Blogs from Bavaria, Germany, Europe
Germany 1 - Mad King Ludwigs Castle
Published: May 26th 2012Europe » Germany » Bavaria » Neuschwanstein
May 26th 2012
Ever onwards we travelled through Germany from Rothenburg towards Neuschwanstein where we planned to visit Mad King Ludvig and his fairy tale castle. Neuschwanstein castle is a 19th century Romanesque Revival palace built on a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau which is near to Fussen in the south west of Bavaria. It was commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavavia as a personal retreat and as homage to Richard Wagner. The roads were busy compared to yesterday and there were lines and lines of lorries like plagues of locusts making their way across Germany. What a difference a day makes. How I wish all lorries were banned from using the roads at weekends at home – what a difference that would make to travelling in our small country. The weather had improved slightly although it ... read more
May 22nd 2012
We have some fun stories to share about our immigration experience, as you can imagine :) You saw in an earlier post that we purchased a Mattress from Mataratzen-Concord. They delievered it, told us that we should no problem getting our financing approved, and we thought everything was peachy. QUITE THE OPPOSITE... to build the backstory, we have been working diligently to get our permanent residence and work permits (for two years, and then they are renewed automatically by my work)... however this process takes many months once you arrive in Germany and we still have temporary permits that must be renewed every three months. Of course, this should be fine right, you have the permit and nothing goes wrong? Well, truth be told - when you are a foreigner in Germany you need to have ... read more
May 21st 2012
Erik and I have found that Toytown Germany is the most amazing we have ever discovered! It’s an English speaking community and online forum all across Germany and its huge in Munich. We have been able to find things for sale, weekly meetups for a beergarten or gamenight and group gatherings at festivities, not to mention the major support we had in moving over here with all the little things one must learn and do when moving here, and tonight we joined a softball league! We have wanted to go for a while, but tonight timing was just right so we showed up with one glove and an old fast pitch softball bat expecting the worst (since the last league I tried to play with was incredibly pretentious), but instead found a wonderfully welcoming group of ... read more
May 21st 2012
So everyone asked, how do you accidentally climb a mountain? I suppose you don’t, but it definitely was a random and unexpected adventure and we had no idea that it would be such a pleasant challenge! The real plans of the day were just to visit Garmisch-Partenkirchen at foot of the tallest mountain in Germany, Zugspitze. It’s a quaint little fairy-tale town with the beautifully painted German architecture and all the flowers in bloom nestled against towering snow-capped beautiful mountains, bordering Austria, so to get the best view, we decided to hike up! We found a map to St. Martin’s Hut just by stopping on the side of the road, and even though we were not quite prepared for a hike, the idea of being rewarded with an authentic German meal and beer at the time ... read more
Germany 1 - the romantic road
Published: May 18th 2012Europe » Germany » Bavaria » Rothenburg ob der Tauber
May 18th 2012
Woke up to another wet and dreary day. Will this never end? It seems to have gone on forever with little sign of letting up. The intrepid driver decided that instead of driving to Girod he would do the 7 hour drive all the way to Rothenburg in Germany. All started well until we reached the first town where the sat nav got very confused with the road system. To be fair it looked like a kitten or two had got into mother in laws knitting bag and wool and unravelled the lot. It was no wonder she got lost and it took some time to get back on the right road again. We needed petrol again and found as usual that it seemed impossible to find a petrol station in Belgium on the motorway. Are ... read more
May 12th 2012
Today was a most splendid day! Erik’s work semi-sponsored a marvelous tour of Bavaria’s most famous history, King Ludwig II. We got to tour the grounds of Linderhof Palace, one of three that Ludwig constructed during his reign in the later 1800s, but the only one that was actually completed and where he lived for more than 3 months (8 years to be exact). It was such a fun adventure experiencing the world of Ludwig’s favorite fairytale stories and famous operas of Richard Wagner, as they were engraved throughout the dream world that Ludwig had constructed for himself, using only his own, family money…eventually bankrupting them of course after 3 castles (Linderhof, Neuschwanstein and Herrrenchiemsee). The grounds of Linderhof were beautiful in the lush, forested foothills of the Bavarian Alps, and even though 4 hours of ... read more
May 11th 2012
After being declined no less than 5 times by landlords who are showing availability on their online calendars, we finally have an apartment in Munich! FINALLY. We've also taken the opportunity to change our itinerary slightly by going to Munich earlier in the week and be in the Alps for the weekend (see our itinerary on May 25 blog). For those that don't know, we've had our vouchers cancelled at our resort in Bali as well (and we've paid in full). Apparently the Bali wholesaler overbooked the property and for the past 2 weeks our travel agent has been arguing with them regarding an alternative property. As of COB today, I still don't know where we'll be staying but I did post a negative review on TripAdvisor and the Property Manager contacted me within 2 hours. ... read more
