Bavarian Adventures

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This morning we took a train to the Dachau concentration camp to honor and remember both those who had lost their lives and those who had survived the atrocities of the camp. It was a heavy yet powerful experience that we will not elaborate on.

Around noon, we had to hop into a cab to make our 13:30 train to a very different place-lighter and magical. We were looking forward to leaving Munich and taking a train to Fussen, a Bavarian town home to 2 beautiful castles connected with King Ludwig. Our journey there would take 3 transfers. Germany’s train stations and trains were similar to other one we had seen in Italy and France. In one particular station though, we were excited to see a conveyor built along side the stairs to the platform intended to place luggage on since there were no escalators or elevators. We noticed a small child trying to get on the conveyor belt and ride it down the stairs. The mother was pulling him off and then walked him down the stairs instead of letting him ride it down. We put our suitcase on the belt (not on its side) and just as Jordan said “hold it!”, it was too late. The suitcase went flying down the conveyor belt and when we looked to the bottom, we saw the same child riding on the belt with his mother to his side. We yelled "Move!" "Watch out!" When the mother turned around to see the suitcase headed for her child, she yanked the boy off the belt just inches from the suitcase, with seconds to spare. The suitcase continued down and flew off the belt hitting the opposite wall. We ran down the stairs to make sure the child was okay. Fortunately, he was fine and the mother was not upset with us, perhaps feeling like the child should not have placed been playing on the belt in the first place. Phew!! We were obviously pretty messed up after almost knocking a child out so 2 transfers later, we were happy to have reached our decision.


When we reached Fussen, we then took a bus to Hohenschwangau. We stopped at the TI office to get information on castle tours learning we only had time to see 1 of the 2 castles and made our way to the hotel to check in. After checking in, we headed to the Neuschwanstein castle upon which the Disney castle was created. A bus was waiting on the top of the hill to take the last tour group to the top. We walked to the castle grounds, crossing the castle bridge and enjoying the views of the valley and lakes below along the way. Our castle tour started at 18:15 and it was a magical experience. The level of detail in both the architecture of the castle as well as the unique décor on the inside was outstanding. This was King Ludwig’s 3rd castle and was only 1/3 completed as the King died before its completion . A 4th castle was also in the plans but of course never came to fruition though it is shown in a painting in the castle. King Ludwig was known to be very extravagant and spent a lot of money. This was clear in the ornate nature of the castle which was decorated with the finest materials including marble from Italy. The Neuschwanstein was built in honor of the King’s favorite opera composer, Richard Wagner, so the murals on the walls told the stories detailed in the various operas. There was also a grotto inside where the King would sit to hear the musicians who would sing in the Singers Halls on the floor above. The views from the castle were just as spectacular as King Ludwig appreciated beautiful scenery. From the balcony, we saw 2 lakes, rolling hills, and his parents castle, which we would not have time to visit. After the tour, we hiked down the hill. It was now 20:00 and time for dinner but everything in Hohenschwangau was closed so we would have to go to the Fussen for dinner. Since the town had a total of 3 cabs and there was a tour group there, we waited a long time for our turn. An Asian family was also waiting so we introduced ourselves and offered to share our cab with them. They were from Hong Kong and were on a 2 week trip to Europe with their boys. They had just come from the LegoLand.! Finally, a cab was available and the 6 of us piled in. We parted ways after the short 15 minute ride. There were several open restaurants and we found an unconventional restaurant to settle in to. The décor was interesting-leopard prints on the chairs and bold red walls but beautiful statues of Nubian princesses. We were not sure what to expect for the meal but were surprisingly pleased. Our baked cheese baguette salad and vegetarian burger were unbelievably delicious. We finished up dinner with ice cream with chocolate flakes and knew it was the perfect dinner to follow the enchanting castle tour in Hohenschwangau . After dinner, we took a cab half way back to town and walked the other half to our hotel alongside the castle on the hill. What a life those kings lived!

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