Munich - Schloss Neuschwanstein

Today we went to Schloss Neuschwanstein. We got the train along with every other tourist currently in Munich to Fussen (that's u with 2 little dots above it - can't do that on our pc (if you don't have a u with 2 little dots on it it's very hard to find out how to get there using the online raliway site - the answer is to find a u with 2 little dots on it and cut and paste it into the website but Mark digresses) Once you get to the station it's important to be very pushy because that's how it's done here - it's seems OK to queue jump and to muscle your way in. Also note that a bag can count as a person if it's sitting on the seat next to you particularly if you look semi-comatose and unable to engage in conversation - but we digress again. Anyway using the above-mentioned technique we found a seat. Halfway through our journey we had to change trains and once again our new found skills got us into first class (the only empty seats on the train). Interestingly the first class seats were filled by Australians and Americans who like us were unable to decipher the sign written in English that said 40 euro fine for occupying first class seats without a ticket. As we travelled out of Munich the landscape became more bleak. The ground was covered in frost and snow and many of the streams were frozen over. No vegetables were growing in anyone's gardens and no animals were to be seen. The trip to Fussen (imagine the umlaut) took approximately 2 hours. Once in Fussen we followed the masses to where the buses were to depart. Our guidebook states that the Tourism industry is an important part of the economy in Bavaria however there is a remarkable lack of signage. This meant that we just part of a gaggle of tourists all standing in the cold looking at 100s of copies of the Lonely Planet and trying to decide which way to go. We all thought we were catching the no. 78 to Schwangau but in fact the bus that finally came had a sign that said it was going to Garmisch-Partenkirchen (see yesterday's blog) Fortunately this was a mistake and the bus driver indicated that we should get on. Mark, now an expert at the forementioned public transport techniques, found us a great seat at the front.

After 15 minutes we got off the bus at Hohenschwangau. It now became a race up the hill to the ticket office to get a ticket for the castle tour. Many families were separated and small children left crying the the gutters. Slippery ice meant there were many casualties. The effort was rewarded by another big long queue at the ticket office where we purchased a ticket for the 2:45 pm tour of Neuschwanstein (in English). As an aside, we also met an Australian family on holiday from Melbourne. The husband was a Respiratory physician in Melbourne. Luckily he had managed to find his family after the ticket rush.

With time to spare we found a little cafe/restaurant for lunch. I had Paar Weisswurst mit Brezen (Sausage and Pretzel) and Mark had sausage, sauerkraut and potatoes. Of course he had beer as well since in Germany beer can accompany any meal of the day. We then began a steep trek through the snow and ice to Schloss Neuschwanstein which took approximately 20 minutes.

Schloss Neuschwainstein is a castle modelled on a medievil design built by King Ludwig II of Bavarian in the late 1800s. He was a nutter who had a penchant for building castles even through he bankrupted his country in doing so. The castle is famously known as the Disney castle which was modelled after it. It's setting is strilking, being set amongst the snow-clad bavarian alps and near Lake Forggensee. People say that Ludwig was ahead of his time and this must be true because he managed to find a spot located only 100 metres up the road from a Hoffbrau, takeaway pizza restaurant and many tourism shops. He wouldn't have had to walk far for his junk food. Unfortunately he died before his time at the age of 40 under suspicious circumstances (drowned in Lake Stamberg). It is believed he committed suicide.

He also had foresight to install electronic ticketing gates. A number was printed on our pass and when the number came up you were allowed to pass through the gate into queues segregated into English, German, and everyone else Our tour was led by a french woman whose pronunciation was very poor. We visited King Ludwig's throne room where a huge candelabra was hung. We think that either he had a wench to hoist it up or a witch according to our tour guide. There were a number of people with English as a 2nd language in our tour. I have no idea how they would have coped. One of Ludwig's best mates was Richard Wagner, t he composer. Ludwig was influenced by many of his operas. The finished rooms of Neuschwanstein (of which there are only 17 of nearly 200) are decorated with painted walls many of which depict scenes from Wagnerian operas. The finished rooms were all lavishingly decorated with hand painted walls, velvet curtains, mosaic flooring and some beautiful carving. Ludwig's gothic-style bedroom was particularly impressive. Schwan by the way is german for swan hence Neuschwanstein is the new castle of the Schwan. The Swan was a motif used throughout the castle. The tour lasted 35 minutes after which we wandered around some of the unfinished room by ourselves before heading back to Hohenschwangau.

We returned to Fussen on the bus, grabbed a quick coffee and then hopped on the next train home. Unfortunately Mark lost his gloves probably on the bus when he was frantically looking for our ticket. Never mind - we only have a few more days of 0 degree temperatures. Tommorow we're off to do our BMW tour. We have decided to do the BMW experience which is a 4 hour car hire with a programmed scenic tour in a BMW 3 series car. Mark's very excited. I can't wait to see the motorcycles.