Day A—Neuschwanstein—“The Original Disney Castle”

Since this trip is long, we’ve resorted to using hexadecimal (base-16) numbers instead of base 10. 😊

On most cruises we have to have our bags packed and set outside of the room by 10PM or Midnight.  So, it was pretty nice to have until 8:15 this morning.  This allowed us to not have everything in the carry on bags like toiletries, and such.  So, when we got up, we did some last minute packing and arranging, and set them out, and headed to breakfast.

Yikes!!  Per "quart"!

After breakfast, we cleared out of our room, and headed to the bus.  We intended to check off the boat, but using the kiosk, it said we were not valid passengers.  Well!!  Since there are only 25 of us, there is plenty of room to spread out, so people sort of found their comfort spots, and settled in.  Our guide introduced herself and began explaining things about the trip.  One thing is they rotate seats on the bus to ensure everyone gets decent options for the best seats.  It is a simple formula, she explained.  If you are in the front of the left side, you move back two rows.  Then other seats move left, some go to the back, and if your row number is spelled ending in a vowel, you stay, except on Tuesdays in winter.  Some rows roll a dice and others use a magic eight ball.  (Her explanation was about that clear!)  In any event, the fact that Bill sat on the left side and Theresa on the right suggests she’s moving to the back and he to the front.  We might need to break some rules!

Neuschwanstein Castle

We made it to Hohenschwangau, the small village near Neuschwanstein, the castle used as a model for the Princess Castle at Disney.  The first records of Schwanstein castle was in the late 11^th Century (like 1077 or something).  Swans are highly regarded in Bavaria, and “Schwan” is the German word for swan.  So, the name means roughly “Swanstone”.  Later, Hohenschwangau castle was built on a nearby hill.  (Hohen basically means high, so a high swan something.)  Anyway, Ludwig II, King of Bavaria, built himself a nice castle on the ruins of Schwanstein, and named it Hohenschwangau.  Then he decided he wanted a traditional Medieval castle.  So, he tore down the existing ACTUAL medieval castle that was Hohenschwanstein, and had some Italian designers construct a new one, calling it Neu(new)schwanstein.  Anyway, the construction of this castle started in 1869, and stopped when he died in 1886, because the nation was bankrupt.  So, 16 rooms were complete but about 30+ were not. 

Hohenschwangau Castle

Lunch!

We arrived in the little town about lunch time, and the tour guide gave us the boot and we went in search of food. We found a place with Brats, and fries, and a chicken schnitzel sandwich.  It was good!!

The tour started at 4:15, but we were able to get into the courtyard at 3:45, so we got some sort of inside courtyard pics.  But pictures were not allowed inside.  We’ll just say the décor was incredible!!  He had a thing for medieval fables and legends, so a lot of the frescos were of that ilk.  The detail of the woodwork, paintings, and so forth was a feast for the eyes!  And, there was an actual Grotto built on the third floor of the castle.

Switzerland is just on the other side of these mountains.

Maybe time for a new roof??

The Marien Bridge in front of Neuschwanstein.

Proof we were here!!

Wow those walls are high!!

I'm seeing M.C. Escher again?

In case you wondered where Rooks come from!

One of the "unfinished" areas.

The Kitchen

This was the exit.  Ominous!

After the castle tour, we headed back down the long road to the bus, and a 2 hour ride to our hotel in Innsbruck, Austria.

Austrian countryside

The forest around Neuschwantstein.

What kind of fence is this???

The parking lot when we returned.  Nice!

Good night!

When we got to the hotel, we checked in, and dropped our stuff in the room, and headed out to get dinner with Mike and MaryAnne.  There was a little place (City Food) Mike found that had good prices, was 2-3 blocks away, and got good reviews.  We came in and noticed a guy eating something that looked and smelled good, but he immediately jumped up and took his food to the back.  We asked what it was, and found that it was HIS meal, and not on the menu.  We each ordered, and then he brought us a sampling of his own food!  It was really good!!  Then our meal came.  Wow!!!  It was incredible!!  Three of us got a penne, which was so good, but Theresa killed it with a spinach spätzle with ham and so much cheese!!  Halfway through our meal, it started raining…with a vengeance!  We hoped it would let up, but it did not.  We ran home in the rain and all got to the hotel soaked!!  But the dinner was WORTH it!