October 7 – Mittenwald and Farewell Dinner

October 7, 2016 – Mittenwald, Germany and Austrian Farewell Dinner
We had the morning to do whatever we wanted. Carrie, Peter, Carol, and I all took the free bus around Seefeld. There are many hotels and apartments up and down the hills and this bus run some to help get people to town and, I the winter, to the ski slopes. After we had a light lunch. I had apple strudel. Well, it tasted very light.
At 1pm, Simona treated us to a glass of prosecco and snacks of different types of speck. Speck is cured meats.
We had free time again until 3:30pm so I packed my bag. At 3:30pm we went to Mittenwald where Simona took us to the Violin museum. In the 1600s Matthias Klotz went to Italy to learn how to make violins and brought the knowledge back to Mittenwald and started his own workshop. Violins continue to be made in Mittenwald to this day. The museum was very interesting. We had some free time to roam around the town and take pictures. The church tower is a good example of fresco painting from the 1700s.
Lastly we headed back to Seefeld and went way up the mountain to a restaurant near a cross-country skiing resort. We had our Farewell dinner accompanied by accordion players serenading us with Austrian Tyrol music. It was a very fun time. Some people danced and at one point we had a conga line around the room.
Tomorrow we leave Austria behind and go to Munich for the final night of this tour. On Sunday 11 people will stay in Munich for the post tour of Munich and Salzburg. Everyone else (except Carol and I) will be traveling home. Carol and I will be taking a train on Sunday to Berlin where we will explore the city before returning home on Thursday Oct. 13th.