Faster! Faster!

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Geo: 50.3118, 11.7712

It feels so petty complaining after having been to Dachau, but I woke up this morning and my cold was worse. It has decided to settle in my chest, which means any real exertion makes it hard to breathe. About half the group elected to hike through the foothills of the Alps and over the border into Germany to see Neuschwanstein this morning. It would have been fun to
do, especially as it wasn't raining and it wasn't even particularly cold all day, but Reid said it would take about an hour and twenty minutes and he would be setting a good pace. I elected to take the bus with the other half of the group.

Before getting on the bus, I wandered around a little bit. This is a working farm, so there are horses and bunnies and ... suddenly some pigs came bolting around a corner and made straight for me. Being a city girl, I quickly hightailed it in the opposite direction. They were pretty interested in eating dandelions, however (with the exception of daddy pig, who was interested mostly in harassing mama pig); and the two piglets were so cute. Still, I don't think I'd want to get too close to them.

On the bus, Rene pointed out when we crossed the border into Germany. Before the EU, he would have to stop, fill out a declaration, and pay a toll. He likes the EU because it means less paperwork for him.

We got to the village of Schwangau, which exists solely because of tourism. All the buildings were very cute, very Bavarian, but every building was either a hotel, an eatery, or a souvenir shop. We met the hikers near the maypole and walked up to Hohenschwangau, the summer house of the former Bavarian royal family. It's painted a pleasant orange color and looks like a
small fortress. It was built, however, in the early 19th century, so it wasn't for defensive purposes at all and would have been sacked in approximately four minutes. Herr Dressler led us on a tour through the rooms, nearly all of which have paintings on the walls depicting old Bavarian and Germanic legends. There are wonderful but unnecessary pieces of silver sitting about, and even a piano that Richard Wagner played once King Ludwig II took over the
palace. King Max and Queen Marie didn't share a bedroom, of course, but their bedrooms were linked by a spiral staircase behind concealed doorways. “I sink you vill understand zat zis was zeir hanky-panky door,” said Herr Dressler.

We had nearly two hours after the tour to visit the village and get lunch. I wandered up the road to a wurst stand and ate with Bill, Kathy, Kevin and Patty. Good wurst on a very tasty bun. Wandered around the village on my own afterward and ended up sitting by the absolutely gorgeous lake (which might be called the Alpsee, but that might be a generic term) with a Magnum ice cream bar and some standoffish ducks.

After lunch, the intrepid hiked up to Neuschwanstein and the smart people took the bus up the hill. Guess which group I was in. From where the bus dropped us off, we hiked about five minutes up to the Marienbrucke, an old, old bridge that spans a gorge behind Neuschwanstein. This is where most of the famous photos of the castle are taken. Fantastic view, a beautiful
waterfall, and quite a ways down to the bottom.

King Ludwig II had Neuschwanstein built in accordance with plans drawn up by a theatrical designer in the mid-1800s. It was not finished by the time he died under mysterious
circumstances in (I think) 1869, and work stopped immediately. So only a very small portion of the castle is open to visitors. This is the castle that inspired Walt Disney, and you can tell. Ludwig thought it looked medieval and that it would be like the Grail Castle in the Parsifal legend. (Must read the Parsifal legend one day ....) It's got turrets and towers galore and is in a completely impractical location. Again, we were taken on a guided tour, and again all the
rooms are painted with legends and myths. The throne room – for which a throne was never built, Ludwig having died before one could be commissioned – is full of faux royal ancestry and religious symbolism, as well as a chandelier weighing over 2000 pounds and a floor made of 2 million mosaic tiles.

After the castle, Reid led us on a hike down to the bottom of the gorge (pretty spectacular), which included uneven stone stairways and some steel-grid paths around the side of a
cliff face. I managed to not slip or trip over anything, but my knees are killing me now! Must remember to stretch before going to bed tonight. The hike led us back into Schwangau to the bus.

Our next stop was very close to the castle: a summer luge run. You sit on a small toboggan and are sort of winched up the hill. When you get to the top, you lean forward and are taken into a half-pipe track that sidewinds down the hill. You can reach some pretty high speeds, or you can ride the brake if you're scared. The tour sprang for two rides per person, and we tried
to divide up so that the daredevils would go first, followed by the uncertain, followed by the definitely cautious. I was so excited about doing this today, but I wasn't too sure about the speed, so I placed myself at the end of the uncertains. After the first run, I decided I should do everything I could to move to the front of the uncertains. It was tremendous fun, and I was able to really get some speed until I nearly caught up with the person in front of me. All but one lady in our group went on the luge, and we all agreed that it was a real highlight of the trip so far.

We are now back at the hotel, and dinner is in about 45 minutes. I believe I ordered the fish, which I confirmed was a filet, not a whole fish that would stare at me reproachfully throughout dinner. Not sure what kind of fish it is, but I'm hoping it's something like cod.

Tomorrow: Venice, where it's supposed to be 70 degrees!

(P.S. I appreciate the comments, even though I haven't responded to them. :-) )

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Photos

Alpine idyll
Austria

Neuschwanstein
The view from the Marienbrucke

The Marienbrucke
Taken from about halfway down into the gorge

Reid relaxes ...
... and gets the seat of his pants all muddy.