Fairy Tales and Romance

---

After the16 minute train ride from Salzburg to Freilassing, Germany we stopped in the train station to book our trains to Paris and to cover up our bags to protect them from the rain. We then found our way to the car rental spot and were soon on our way to Füssen down the Romanischstraße (Romantic Road) which goes from Würzberg to Füssen.Although it was grey skies and drizzling, we still were enamoured with this beautiful drive through numerous small towns set between green hills and valleys. Stopping at one small Gasthaus, we enjoyed delicious soup. The flavour was so rich and flavourful but I must say the portions of meat kind of resembled small brains! We soon headed out where we finally came to the road leading to Füssen. As we approached, could see the magnificent fairytale castle of Neuschwanstein perched on a hill, surrounded by swirling grey clouds. Seeing Curtis' reaction to his first glimpse let me know we had chosen the right spot to visit. We made our way into Füssen and had little trouble locating our hotel right in the heart of the town. The key was left on a hook beside our name and indicated our room number (of course it was on the top floor). We lugged up our bags and were welcomed into the most beautiful, recently renovated, room! Later we walked around Füssen in the teeming rain searching for a place to eat. Curtis enjoyed German meatloaf, which was a thick piece of cooked bologna topped with an egg while I dined on sausages and sauerkraut! We were thrilled with our meal!

Saturday dawned cloudy again so we decided to put off our visit to Neuschwanstein until later in the day in the hope that the sun would decide to grace us with her presence. Instead we drove to a small town called Oberammergau. This beautiful town is renowned for two things - its woodcarvers and Passion Play. Numerous stores sell exquisite wood carvings, small and large. As you walk through this town what is most noticeable are the beautiful murals that adorn several of the gorgeous, traditional German buildings. The history of this town, which is overlooked by a tall mountain, is that in 1634 a vow was made by the people that they would perform the Passion Play every 10 years if they were spared from the bubonic plague that was sweeping the nation and had been brought to Oberammergau by a man visiting for Christmas. The man died and the plague began spreading through the town. After the vow was made. not another death occurred and those inflicted, recovered. To this day the play is still performed in years that end with zero. It involves 2000 actors, singers, instrumentalists and technicians, all from the town!

We then travelled to Ettal, a very small village and the home of Ettal Abbey, a Benedictine Monastery which is home to over 50 monks. The baroque Basilica was gorgeous. The Abbey operates a brewery, distillery, bookstore, art publishing house, hotel and cheese factory. They brew the famous Ettal liqueur and a bottle is safely packed in my backpack for my brother as we visited there 7 years ago and it was closed!

Next we went to Linderhof Palace. This is the smallest of 3 palaces built by King Ludwig II and the only one he completed. Ludwig fashioned this palace after the one in Versailles. Although on a smaller scale, the lavishness of this palace is incredible! The ornate rooms are so decadently decorated. Everywhere you look there are rich views to take in. Ludwig was fascinated by God and in several ways aligned the interior with adornments that put him on a god-like level. He was also very much a recluse and to this end had a dining table that rose up from the floor below. It is said that he loved his sweets and had very few teeth left because of it. He was once engaged to his cousin but suddenly broke off the engagement. On the grounds at Linderhof he built a beautiful grotto. This man made cave, complete with stalactites, was built to illustrate the first act of, Tannhäuser. a play by Richard Wagner. It was said that Ludwig was enamoured with Wagner. In this grotto King Ludwig enjoyed being rowed around in the golden swan boat. He also wanted this to resemble the Blue Grotto on the Isle of Capri. At that time he had 24 dynamos installed so that the grotto could be lit up with different, changing colours. The gardens and grounds of this palace are quite breathtaking. In centre of the huge pool at the entrance stands a gilded statue that erupts with a fountain of water. This fairytale palace, grounds and grotto are just one example of the eccentricities of Ludwig.

As we left Linderhof the sun began to break through so we drove back to Neuschwanstein Castle. After parking, we made the journey up to the very busy ticket area where we had to choose what we wanted to see, Neuschwanstein or Hohenschwangau. I quickly made the decision that Neuschwanstein was what I wanted Curtis to experience foremost. Our guided tour was nearly 3 hours away so we first stopped to enjoy bratwurst and beer before making the trek up to view the grounds of Hohenschwangau. This was the childhood home of Ludwig II, built by his father.

After leaving we then made the long journey up to Neuschwanstein. We followed the long, shaded paved road up and up and up. What was to take 45 minutes actually only took 30 minutes as we motored up the hill. We were drenched in sweat once reaching the top! After snapping a few pics and catching our breath we then headed to Mary's Bridge, another 20 minute trek uphill. As we headed onto the heavily congested footbridge, Curtis moved ahead in the crowd. I made my way out slowly, not feeling overly confident with the movement of the wooden boards beneath my feet. The bridge spans over a deep gorge above a waterfall. After taking a photo together Curtis could not quell the urge to go to the other side and climb the hill for a better shot. Sending him off, I waited with bated breath until I saw him high above the gorge, where he appeared to be standing precariously close the edge. Finally I saw him coming back across the bridge and my heartrate resumed to normal. We made our way back to the fairytale castle and settled in to await our tour time. We enjoyed watching people, marvelling at a young family who were trying to keep track of 5 kids under the age of 6! Soon it was our time and we joined the throng of people, making our way into the castle.

Ludwig II built this castle partly to honour Richard Wagner and several rooms depict scenes from his plays. The construction of this castle was begun in 1869 and was projected to take 3 years, however it was still incomplete when Ludwig died in 1886 because he wanted it to be perfect. His eclectic and fanciful tastes put him in tremendous debt! The finished rooms were opulent in their decor and reflected Ludwig's fascination with Wagner as well as with his view of himself as God-like.

Returning to Füssen, we enjoyed an Italian meal. We thoroughly enjoyed our day and soon Sleeping Beauty and Prince Charming settled in for the night, knowing they had a long drive on the next day along the Romantic Road.

After breakfast, we loaded our car and headed out. Our plan included several stops along the Romantic Road while making our way to Bamberg. Our first stop was Steingaden where the Rococo Church, Wieskirche, a World Unesco Heritage sight is located. Sadly we could not go in as mass was underway. They asked that sightseers not enter during the service and so we chose to not go in, unlike several bus loads of tourists who ignored the sign and entered anyway. Next we stopped in Augsburg. This city was founded by Roman Emperor Augustus more than 2000 years ago. We wandered the streets, marvelling at the architecture and the fountain in the main square where water squirted from the private parts of female statues! While driving, we snapped photos of one of Germany's best preserved castles, the mighty Harburg. Driving on we stopped at Nördlingen, which is situated in the centre of a huge meteorite crater. We were unable to get into the huge church of St. Georg due to reconstruction. It was then on to Dinkelsbühl, an almost unspoilt town that dates back over 400 years. The enchanted semi-timber frame houses that lined the streets, each with their uniquely different facades seemed to put us right into the middle of a fairy tale. We climbed the numerous stairs up to the church tower where we could see over the beautiful sea of red rooftops, complete with stork nests. This was the town where aerial shots were taken for the original movie, "Willie Wonka". It was then onto the picturesque town of Rothenburg ob de Tauber. This beautiful town, with its cobblestone streets and numerous teddy bear and Christmas stores, is magnificent. As we left we climbed the stairs and walked part of the way around the medieval walls. Once again we regretted not devoting more time to these timeless towns, straight from the fairy tales of our childhood.

Finally we came to Bamberg. Through partial directions and my husband's ability to use a city map that he looked at on a corner, we eventually reached our hotel. As I entered the dark, wooden door I found myself in a deserted room. I went out and signalled to Curtis to come in. We soon noticed a chalkboard with our name on it and our room key. We unloaded our car and found our beautiful room, complete with timbers embedded in the stucco walls. Later we walked down the street to Der Pelikan, a German restaurant which served lot of Asian food in addition to some traditional dishes. After trying our hardest with the German menu, the server kindly gave us the English version. We quickly realized that anything we had tried to order would have resulted in a mystery meal for sure! Looking forward to exploring the beautiful medieval Bamberg tomorrow!

.

---

Photos

Benedictine Monastery
Ettal