For the past few years, we have stayed at the Pension Weiher during our visits to Neuschwanstein; but on this trip, the Weiher was closed as the Oswald family took a vacation of its own. However, they did make arrangements for us at the Pension Restaurant Meier. The Meier is located a little farther from the village, and the rooms are not quite the same as those at the Weiher. But it does provide a good budget alternative, and the meals at the restaurant are top quality.

The walk up to the Marienbrucke for these pictures of the castle was one of the hardest I have ever made. The boys had a great time, slipping and sliding in the snow all the way; but Brenda and I almost passed out before we made it. But, the hard work was worth it. Seeing the castle draped in a cover of light snow is a scene I will not forget.

During this visit to Munich, the Alte Pinakothek was being remodeled, but many of the works had been placed temporarily in the Neue Pinakothek. But after several tiring hours outside in the cold, the museum proved to be too much for some of the boys, and by the time we reached the last of the rooms, the exhaustion took over.

At one end of the Dachau Memorial site, Protestants, Catholics, and Jews have constructed small houses of worship and prayer. On this trip, we found that a new, small memorial has been constructed by the Russian Orthodox Church near the site of the former crematorium. Our own "Russian" enjoyed posing near the memorial.