The Original Cinderella's Castle

As we headed through Bavaria, we came to one of our main attractions on the trip--Neuschwanstein Castle!  It was a very rainy, cold day.  This made it a little miserable, but it made for some great photos!  The small town of Neuschwanstein is located next to a beautiful lake.

Now, most people stay in the town.  For them and for those who make a day trip of it, you have to buy tickets at the bottom of the mountain in town for a ride up the mountain.  If this is what you plan on, its best to get there early as tickets sell fast!  For those who were unfortunate enough to not be able to buy a ticket for whatever reason, they were stuck with a fairly steep and long climb to the top.  We were either fortunate enough (or clever enough) to book a room at a hotel right near the top of the mountain.  It is called the Hotel Neuschwanstein or Schlossrestaurant Neuschwanstein.  We could actually see the castle from our room, albeit a small corner of it, the location was still pretty awesome!

Our room was really comfy!  Any place you stay in Europe (unless its a chain hotel, which I avoid if I possibly can) is going to look a bit dated.  You need to just accept this as part of the charm!  They just have a different taste...  And of course, there are the wonderful fluffy duvets!  I can't say as much for the restaurant.  I can't say what their meat is like, but for a vegan  like me, my only choice was a salad.  The salad was not very good at all.  My husband and mother who are vegetarian, but not vegan didn't find the food that great either.  But hey, it was worth it for the location!

The amazing thing was it was less than a 5 minute walk to the castle.  It was literally around the bend in the road!

The day we got there we walked up and enjoyed the beautiful mist (and tried to enjoy the freezing rain!)  We walked up again that evening as it was getting dark.  The clouds were beginning to lift a little and you could see that it had snowed just a little higher on the mountains.

The next morning we got up bright and early to make the first tour into the castle.  It was still rainy and drizzly.

The castle was built by "Mad King Ludwig", who ran his country's economy into the ground by using exorbitant taxes to raise funds for his castle.  Both he and his doctor died under mysterious circumstances.  King Ludwig's body was found in the lake at the bottom of the mountain.  King Ludwig loved swans (schwans), hence the name of the castle.  The decor is full of swans inside. 

Unfortunately, you can't take pictures inside.  Which reminds me of something funny that happened.  We were just beginning our tour and the tour guide was explaining the do's and don'ts of the tour.  She had JUST explained that we couldn't take photographs inside the castle when a flash went off.  Everyone turned to see the culprit and it was a lady in a group of Chinese tourists.  They clearly couldn't speak either English or German, so I guess were stuck going on a tour that they really couldn't understand.  Anyway, the tour guide asked if someone who could communicate with them would please explain about the no pictures rule.  A large American man walked up to the small Chinese lady and says very loudly and slowly, "YOU (points at the lady) CAN'T (wags his finger vigorously) TAKE PICTURES! (mimes taking a picture).  Everyone just burst out laughing!  It seemed to do the trick, though!  She didn't take any more pictures!

The castle is breathtakingly beautiful, and much larger than it looks in pictures.  It is said that Disney's Cinderella's Castle is actually based off this castle!  There are some beautiful trails you can walk from the castle.  There is a gorge with waterfalls just a short distance away that is quite a sight to behold.  There is a swinging bridge that crosses the gorge and is quite spectacular.  It does make it a little exciting if you are there on a rainy, windy day like we were!  The bridge was swinging with each gust of wind and I thought I might pull a Mary Poppins with my umbrella! 

 

You can actually see the smaller castle where King Ludwig grew up down near the lake from Neuschwanstein Castle.  His parents still lived there while he lived in his much larger palace.



You can see the parents castle--the yellowish-tan castle on the hill near the town and lake.  King Ludwig's story is a sad tale of over-indulgence and a lesson that you get back out of life what you give to it.

Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. 
Proverbs 22:6

Bavarian Beauty

As we continued our Epic European Adventure, we entered Bavaria, Germany.  The day was cold and a light rain drizzled down.  Fog lay among the hills which only heightened the beauty of the region.

 

As we drove along, we spotted through the fog the spire of a steeple.  It was the Rottenbuch Abbey Church. 

 

The town was tiny, but picturesque. There was a small chapel with a cemetary across the road.  My husband thinks its weird and creepy, but I happen to love old cemetaries.  I love to just wander through them and see what I can learn for the old tombstones and thier inscriptions.  He's not so much a fan of it!





 

As we entered the church, it was so beautiful, it just took our breathe away!  The paintings on the ceiling and walls are amazing and the carvings and intricate details are facinating.

 

As we continued our drive, heading toward our next destination, Neuschwanstein, we made another stop.  This next church was in the middle of a field, no town around it.  Wieskirche has long been a site of pilgrimage.  In 1738, tears were seen on a dilapidated wooden figure of the Scourged Savior.  This resulted in a pilgrimage rush to see the statue.  Many who have prayed in front of the statue of Jesus on the alter, have claimed that people have been miraculously cured of their diseases.  This has, of course, made this even more a pilgrimage site.  When I was there, it was clear there were people there for this very purpose.  There were old people and infirm people.  People who were clearly undergoing cancer treatments.  I just hope their prayers were granted. 

 

O Lord my God, I cried out to You, And You healed me.

Psalm 30:2

 



The Romantic Road

The Romantic Road is one of Germany's most picturesque areas.  It is dotted with quaint towns that date back a thousand years!  On our Epic European Adventure of 2011, we flew into Munich after a short stop in London. We rented a car and commenced the beginning of our 5,000 km road trip.  Our first stop was Rothenburg ob der Tauber. 

It is such a cool town!  The towns along the romantic road have these amazing walls that date from Medieval times.  You can even walk on them and look down on the town and countryside.

The churches are always beautiful, and Rothenburg has an old convent with beautiful gardens.

German food is very heavy on two things--meat and dough (unless you count beer as a food, in which case three things!)  One of these delights that all tourists must try, but not all will enjoy is called schneeballen.  It is a wad of dough (it kind of looks like a ball of yarn) that has been deep fried.  There are various kinds you can get.  My husband, Ben, got a cinnamon coated one.  My mom, got a chocolate covered one.  The verdict = cinnamon received a thumbs down, chocolate had better results!

 

There were flowers EVERYWHERE!  Every town, almost every house.  Window boxes full of geraniums, and violets, and all kinds of different flowers.  I loved it, so beautiful and colorful!

 

We traveled farther South down the Romantic Road to Dinkelsbuhl.  It was very similar to Rothenburg, with the Medieval walls and the beautifully colorful buildings.

 

 

 

I feel like German has surprising similarities to the English language, so its easy to start picking up words here and there, even if you are only there for a few days!  You might even see some surprising road signs--for example, trucks and tanks have different speed limits driving through town!

 

Another thing you might find useful is knowing that women are Damen and men are Herren.  Don't get confused like my poor hubby and use the restroom marked "D"... (Note the embarrassed expression on his face.)

 

 

Our next stop was Nordlingen.  By this time it was getting to the close of the day and we were hungry.  I am somewhat limited by the fact that I am not only vegetarian, but allergic to milk products!  We found this really cool restaurant/hotel that is in an old monastery building.

 

The chef there was so nice.  I had gone prepared on my trip with these really cool cards that let people know what I couldn't eat in their own language (maxlearning.net).  The chef kept coming out to check on ingredients to see if I could eat them.  In the end, he made me an amazing mushroom risotto.

My husband and mom got Vegetable au Gratin, which they said was amazing!

As we left town the church bells were ringing.  The perfect end to a perfect day!

 

 This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.  Psalm 118:24