May 16 - 136/365

18-55mm lens @ 32mm, f/5, 1/40, ISO 200

"The hills are alive....." Welcome to Salzkammergut, the Lake Region of Austria, also fondly called "Sound of Music" country since it is the region that best represents the beautiful countryside featured in the movie. Since my husband is NOT a big fan of musicals (in fact, he almost abhors them), we did not spend time touring the "Sound of Music" sights, but we did stay one night in the lake region. This image is of a town called Hallstatt, and the town we stayed the night in, Obertraun, was just 5 minutes away across the lake. Despite the gloomy weather that was continuing to plague us, we enjoyed the beautiful views of the alpine villages set on the lake with the majestic mountains jutting up in the background. These towns were also well known for serving fish freshly caught in the lake, so we welcomed the opportunity to take a break from our pork-focused diet. Hallstatt is also known for its large salt mines which has been a huge source of income for the town for thousands of years, but unfortunately we arrived in town too late to take a tour of the mines. Still, we enjoyed the serenity and beauty of the Salzkammergut.

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May 11 - 131/365

18-55mm lens @ 30mm, f/10, 1/160, ISO 200

This was definitely one of my most favorite days in Germany. 1) It was the first completely nice day we had. The sun was shining and it actually felt a little warm outside after days of overcast skies and rain. 2) We got our first glimpse of the Alps, the most magnificent mountain range I have ever seen and with crystal clear water below the most beautiful shade of turquoise blue - you don't expect to see that in a lake. 3) Today was "Mad" King Ludwig castle day. Well, not officially, but for us it was. We were able to tour three of King Ludwig of Bavaria's castles, one of which is the most famous castle in all of Germany, Neuschwanstein. Ludwig was King of Bavaria and LOOOOVED to spend money and build castles. In fact, he spent so much money (which he borrowed and didn't actually have) that his family was forced to declare him legally insane so that they could regain control of his accounts and keep him from spending any more money. His sudden death days after he called off his engagement was shrouded in mystery as he was found dead in a lake with his physician, and no one to this day knows if it was murder or suicide. Craaaaazy! His death left all but one of his castles unfinished inside, but you can still tour the finished parts. The castle pictured above, called Hoenschwangau, was the castle that King Ludwig spent his childhood in with his family. While it wasn't the most magnificent castle we saw that day, I loved the surrounding scenery with the lake and the mountains in this photo the best.

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