![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.anirama.com\/trip\/europe2012\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/07\/120713-1926.jpg\" "\\"King")
<\/a>King Ludwig II’s Castle Herrenchiemsee – a clone of the Palace of Versailles.<\/p><\/div>\n
We took the full tour of the castle, unfortunately no cameras were allowed. Ludwig ran out of (Bavaria’s) money and never finished it – the story goes that his crazy spending habits are what moved Bavaria from a monarchy to a democracy. The unfinished parts were just as interesting: seeing the bricks, mortar and beams that really hold the place together behind the marble was a unique experience. His dining room table was mounted on an elevator, so servants could set the table downstairs and crank it up into his dining room (a process that took half an hour). The entire castle had one bathroom, just for King Ludwig. It didn’t really matter, as he never invited guests over (and he only lived there for 10 days before he died).<\/p>\n
We had lunch on the even smaller island of Fraueninsel before heading back to the car.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Waiting for our ride back to the mainland.<\/p><\/div>\n
On the ferry back we could see A8 – the highway leading to Salzburg. It was absolutely stopped. We asked the person at the information desk and she told us that was traffic all the way into Salzburg and it would take hours to get there. Change in plans! Let’s go to Innsbruck!<\/p>\n
<\/a>Austrian and EU flags above Innsbruck.<\/p><\/div>\n
Innsbruck hosted the Winter Olympics in 1964 and 1976; when we spotted the ski jump from the highway the car went into auto-pilot and took us straight there. It’s iconic. It’s the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. It’s also something we can go to the top of.<\/p>\n
<\/a>From atop the ski jump tower you can see all of Innsbruck and the ski runs on the Alps. At least that’s what I would have seen if I had turned around.<\/p><\/div>\n
As we imagined how nuts you have to be to take a run down this thing, Jason noticed that from the skier’s view the first thing you see beyond the landing point is a cemetery.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Skier’s-eye view of the ski jump. Just beyond the landing area is a cemetery.<\/p><\/div>\n
<\/a>The ski jump from below, with photobomber.<\/p><\/div>\n
From there we made our way into the old part of Innsbruck. We opted out of Tyrolian hats and “I\u00a0\u2665 Innsbruck” tee shirts but once again found a free outdoor concert, this time the local philharmonic rehearsing for a show that evening (complete with Bavarian horn).<\/p>\n
<\/a>Sitting in on rehearsal.<\/p><\/div>\n
At dinner I ordered “Big Plate of grilled meat” which included an exploded sausage (see images below). I don’t want to dwell on that here, because dessert was more important. When I was in Italy with my family in 2007 we decided that coins in our pockets were “Gelato tokens,” a tradition that has stuck with me ever since.<\/p>\n