Adventures of NaDave: Dave Germany: 43-50 (Chiemsee & Innsbruck, Austria) 2/2

Friday was a big day for me. It would be the first time that I would travel outside of the Herzo/Nurnberg area, and really get an idea of traveling around Germany. I had purchased 3 train tickets for the 3 separate parts of my journey...1) Erlangen to Prien am Chiemsee, 2) Innsbruck to Munich, & 3) Munich to Erlangen...(I would travel from Chiemsee to Innsbruck with Pat & Katherine in a car)

Thankfully it was a clear morning, and I biked from Herzo to the Erlangen train station with just a backpack. I locked up my bike amidst the sea of bikes & waited for the 7am train. It was direct train to Munich, with 1 transfer to get to Chiemsee. The conductor came by, looked at my ticket, and said 'danke'...the travel was smooth (no stories!)

I arrived at Chiemsee at 10am, and Pat/Kath were right on time for us to meet up. Seeing friends in Germany was great! There were hugs, laughs, and stories from their wedding. The reason for meeting here was that one the last German Kings built a castle on the island in the Chiemsee Lake (Herrenchiemsee), which is on the foothills of the Alps. Katherine picked it out as a stop for their honeymoon (they were in Salzburg the night before). We walked from the train station to the lake, took a ferry to the island, then walked around the grounds. There were statues, fountains...it was fantastic. We grabbed lunch by the water, then got back to the car, and headed for Innsbruck Austria. It was wonderful to be traveling with friends, in a car!

Innsbruck was quite the awesome city in the Austrian Alps. Home to 2 Winter Olympics, it had a amazing views. We got into town, then took a lift ride all the way to the top for panoramic views (and steep cliffs). We had dinner, then headed back down. Pat/Kath did me a huge favor, and let me sleep on the floor of their hotel (during their honeymoon!). I was very grateful. As the night ended, Katherine retired early to give Pat & I a little personal time. So we headed out to walk around the old city, chat, and grab a quick beer.

I slept surprisingly well on the floor, and we were up early anyway, as Pat/Kath had to get on the road for Como, Italy. After only 24 hours, we said goodbyes, and it went by too quick! I had them drop me off at the Olympic stadium before catching my train to Munich. I walked around, thinking about how the eyes of the sporting world were on this place at one point, and now it rests quietly.

I headed for the train station & was back to getting around alone via the trains.