Germany - July 2

Slept in this morning. Well you might say we slept in and you might not. Both Bonnie and I woke up at about 3:00. We were awake for sometime and then dozed on and off until about 8:00. It's not what you would call a good night's sleep.

We met Mel and Neil in the lobby about 9:00 and left to pick up the rental car. Along the way we passed a bakery and decided to get breakfast. The pastries were very good as was the coffee. The car rental place is in the train station so that's where we went. Sat a round for about half an hour while Neil did the paper work. Once that was done and he had a key we went to the parking garage nearly next to the hotel to pick up the car. It was a little Kia that was quite comfortable. Took a little while to figure out how to work the Garmin GPS (in German) but got that done and proceeded to pick up Bonnie and Mel in front of the garage.

Neil rented the car so we could drive to the Schloss Hohenschwangau. The castle was actually never completed because the owner died. However we have been told that it is a very site. The drive to the castle was well worth the car rental. The countryside reminded me a lot of many places in the midwest except that as we got closer and closer to the castle you could see the German alps. It really was beautiful drive. According to the maps Neil got off from Google we actually went into Austria on the drive but there was nothing to confirm this either from the GPS or from signs along the road.

When we got to the bottom of the hill (mountain?) where the castle is we found it was 5 € to park and .5 € to use the restroom. The restroom fee was for each use. The parking was for all day. Don't remember what the cost was to tour the castle as the next one that was available was at 1700 and we wanted to be on our way by then. It cost nothing to walk up to the castle and to walk around on the grounds so that is what we opted to do.

There are a number of paths to get to the castle. You can take the road. This is probably the most straight forward and this is what we did. Maps are available where you purchase tickets. The walk up is steep and hard on the legs if you are really out of shape. I didn't have any trouble just went a little slower than the other three. You share the road up with horse drawn carts so be sure to watch for "apples" on the road. There are many lovely views of the castle on the way up so don't just look at your feet. There are also panoramic views of the surrounding country on the way up that are different from those you can see from the castle. If it's warm be sure to take plenty of water.

The castle itself is really amazing even if we didn't go inside. You can enter the courtyard without cost and the restrooms at the castle don't cost anything. Pictures will be included as usual.

After touring the grounds we took the path up to the bridge over the river gorge. It's a canted bridge that's about 75 meters long. It seemed quite sturdy even with a lot of people on it. Today is was quite breezy and cool so I was glad I had a jacket. Don't know if it's always like that or not but take a day pack and be prepared. The view from the bridge is spectacular.

The way down is quite strenuous as well even with gravity working in your favor. I had a minor case of shin splints. It wasn't very painful and lasted only a day but could be worse. Wear stout shoes and good socks. When we got just below the castle grounds we took a path that led to the river and the bottom of the gorge. This is a stepped pathway and was quite easy to go down, going up might be another matter. There are nice views of the cascade from the gorge floor and there are more cascades than are apparent from other views. Once you reach the bottom of the gorge the walking is easy but there is a portion that is suspended over the river which is very interesting. The trip was very enjoyable.

From the castle we drove to the Oberammergau where they do the passion play every 10 years or so. It is definitely a tourists town with shops specifically serving tourists in the 100s I would guess. We walked around for a while and then chose a hotel restaurant for dinner. We chose it because the sign said they had home made apple strudel. That's funny because we didn't have desert or buy any to take back to Munich. Melanie had schnitzel, Bonnie and Neil had a dish that is best described as macaroni and cheese (it was called something else) but probably the best mac and cheese I ever tasted. And I had a cold sausage and onion "salad". It was quite tasty but way too much for one person to eat. After dinner we strolled the town for a little while and then decided there is always room for ice cream. Everyone bought a cone at the ice cream store. It possibly was the best buy of the day. One scope cost 1 €. The cream was really good as well.

The drive back to Munich was very nice but I didn't see as much as I did on the way to the castle. I slept part of the way back. It's a good thing Neil wasn't sleepy. The trip to the castle was generally on "country" roads. The trip back to Munich was mostly on the autobahn (freeway). Turned the car in at the garage and put the keys in a safe. Once back at the hotel we went to our rooms to freshen up and then met in the lobby. We had wine and played Monopoly cards. I won one game and Mel won the other. We said good night and went to bed.