Part one: December 22-23 Fuessen Germany

Zack trying to read the train tickets in German.

 Upon arrival, and finding Fuessen by train at around midnight, we went to sleep in our hotel room, thinking, "What a cheap Hotel! No heat, and no extra blankets." Of course, the next morning we found the heater behind the curtains, and we turned it on, and found the extra blankets in the hallway. It was a cold lesson.

Hohenschwangau Castle

View from Hohenschwangau

 The next day we went to two castles. While 18th century castles are generally not my favorite, these two are amazing. Hohenschangau was the family castle, decorated in massive and wonderful paintings and furniture. Across the valley is crazy king Ludwig's Neuschwanstein castle, which is what Disney based their castle after. Ludwig was a friend of Wagner, so much of Neuschwanstein is decorated with scenes from Wagner's operas. Unfortunately, he only lived long enough to live in the new castle for less than a year, and since he also built three other castles, his family had to sell the new castles because he was not a good manager of money.

Here in the Alps, life is good.

Neuschwanstein Castle

Zack is throwing snow and still looks silly.

Looking at Neuschwanstein from Hohenschwangau.

Zack taking a nap under a cool tree.

 We walked up a road to Neuschwanstein, and suddenly through the trees we caught a glimpse of the castle. Gothic is the word. Inside is a room made to look like a cave with a waterfall! I would not be surprised if secret passages lined the walls. It has been a tourist destination almost since it was built, since the inside was never fully furnished because of Ludwig's early death. He watched the construction for years through a telescope from his family's castle. Insanity seems to have run in his family- his older brother was designated insane in his twenties.

After walking up, we rode the sleighs down. Well, sleighs with wheels.

 Along the walk we bought traditional sausages for lunch. Amazing! I am not a culinary expert, but those roadside sausages were probably the best I have ever tasted. We did a lot of walking that day, and rode the horses back down. So my snobby attitude towards modern castles was a little proven to be downright dumb. -sigh- I guess I can live with being wrong. I could also live with in a castle with electricity and heated rooms- which these have.

A small waterfall on the way to the Castle.