Tuesday October, 9 and Wednesday, October 10

On Tuesday we left the Berchtesgaden area for Neuburg am Inn.  We have a photograph of a castle on a hill and Dad had written on the back "This is the castle we stayed in up there  July 4, 1945".  We're assuming that he and Paul stayed there while on leave and on their way to the Eagle's Nest.  The castle is now the Hotelschloss Neuburg in which we stayed--pretty standard hotel room but a neat environment.

Dad's photos of "the castle we stayed in up there"

Earlier in the day we took a coffee break stop in Lamprechthausen, Austria -- the village that Patrick's Grandfather Lamprecht's ancestors immigrated from in the 1800s.

Wednesday, we took a fairly long drive into the Czech Republic to the  town of Cesky Krumlov located in the South Bohemia region.  Construction of the town and castle began in the 13th century in a horseshoe bend of the River Vltava.   It's another UNESCO World Heritage site but definitely off the beaten path and was not overrun with tourists.  Between 1938-45 it was annexed to Nazi Germany as part of the Sudetenland and after being liberated by 5th Infantry Division troops in 1945 was restored to Czechoslovakia.  Of course, during the communist regime the town fell into disrepair.  It was beautiful, a little rough around the edges but very quaint and real.  We enjoyed it more than Rothenburg, Germany.

Castle overlooking town and River Vltava

View of Cesky Krumlov rooftops from Castle Bridge

Fountain in Castle courtyard

Town cobbled street

Overlook of town and Castle across river

And on the way there, we visited the town in Germany where Patrick's Grandmother's family immigrated from also in the 1800s--Wegscheid, Germany.