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On Easter Sunday, my friend and I ventured out of Germany; we didn't go very far but we didn't need to, because there was the pretty Austrian city of Salzburg right at Germany's doorstep! In fact, out of our 2-hour train trip from Munich to Salzburg, only the last 4 minutes were in Austria. But I only realised this when I finally managed to find the border on the inbound trip. If you ever get to travel this train trip, you should play this 'spot the border' game too! Salzburg is close to Germany and Austrians speak German too, but Salzburg is distinct from Germany. Anyone who's been to Italy could probably not help thinking that this place is like an Italian town of sorts. That's because the archibishops who ruled Salzburg in the past liked everyting Italian for their buildings and design. It's no surprise if you find that the view of Salzburg from the nearby hills (see my photos) is somewhat reminiscent of Florence or Pisa (to my mind, anyway). For thos...

I went on my first expedition outside Munich, with a friend on Easter Saturday, to the highest peak of Germany and two nearby beautiful towns. We first went to the town of Mittenwald, which is 1 1/2 hours south-west of Munich by rail. The town is famous for making violins, handicrafts and the exterior decor of their Bavarian houses. Skiers would probably care more about the fact that the town is right beside a ski mountain range of 2200-metre altitude! Twenty minutes away by rail was our second stop of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It also had some nice traditional architecture, but it's more famous as a transit point to the highest peak of Germany called Zugspitz. Mr friend and I rode the cogwheel train to Lake Eibsee, where there were two ways of travelling to the peak. We took the more thrilling option of the cable car which took us to the peak (2962 metres) in 5 minutes or so. Reputedly, Zugspitz is a vantage point for the 4 adjoining countries of Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerl...

Looking for something to do in Munich City on Sunday? When Bayern-Munich football team is not playing in town, the City is much quieter and there aren't too many things left (shops are closed on Sundays everywhere on Sundays), so museums are a good choice. Besides, museum entrance fees are only 1 euro compared to 9 euros on other days - that's a pretty good bargain! So prospective visitors, you know how to plan your time in Munich and don't complain that there's nothing to do on Sundays! 星期日在慕尼黑有何可幹？遇上拜仁慕尼黑作客，所有商鋪都關門休息（全德國亦然），街道便格外冷清，唯有博物館仍開放可以逛逛，而且入場費由平時9歐元減至1歐元，當然是超值之消閑活動！如果他日來慕尼黑，記得好好安排時間，免得星期日悶呆！ Pinapothek der Moderne (Museum of Modern Arts, Design and Architecture) 現代藝術、設計及建築博物館 26-03-2006 Now you know why so many people were waiting to enter! 怪不得等入場時大排長龍了。 Antikensammlungen (Antiques Collection Museum) 古代文物博物館 02-04-2006 German archeologists worked hard and unearthed many ancient Greek handicraft items that are now housed in this Museum. There are also sculptur...