We were really lucky and were the only two people in our compartment (there are 6 beds total the could have been filled). It wasn’t the most comfortable, but it was ok, especially for as cheap as it was. And it was really nice to go to sleep in Venice and wake up in Munich. It was like stepping into another world, though.
In Italy it had been very warm (almost hot at times) and very crowded. Stepping of the train at Munich it was cold and raining. In Italy we were in the land of my favorite foods (pasta, bread, and gelato), in Germany we were in the land of Stephen’s favorite foods (meat, potatoes, and beer). I still liked the food, but not as much as I had in Italy :-).
We stayed at Hotel Fantasia, which was very nice. Except for the fact that our hot water didn’t work. But this was apparently only a problem for our room. There was a shower in the basement (like a bathroom for guests who had checked out but needed a place to shower after a day of hiking and/or sightseeing). I was hoping for some kind of discount, but the girl at the desk when we checked out spoke only minimal English and didn’t understand what we were asking.
We saw two castles, Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein (not sure about the spellings and as I am writing this on the train from Switzerland to Paris, I don’t currently have internet to check). Hohenschwangau was the childhood home of King Ludwig II (aka Mad King Ludwig). There were a lot of the original artifacts and furniture inside, and the tour we took was very informative.
Our first view of Neuschwanstein (it does look like Sleeping Beauty's castle!)
That's Hohenschwangau behind us
The town of Schwangau below the castle
A swan (Schwangau means swan)
Hohenschwangau (means high place of swans)
Neuchwanstein is up the hill from Hohenschwangau and was one of Ludwig II’s dream castles. He only lived in it around 100 days before he was declared insane and therefore incompetent to rule. His brother had been declared insane before him, and whether he really was insane or it was just a way to get him out of office I don’t know. Not too long after, both he and his psychiatrist were found dead at a lake near the castle. There was a fight, but no one knows what happened. It might’ve been a murder/suicide, but who knows.
Anyway, Neuchwanstein was never completed. The first and third floor were completed, and we did a tour of those. But the second floor was never completed. So you look up from the first floor and there’s a door that opens to nothing.
Neuchwanstein is quite a hike up the hill. We took a bus up to Mary’s Bridge, which gives you an incredible view of the castle. Unfortunately it was cloudy and rainy, so we couldn’t seen the mountains in the background. It was still and incredible view, though. On the way down we took a horse drawn carriage, which seemed like the thing to do from the castle that inspired Walt Disney in his drawing of the Sleeping Beauty castle.
Mary's Bridge, the boards bent as you walked on them,
I am not usually afraid of heights, but the bending boards
were too much for me.
On Mary's Bridge looking at Neuschwanstein
Unfortunately it was cloudy and rainy.
That's Mary's Bridge as seen from Neuschwanstein
The entrance to Neuschwanstein
Hohenschwangau as seen from Neuschwanstein
Our ride down the mountain
We had lunch in a small restaurant in Schwangau which was very good. Except for all the flies. Then we went back to Fussen where we rested for a while in our hotel and then went to dinner. I told my mom she would have really liked the dinner. We started with a salad and baked gouda, which was like a really thick grilled cheese.
Then we had some kind of schnitzel that was on a homemade macaroni and cheese made from a local cheese (I can’t remember the name of the cheese, it started with an A I think).
The next day we headed for Switzerland.
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