We just went on a little weekend trip. It was fun. The trip was organized by the Outdoor
Recreation Center here on Hanau. So, all the traveling was pre-arranged. I figured that
would be a good was to start since we are not familiar with Germany. The trip went to
Neuschwanstein Castle, with an overnight stop in Garmisch, and then on to Dachau on
Sunday.
We left on Saturday morning at 6am. I was almost disappointed since Anthony couldn't
find his wallet and ID card-and to top it all off, it was raining. Well, he finally found
it and we made it to the bus right on time. It was about a 6-hour ride to the Bavarian
Alps. We stopped once for breakfast at 8am. As we got closer to Neuschwanstein Castle, our
ears began to pop due to the altitude change, and we saw the mountains off in the
distance. It was really wonderful to see that again. It reminded me of my childhood out
west and the Rockies. The hillside was beautiful. The land was scattered with green, lush
grasses with patches of just laid manure (fun for the nose) for the farmland. Every now
and then you saw a cluster of buildings-the villages.
Every village has three things-separate or in combination. 1) A church, 2) A tower and
3) A clock. And all the buildings have a hue of brown color for the roof. If you scan the
horizon you could count the buildings and then follow the road on to the next village. The
villages seem to pop up all over the hillside and all are distinctively separate from one
another despite their similarities.
Once we got in
the area of Neuschwanstein, the Bavarian Alps closer in range, the weather began to change
for the better. The sun came out and it warmed up to the mid-60s. You would think that
higher elevation would be colder. It was a very nice day. And the scenery was breath
taking-the mountains we were on, along with the higher mountains in the background layered
with snow, and then out of nowhere, a castle jutting out of a mountainside, all by it's
lonesome. And next to the castle, on another mountainside all its own, was the
Künigschlosser (King's Castle). It wasn't as exquisite, nor as high, as the
Neuschwanstein Castle but it was beautiful just the same.
There were three
ways you could get to the top and visit the inside of the Castle. 1) You could walk up the
footpath, 2) you could take the bus, or 3) you could take the horse carriage. We chose the
footpath. "It was a nice day out and it shouldn't take so long" we thought.
Well, the hike started out and remained a steady 45-degree incline! It was wonderful! But
tiring! I lost my breath and had to slow down half way up because of pain in my chest. I
wasn't used to the thin air and the strenuous climb. But I made it just the same and
enjoyed it even! Three quarters of the way up to the castle was a restaurant. We needed to
get some water before I passed out. So we took a rest and drank our water. We noticed the
"dessert" menu. Uh, oh! Bad mistake. Because, what was on there?! Black Forest
Cake! So, we were bad and ordered a piece! Whoo Hooo! Let me tell you-nothing could
compare to that cake! It was light and airy and the cherries were soaked in brandy! It was
the best Black Forrest Cake ever!!
After our
indulgence, we made our way up the rest of the hill. Finally, to the castle. The view into
the valley was incredible and so was the castle. The best way to describe the castle is:
Walt Disney modeled Cinderella's Castle after it. The one side of the castle looked into
the valley while the other looked up into the mountains. Great location for a castle,
don't you think?! No one would dare cross those mountains as steep and rocky as they look!
All they would have to worry about is people trying to climb the mountain from the
village.
We went through
the guided tour of the castle. It was very elaborate and not as old as I thought it was.
(It was built in the late 1800s). No picture taking was allowed. It seemed that no one
paid any attention to that rule except us. The detail was nice, I loved the woodwork, and
there were swans all over the place. King Ludwig loved swans so he had them incorporated
into his "home". He was deemed mentally unstable and according to the tour, this
castle portrayed his "fairy tale" life he lived in. He has been considered the
"dream king". Along the tour we could look out the windows. One looked toward
the mountain. We saw a bridge connecting the two mountains and wanted to find out how to
get there. Unfortunately, when we found the path, it would have taken us too long and we
would have missed our bus going to Garmisch and our hotel room.
