Germany Trip, Day 10

My whirlwind tour of the German speaking world continues...

The hotel (Hotel am Südring ) where I'm staying is a pleasant suprise. The room is small by American standards but quite nice by European standards. They have a brass plate in front of the hotel showing that it is a 2 star, I'd give it 2½. The bed was comfortable, much more so than at the Wohnheim. The furniture and finishings seemed new, a rustic looking light pine. The bathroom also new and spacious by German standards, especially for a small hotel. Price was ok, too.

I'll have pictures up tonight. No school tomorrow morning, but we have an activity in the afternoon

The bear seemed to like having his picture taken. The the soundtrack accompanying the drive was Jimmy Buffett's boxed set Bars, Boats, Beaches and Ballads (in no particular order) probably played louder than Buffetts been heard on the Autobahn. I should have brought some Springsteen...
On the drive to Füssen the Autobahn ends about 30 klicks from the town. Bavaria is incredibly beautiful and parts of it remind me a little of Wisconsin, and to paraphrase their unofficial motto, "Visit Bavaria and smell our dairy air". Whoooof!

Parking was a little tight even though I was driving a small 4 door sedan. (5-speed). What I found unbelievable was the pay toilets near the parking and shops. .50 € (75¢) to use the bathroom.

The Bavarian Alps

The views are spectacular, even from the souvenir/hotel/restaurant area.

Schloss Hohenschwangau, King Ludwig II's parents residence

Over the entrance to the kitchen. The motto translates, "In drinking and eating you shouldn't forget G-d".

We were treated to a flyover by the Bavarian Air Force

You can get to the castle by horsedrawn cart, bus or on foot. The ride up cost € 5.00 by cart, € 1.80 by bus. I elected to walk, I need the excercise. It was about a 25 minute hike up the mountain.

With horse drawn carts comes horse by-products.

View on the way up

Exterior wall of castle.

Entrance

Lower interior courtyard, where visitors line up for tours. Supposedly Walt Disney used this castle for the inspiration for the Cinderellas castles in the Disney© evil empire. The place did have Disneyesque feel about it. This was built as a fantasy castle, as weaponry by the 19th century when it was built had rendered castles obsolete.

The upper yard (Hof) of Schloss Neuschwanstein

Inside the courtyard.

Model of the castle, at the end of the tour just before you exit. Herr T and Frau L would be proud of me, I took the German language tours (even though English ones were available) I could probably understand 50-60% of what the 'Führleiterinen' said, but I missed the jokes.

The tour lasted about 35 minutes and cost € 9.00. Ludwig II, sometimes called Mad King Ludwig was fixated on a Romantic vision of German history (a recurring theme?). He had this thing about swans and a mythical "Swan Knight". There are paintings and swan statuary all over the castle. He was also a patron of Richard Wagner and many of the rooms are themed in the Wagner operas like Tannhäuser. While I don't think Ludwig was psycho, I would have to say he was quite eccentric. My best way to describe him is that he was Elvis and his castles were Graceland, on a larger scale.

View of Mariensbrücke (Mary's Bridge) You have to click on the pic, it is that beautiful.

The castle from Mariensbrücke. Unfortunately it rained and got cool while I was on the tour so the picture is not as good as it could have been.

Another view of Hohenschwangau earlier in the day

Hohenschwangau from Neuschwanstein late in the day in the rain.

The village of Pinschwang in Austria. I had dinner at Gasthof zum Schluxen. Of course I had the Wienerschnitzel and the local beer, Mohren Bräu. The beer was good, and the cutlet was outstanding. Even better than mine, but a little too much salt. I had to finish off with a sacher torte and coffee to give me the strength for the drive back to Swäbisch Hall.

Mariensbrücke