Day 11: Somehow I have lost some days ….. Schloss Neuschwanstein to Rothenburg ob der Tauber

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Day 11 Schloss Neuschwanstein to Rothenburg ob der Tauber



September 25^th 2014



I have cried twice on this trip so far and today was the first. We left Schloss and we decided – me included – to go in a gondola up the side of a mountain. Seriously what was I thinking??? Most people know I have a pathological fear of heights and so to submit myself to a small box suspended meters above the ground up the side of a mountain is sheer madness. The weather was calm. Not a breath of air or wind to disturb the gondola but still, by the end of the 10 minute trip I was a basket case. I wasn’t actually sobbing by the time I got out but had big wet crocodile tears rolling down my face. (Even I think I’m an idiot). Once we got off and got on to terra firma the view was amazing. The countryside was green and lush and the panorama peppered with castles – including Schloss Neuschwanstein – and villages with terracotta tiles roofs. We walked around a bit and took photos and by then another gondola had arrived to the top and this old guy got out with what looked like a backpack and we had a conversation amongst ourselves about how he was probably hiking up into the mountains and camping but the next thing we knew he had unpacked a hang gliding apparatus, whacked it on his back and then jumped off the side of the mountain. I wish I had the courage to do something like that – he was free, graceful and flying.



When the time came to leave clouds had rolled in obscuring the ground below and I guess in some ways it was better for me as I wasn’t able to see the bottom for a while and by the time I could I was half way down. That is one thing I never have to do again in my lifetime. And of course the boys were good with it all. Mandy was nervous but nowhere near as bad as me.



We headed off for our next destination Rothenburg ob der Tauber which was about 3 hours away by road. Again we had to travel on the autobahn but every day I get less and less nervous on the road. I intentionally sit in the back so no one can see me breaking …..



Mandy had booked the accommodation and we stayed in this hotel in the old part of town. We had to drive into the old town to get to it over cobbled stone roadways and avoid hundreds of human obstacles – tourists everywhere. The driving has been pretty stressful for Mandy and Louis and I am so glad Frank and I are not even attempting to drive.



Frank and I had to attend to some laundry and so we spent a couple of hours washing and drying our clothes. It’s a necessary inconvenience.





That night we went to a lovely restaurant and had a traditional German meal. We all agreed it was the best (purchased) meal to date.

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