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Published: August 19th 2018
Sorry for the radio silence, I have not been around a lot of WiFi, this, I typed on a document while waiting for the bus to Reutte, Austria, then I cut a paste to my blog. Today is day 3 of my travels, not including my travel day. So far it has been amazing and my pre-planning has really paid off. I will have to catch up a bit, so I will have a different entry about Dachau, my first day.
Today I am leaving Fussen. I really enjoyed Bavaria, it's all about the outdoors, hiking, biking, swimming and of course, Beer. Old Town Fussen is a very cute town, very touristy and car free. I belive many Deutsche, their term for Germans, holiday here. There was a music festival here this weekend, so I heard my authentic Bavarian music and had my first Kraut last night. I got into Fussen late Friday night, there were many people sitting out on the street, eating and drinking and visiting, I of course had some gellato. I was exhasted that night since the previous night I (kinda) slept on the plane and then walked around Dachau Concentraition Camp all day.
I was up early, there are bells sounding all the time at the churces around and the 6AM bells woke me. That was fine, I got 8 hrs of sleep. I was up before anyone else, I walked out to the street, to find breakfast, no one was around, I wandered until I finally found an open place, it was a bakery. They had a small breatkfast plate of a drink of your choice, one croissont, one bread roll and spreads, the larger breakfast included salami, proscutto (sp) and juice of your choice. They do breakfast here differently, I'll go into that later. I sat out on the street and watched as all the locals came to get their bread to go, I assume for breakfast or lunch. My host, Valentina, said it was the best bakery. Once I finished I walked back to my hostel and rented a bike from them for the day. I rode to the Castles for my 8:55 ticket pick up time.
I am glad I reserved on line, the line to buy tickets was very long, it is a popular tourist destination. I decided to visit both castles, Hohenschwangau (H) and Neuschwanstein (N), you have to visit H first. It is a 15 m in walk to H, The flora is beautiful, very green, many flowers and a backdrop of the Alps. H had beautiful gardens to visit while I waited for my ticket time. Upon entry we visted the Queens and Kings rooms, very beautiful wall murals, furniture and views. This was the castle that Mad King Ludwig came to visit in the summer with his parents, the Wittelsbachs royal family of Bavaria had their main residence in Munich. It was originally built in the 12th century, then it was destroyed during the Napolean wars and was rebuilt in the 1800s. This is where Ludwig dreamed of his fairytale castle, N, to be built on the ruins of another castle on the hill above H. It was a very interesting tour with a little history.
Next was N, it was a beautiful hike up to that Castle, I took a less crowded path to get the the Marienbrucke bridge, once I left the less crowded path that took me up the hill through a forest, I got to where the bus dropped off all the other tourists, they all had the same idea. I waited in line to join the large crown trekking across the bridge. It was a wonderful view of N, this was the view that Walt Disney fell in love with and was inspired to create the Sleeping Beauty castle. There was a path starting from the otherside of the bridge that went back into the forest, I think it went to the top of the mountain, I walked a ways and then turned back to brave the crowds once again to get to N for my timed ticket entrance. This tour and castle is the most popular, it was a much larger tour group, it was fast and there was not a lot of history. Ludwig only lived in this Castle for about 100 days, it took 17 years to build and is considered new, it was built in 1869, that is new for Europe. He was deposed soon after moving in and was then found dead with his phyciatrist in 4 feet of water 2 days later at the age of 40. There is much speculation of how he died. N castle was open to the public weeks after his death. H was a much better tour, but most everyone only does N.
After my tour I walked back down to my bike and found a trail to go to a summer luging (metal slide on rolling sled) place. I explored a bit on my bike and found a small creek spilling from Pollat Gorge, the gorge behind N. I walked across and ate my lunch, a delicious olive foccocia that I got from the bakery. It reminded me of Hood mountain in Santa Rosa. I rode on to what I thought was the summer luging, it was a hard ride uphill, only to find that it was a chalet or restaurant. It was this cute little hut at the foot of Telgerberg mountain serving beer and typical bavarian fare. I almost turned around, but then I decided on a beer, it was delicious, I was so hot from the ride, the view was amazing. I saw some large crow sized birds with white boxes on their wings, I asked the poeple next to me if they knew the name. She called them Robin Crayon (that is what it sounded like). She then stared talking with me, her and the man with her were on holiday there from somewhere near Cologne. We had a nice conversation, she called these Alps 'softer' than the Austrian or other Alps, not many people spend the winter here because there is better skiing in Austria. She also gave me a recommendation of where to visit near Fussen. I then wished them goodbye and was on my way to the summer luge. It was not far from where I stopped, then I realized that the Chalet was a 10 min walk from the parking lot, up hill! Americans would never walk that far for food and drink! I did one luge sled and then I was off on my bike again to go swim in a lake.
I rode to Lake Schwansee, at this point my butt was very sore, I had to stand up the whole time on the bike. I was worth it thoug, I found many German bathers in the beautiful alpine lake, the water was refreshing after riding everywhere! I then explored a little more on my bike along the river and made it back to my hostel at around 6pm. When I got into Old Town there were people everywhere, the street concerts had started and there was music at the end of every street. I had to walk my bike through a large crowd, it was not easy as I ran into a few people, I had not yet learned how to say sorry. I did learn how to say excuse me, but it was complicated and I was nervous. No one was at the Hostel, I quickly changed out of my clothes and headed out to find some music and food.
I picked the bavarian music, there were other styles around, like rock and orchestra, and ordered a kraut, red sausage and beer. I sat for a little while eating and listening. It is a little nerve racking asking if someone speaks english, I feel like I'm so entitled, expecting them to speak my language. I still had plans to go the the Royal Crystal baths that evening, so I left and went back to the hostel. There was still no onw there and I had no idea how to take public transportation to the baths or therms, so i decided to walk, it was open until 11pm, so I left at 7:30pm.
I have more to tell, but I am off to hike to the Erhenberg castle ruins, I just checked into my hotel in Reutte and am having a small espresso for energy. I will add pictures and more to my blog when I get back tonight. Love to you all!
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LInda Proulx
non-member comment
Adventurous
Hi Jess, Thanks for sharing your early adventures. You are doing so much and getting around famously. It sounds remarkably beautiful. I think if you learn to say a few phrases in the language and then ask if someone speaks English, it makes it easier because they know you are respectful of their culture. I'll look forward to hearing more as you explore this part of Europe. Happy travels!