Travelogue 1993 / Episode Eleven

Travelogue Deutschland 1993 / Episode Eleven

On to Neuschwanstein
Wake up guys! filled our sleepy ears as we covered our eyes momentarily blinded by the sudden abundance of light. Andi honored us with a wake up call at six-oclock thinking that we should enjoy the morning with him. Andi said goodbye before leaving for work. We packed up our things and had breakfast with Karin, discussing the best route to Neuschwanstein and Martin's grandparents house.

After breakfast we loaded the car and began the long drive to Castle of Neuschwanstein. The Autobahn was clear until we came near the Swiss border. Many of the roads leading through the Alps are narrow and because of the altitude, are sometimes snowed in. The mountain passes are also popular with travelers, causing numerous traffic problems. The weather was against us the pass we were planning to take was closed, so we were forced to detour around it, delaying our progress about an hour.

The Alps were an amazing sight, rising above the horizon as we came to the area around the Castle Neuschwanstein. There are actually two castles there, one built by the Knights of Schwangau, destroyed during a war and later bought in 1832 by Maximillian II. This castle was restored and named Hohenschwangau.

Ludwig II succeeded his father as king and built another castle to the East of Hohenschwangau named Neuschwanstein, but died in 1886 before its completion. Both Castles were high up in the Alps, supplying us with plenty of climbing.

Neuschwanstein was the first castle on the agenda, so we hiked our way up the steep road to the top, stopping to buy tickets at a booth three-quarters of the way up. At the top of the hill, outside the castle we found our place in the long line of visitors.

Inside the courtyard of the castle, a group of French tourists, led by a teenage tourguide snuck in line ahead of us. The tourguide had targeted an older German couple who couldnt speak any french, and cut right in line ahead of the long line of people claiming that heir bus was leaving in an hour. Those of us in line had been waiting for at least forty minutes. We were not very happy about the situation, but once the large group had shoved their way into line it was impossible to get them back out.

An hour and a half later we were ready to start our tour with the English speaking guide. The castle was quite beautiful. Full size wall paintings, and exquisite furnishings filled the halls and rooms. At one point we were able to look out on the plain and lake below the castle. The kitchen was an interesting combination of old style design and more modern, practical cooking technologies of the late nineteenth century.

The second castle lay below Neuschwanstein, so we followed the pathway to the castle Hohenschwangau for a tour. We arrived just in time for the last tour of the day. Unfortunately for me, it was only offered in German. The tourguide was even difficult for Martin to understand, speaking very quickly with a strong Bavarian accent.

Hohenschwangau castle looked older than Neuschwanstein, but it was also beautiful in its own way. Martin Luther had stayed here one night in the seventeenth century as he fled from persecution and there was a two-hundred year old loaf of bread on display, given to Maximillian I by Russia as a token of peace. Hohenschwangau was much smaller, so we finished the tour at around six oclock.

Once at the bottom of the hill, Martin called ahead to inform his grandfather of our arrival time at his house. Martin's Grandparents loved to cook special meals for visitors. I was unprepared for the surprise awaiting our arrival.

The Bavarian Feast
The Alps were silhouettes on the horizon against the orange-red evening sky when we arrived at Martin's grandparents house in the little town of Oberdorf at seven thirty that evening. They live in the area of Germany known as the Allgaeu, which borders Switzerland.

Martin's grandparents Werner and Gertrud were very happy to see us. Inside the house, we put our gear in the guest room upstairs, and traded in our shoes for some house slippers. Dinner was ready and waiting, so we found our way to the dining room, prepared to eat.

The meal was fantastic! There was more than enough to eat, and it was all very tasty. We spent about an hour and a half eating and talking, and after dinner, we helped his grandparents wash and dry the dishes.

In the living room, I had an opportunity to show his grandparents my sketchbook, which they liked very much. Martin spent the rest of evening talking with them in German. The combination of hiking in the Alps, and the delicious food, combined to put me to sleep on the livingroom couch. I was awakened by Martin around ten. After saying goodnight to his grandparents, we retired to the guestroom for a much needed rest. Morning in the Allgaeu Sunlight filled the guest room when I awakened at seven-thirty. Downstairs, Werner and Gertrud had prepared breakfast or frustuck and were awaiting our arrival at the table in the dining room. We were treated to a variety of fruits and vegetables, many of which came from the garden outside of the house, as well as cheeses and meats. Again, it was an excellent meal.

Following breakfast, Werner, Martin and I spread out maps on the coffee table in the livingroom, figuring out the best route back to Zavelstein. The route his grandfather suggested included roads through Alpine passes in Switzerland.

While Martin was talking with his grandparents, I went to the car to retrieve my camera and accidentally locked the keys to the car. Boy, did I feel stupid. Martin, Werner and I spent about forty-five minutes attempting to open the front door, eventually succeeding with a wire & string lasso contraption. We loaded up the car, said goodbye to his grandparents, and were on our way to Switzerland.

Ah, Switzerland...
Before arriving in Switzerland, we passed through Austria, but stayed off of the Austrian Autobahn which requires the purchase of a window sticker in order to travel on it. We were stopped at the Swiss border (remember, they like to be perfect) and began our trek along the Alps.

The scenery was unbelievable. Mountains rose in the blue sky behind rolling green hills dotted with chalets. It seemed that every chalet had giant planter boxes under each window, filled with multi-colored flowers. In the fields, cows roamed across a flowing sea of green grass. Changes in Plans Winding our way along the perfect black roads through the Swiss countryside, we stopped to take photos on top of a hill overlooking the valley. As I stood along the guardrail, a guy riding a mountain bike rolled up and asked if we spoke English. Yes, I speak English . . . Im an American I said. He replied,Hey, great . . . Im a Canadian! He told us that he was in the middle of a six-week tour of Europe. He had started in England, and was working his way down to Italy. He told us that he rode as many miles per day as possible, buying food to carry along and staying in Youth hostels, or in his small tent. We took a photo of him with his little camera, in front of the Swiss countryside and spent a few minutes talking. Leaving, we wished him a good trip and went on our way toward the Sandis, an Alp we were to cross.

In the small town below the mountain, a police car was waiting on the side of the road, and a sign blocked the road readingNo passage, road resurfacing today. We were forced to find an alternate route around the mountain pass. I guess thats the price we had to pay for the perfectly paved Swiss roads.

Taking small roads back to the north, we drove past the Lake of Konstanz. It began to rain as we rolled through the city of Konstanz. It looked like an interesting place to explore, but since we wanted to reach Zavelstein by seven or eight, we had to keep driving towards the Autobahn.

Upon our arrival in Zavelstein, we unloaded the car, made some dinner and relaxed. Martin was tired, and went to bed at nine forty-five, I spent another forty minutes entering the details of the day before finding my way to bed in the guestroom. In the morning, we would set out for our last stop on the tour of Germany, visiting my friends Matthias and Christina, near Frankfurt.

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