, and he speaks excellent English.

: After an overnight flight, everyone still looks alert and ready to begin our tour. First stop was Rhine Falls, Switzerland.

: The previous week’s heavy rains made the falls spectacular with lots of cascading water. Rhine Falls is the most powerful waterfall in Europe.

: Everyone loved the boat ride to the base of the falls. And, yes, we all got wet with the spray!

: Next stop was in the Black Forest to see their famous cuckoo clocks at Lake Tittisee.

: Arno treated us to an unscheduled coffee break at an ancient walled city of Marbach, birthplace of Germany’s famous poet Schiller.

: Like all ancient cities, the town fountain provided water to the residents.

: Marbach’s city gate has a commemorative statue to their WWI soldiers. You can see steps to the top of the city walls on the left.

: The most iconic ancient city with intact walls is Rothenburg ob der Tauber (on the Tauber River), Germany.

: The town square is picturesque with the lovely painted buildings and flower boxes.

: Our local guide met us at the town fountain in the main square for an informative walking tour.

: One of the best half-timbered houses by the city fountain. Note the water troughs in the fountain that can be opened to bring the water out to be collected in pails.

: Yes, some of us climbed these steps to walk along the city walls.

: The ancient city is nestled safely inside these city walls.

: This is the ancient city of Nuremberg, Germany, as seen from the fortress overlooking the city below. Note that as a “listed” city, there are no solar panels on the roofs that would mar its ancient character.

: Our local guide toured us around the fortress on narrow, cobblestone streets, then left us at its base to wend our way through the Old Town.

: There are several round towers along the ancient city walls (round towers help repel direct hits by enemies’ projectiles). We had some famous Nuremberg sausages for dinner at this restaurant. It was a nice evening, so we ate outdoors.

: Nuremberg is famous for its gingerbread. I treated the group to one of its special gingerbread cookies with almonds.

: This is the old stone bridge that leads to another UNESCO walled city of Regensburg, Germany. We didn’t see any half-timbered houses here as the city was very prosperous and built its houses with stone.

: Passau, Germany, is situated at the confluence of three rivers, the Danube, Inn, and Ilz. The fortress above the city is where Anabaptists were imprisoned 500 years ago. The Danube was very high due to the heavy rain the week before we arrived.

: The Passau Veste Oberhaus at night as seen from our hotel.

: Enroute to Salzburg, Austria, we visited the Silent Night Memorial Chapel. It was a Sunday, so the chapel was holding its weekly service for locals.

: Stained glass window commemorates Franz Gruber who wrote the Christmas Carol Silent Night.

: This was a great place for a group photo.

: A beautiful, sunny Sunday in Salzburg, Austria. This is looking from the Mirabell Palace gardens, over the city, and up to the fortress high above.

: The narrow streets were fun to explore.

: It was a festival day, so the locals were all dressed in lederhosen and historic costumes.

: There were so many locks at the Love Lock Bridge between the Old Town and the Marabell Palace.

: We took the funicular up to the fortress. The view from the top super.

: Next stop was Innsbruck. This is the Olympic ski jump tower that overlooks the city.

: We rode to the top of the ski jump to view both the Olympic venue and the city of Innsbruck. Note the mountains on the far side of the valley – we went there next! Up about 7000 feet above the city.

: Map of the 3 gondola lifts to the top of the world!

: Looking back at one of the transfer points. We still have more to go to the top!

: When I think of the Alps, this is what I envision. And here we are!

: Back in the Old Town, this is the famous Golden Roof where the emperor would stand to view activities in the city.

: We concluded our visit to Innsbruck with a Tyrolean show with alpen horns, yodeling, and authentic costumes.

: Everyone enjoyed the show, especially the older lady who could really yodel and also moo like a cow!

: Visiting Oberammergau on a non-passion play year is still an excellent choice. The town’s painted buildings with many flower boxes are lovely.

: This is the covered theater, but the stage is mostly uncovered and open air.

: We had an informative backstage tour, which we didn’t do the year the passion play was being performed.

: One of the costume rooms behind the stage.

: This building was decked out with the greatest number of flower boxes!

: The painted buildings commemorate scenes from the plague and the passion play.

: Just out of town is Ettal Abbey, a Benefictine monastery, which played a large part in the history of Oberammergau and the plague. It was founded in 1330. Dietrich Bonhoeffer spent several months here in 1940-1941.

: After a destructive fire in 1744, the current structure was rebuilt in the Baroque style. It’s an awesome experience to just sit in the pews and marvel at all the frescoes and ornamentation.

: Neuschwanstein Castle from the nearby Marienbrucke bridge. No photos are allowed inside the castle, but we had a great tour of King Ludwig’s private rooms.

: Arno knew it would be special to drive through Liechtenstein on our way back to Switzerland, adding a new country to our tour destinations. One can drive from one end to the other in just a few minutes!

: Just like other cities we visited, a fortress is high above the city and well protected from marauders.

: Everyone was awed by the length of this covered bridge over the Danube River at Liechtenstein

: Another town with beautiful buildings and pedestrian-only streets is Appenzell, Switzerland, our final town on the tour.

: That’s a lot of Swiss cheese! We had a fascinating tour of cheese that carries the Appenzeller brand, along with a cheese tasting of their products.