A 2 hour train ride from Munich through the Bavarian country-side with the strong smell of cow manure wafting through the train constantly....refreshing in a way. A full day trip including a wander around the nearby city of Fussen.
Stupidly perhaps, we (Will and Ovidiu) opted to walk from the train station to the castles instead of taking the free courtesy bus. Nice walk but took us much longer than anticipated. Once we arrived at the ticket area, it was a further 20 minute walk up the mountain to the main site, Neuschwanstein castle, purportedly the castle Walt Disney based his iconic Magic Kingdom on (or at least one of) .
The castle is a 19th century Romanesque palace that was commissioned by King Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and as an homage to Richard Wagner (a German composer who died just before it was completed).
The castle at the moment is half covered in scaffolding as invariably these old buildings need constant maintenance. Was a little concerned about this as I had only wanted to visit it to take photos from the outside. The tour inside was apparently rubbish and not worth doing. Thankfully, the money shot from the bridge over the adjacent gorge was of the other two sides. Make your way down the stairs to the bottom of the gorge (under the bridge) around the back of the mountain.
Tip - push to morons who gather at the start of the narrow bridge whom seemingly don't realise there is another half to it either over the edge or into the railing (please yourself which one) and head straight to the far side where you'll invariably have plenty of wriggle room and no morons bumping you when you take photos.
There is a second castle which we whizzed around (less interesting) and ran back to catch the bus into town. Will stayed behind for a bit longer to chill out. Ovidiu and I wanted to see Fussen. Fairly small, quaint town. Our tour was interrupted by a visit to a bar within the local market...one pint of hell (clear) and one pint of dunkel (dark) from memory. Given all our walking that day, those beers went straight to our head. Sat at a table with German Mario Brother Luigi.
The money shot
They do love their pork in Bavaria
Ovidiu when I was trying to take the photo of the woman in the above photo...he carefully positioned himself so the side of her so it wasn't so obvious.
Speaks for itself
Fussen market pub....Ovidiu and Luigi
The hofbrauhaus where you don't get any service.
Not sure how you write about a concentration camp, the main attraction in Dachau. Most people don't even go to the city/town centre, just to the camp and straight back. The concentration camp (now) was predominantly a reconstruction, yet a constant reminder to the German people of the atrocities that occurred on their doorstep. The iron gate, concrete housing foundations and the crematorium were the only original structures. You will spend most of your time in the extensive museum which takes a couple hours to work through and is well worth the admission. The remaining sites are commissioned memorials (unusual and not to my liking) and the crematoriums in which at least 30,000 bodies were burned. Needless to say it was a barrel of laughs. Dachau was the first concentration camp established by the Nazis but by no means anywhere near the largest.
Ovidiu and I decided we should see what Dachau town was like. When we were walking towards the hill top where the old town is situated, we happened upon a carnival/festival. It was the Bavarian regional festival this week with Dachau the major draw-card on the Wednesday. Every second person was in traditional dress (both male and female) which created a very good atmosphere. After a quick look at the carnival we headed up the hill to the town centre. As we made our way I commented that some of the cyclists on the road seemed rather professional. Sure enough, at the top we discovered a cycling race, with some notable teams riding (perhaps their B or C squads though), and more beer stalls and pork based food....a winning combination. I guess we just picked the right day to be in Dachau.
That afternoon, Ovidiu, Etna (Turkish) and I walked to the English Gardens in Munich and on to the Chinese Temple (after a game of volleyball in the park with some locals - my team won of course, great comeback from behind with myself putting in the winning tap) where the Hofbrauhaus in located. Has a capacity of 9,000 people. It's a massive outdoor beer hall. The set-up is better than the place in town as you get your own beers and food (we didn't get any service at all in town, but that's Germany for you). Much more efficient. Perfect for a balmy afternoon and evening. 1L steins and many, many pork dishes. This time we went for the smokey pork ribs. Everyone was a winner.
The Gate into Dachau camp.
Not a pizza oven
The stupidest carnie game I've seen in a while - you roll as many balls into the red holes as possible in a set time....then your numbered horse above will move a pro-rata distance to the person who got the highest score and wins the horse race. Dumb.
I just realised that this is a cleavage shot...haha, was trying to take a photo of the kids in traditional costume. Amusing.
Some local lovelies in their traditional dress.
Lunch!
The boys slogging it out in the heat doing laps of the town centre.
A rotunda in the park (the English Gardens I think) where anybody can turn up and dance to the music.....only this couple was though.
Surfing Munich-style
The Hofbrauhaus at the Chinese Temple
That pretzel big enough for you Ann?
Some other photos of the city....
Etna from Istanbul
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