Day 7: San Sano

After a day of driving around, we spent the night in San Sano. Mom found a great, villa hotel in the middle of nowhere in Tuscany. The hotel was beautiful- surrounded by vineyards and rolling hills. That night, the owner's wife cooked us a home-cooked meal complete with dessert.

Day 7: Driving through Tuscany (more photos)

Pictures of Siena's Duomo, inside and out.

Day 7: Driving through Tuscany

After a quick change of trains in Venice, we arrived in Florence and headed straight from the train station to the Hertz. After picking up our car, Dad got reacquainted with a stick-shift and quickly learned the street smarts of the over crowded Florence streets. All our nerves were calmed once we got on more open roads and we made our way to Siena. Stopping in Sienna, we walked around the city's quaint streets and visited its main sights, including St. Catherine's Church, Piazza del Campo and the Duomo (cathedral).

Day 6: Last Day in Munich/ Overnight Train

On our last day in Munich, we took a free tour. After learning more about the city, my parents and I split ways for a bit. My parents went to the Deutsches Museum and I went to the Jewish Museum. After meeting up again, we enjoyed our last German meal of the trip and grabbed our luggage back at the hotel. We boarded our 9pm overnight train which was an experience in itself. Six people in one cabin was quite.... snug. However, cutting back on a day of traveling was worth it.

Day 5: Schloss Neuschwanstein

The third and final stop of the day was at King Ludwig II's Neuschwanstein castle. This picturesque castle rests on a mountain set among a beautiful forest. It isn't hard to believe that this was the inspiration for Walt Disney's castle (fun fact!) After a pleasant lunch, we climbed, and I do mean climbed, a steep hill up to the castle. Ludwig did not see the completion of the castle, which he had decorated in homage to Richard Wagner, as he was deemed "mad" and later found dead in a lake.

Day 5: Oberammergau

The second stop on this day trip was in the Bavarian town of Oberammergau (quite a month full) It is mostly famous for its woodcarvings and the Passion play it hosts every 10 years. The passion play was dedicated to God after the city was spared during the plague. To participate in the play, you must be a citizen of the town and most citizens take off work for a year to devote themselves to the production of the play. The play was starting the Saturday after we visited!

Day 5: Linderhof

On this day, we took a day trip out of Munich. The first stop was the Linderhof Schloss(castle), one of three castles built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria. The castle is extremely small, just a two story building, yet its inspiration stems from Versailles. Each room was over-decorated from floor to ceiling with drapery, carpet, paintings, furniture, etc. Pictures weren't allowed inside so here are some photos from the beautiful grounds.