Today we set out for a road with the family, that is not before we sat down for breakfast with them. They are a very ordered family, I said that this was different to they way our family had breakfast as we all seemed to be going in a different direction right from the get go early in the morning. Today is a very important day as it is May Day, a public holiday when each village erects the May Pole, this is a large pine tree cleaned down then decorated. It is also a day in the smaller communities that you dress up in your national costume. Like all traditions over time it becomes watered down but still many did take on the theme and it was fascinating to see. Another tradition is for each village to try and find out where the May pole is and being decorated, if you can take the other villages May pole without being caught and then return it on 1 May then the village mayor has to provide free beer to those who pinched the pole - has a certain appeal to me!

Berndts brother has a 6 seater car so we borrow this for the day which is great as we can all go together . We are going to Germany's only alpine national park which is about 1 hours drive away, along the motorway we notice that there are no trucks on the road and that they are all parked in service centres or just along the sidings of the motorway. It turns out that no trucks are allowed on the road on public holidays and on Sundays and at midnight all must stop wherever they are. Great for the general public but not so for the poor truckies who are literally stranded.

We are starting to get the hunger pains so we stop just prior to our destination at an old brewery
or hofbrauhaus called Braustuberl Berchtesgaden in Bankhammer for lunch, seems the traditional national dish is pork so we go for this along with a cabbage salad with a large handle of the house ale.

Next onto our main destination called Lake Konigssee which is in the far eastern bottom border region of Bavaria and close to Austria. There are thousands of people here and is a full day destination . We wander around and then catch a boat on the lake for a 30 minute ride to near the end of the lake where we get off for a wander around, you are surrounded by mount ions soaring up to a height of 2700 metres. It is an amazing place/ area, great for pics. The boat stopped in the middle of the lake and cut its engines to total quite and then the tour guide who we did not understand a word pulled out his trusty trumpet and played a few bars and stopped and we could then hear the echo and would play another few bars and stop again for the echo, a real different experience. Hard to describe the sheer beauty of the mountains that drop in a sheer manner to brilliantly clear deep and very cold water.

Peaceful return boat trip, they are all electric boats so feel like you are gliding across the water. Finish the trip and then a wander back through the touristy shops, not many Aussies around today but plenty locals as the German population is now around 90 million.

Back on the road and next thing you know we are entering Salzburg Austria !! This is a real surprise and treat, I said to John do you realise that you are walking the historic streets of Salzburg as sometimes hard to get a grip on reality . The town seemed busy as it all out and about celebrating National May Day. All the locals yin their costumes look great, We stroll around the small car free streets into the square of Mozart for another photo opportunity. Even come across people caring a very long May pole that they had "acquired". We stop in a square for a spritzer beverage, sitting and soaking up as many sounds, sights, colours and characters as is possible. All the time the gigantic castle that dominates the city centre watches over you. We are told you could spend a full day just going through the castle - spell bounding really. On our way out of the city we go past the Hotel Sacher Salzburg where the famous Sacher Torte cake can be had, would have liked to taste test.

On the way back we go past Germany's second largest lake called Lake Muritz with an area of 29,000 acres. Back on the autobahn and we travel at a speed of around 120 klms with cars passing us, some at astonishing speeds. All tired after a big day so just hang and then go to bed around 10.30pm. Funny thing, our hosts must have thought we sleep in a lot as John has been asking me the time and we get up around 8.00am but my clock on the iPad did not take on the local time when we arrived in Munich so is 1 hour behind so actually getting up around 9.00am. A good way to miss planes!!

All in all a fantastic day, one only able to be achieved with very generous people willing to make an effort to show us around and tell us all the little pieces that make up the fabric of their Bavarian area.