I was a bit disappointed when I got up the morning of Friday, July 18, 2008. It wasn’t that bad taking a shower in the bathroom with the glass door in our little room at the Hotel Kurcafe in Füssen, Germany…but I was a bit distressed when I went downstairs to use the internet only to find that the laptop that was there the night before had been disconnected. The girl preparing breakfast had no idea where it was. I soon got over it though when I noticed the magnificent breakfast spread that she was in the middle of arranging.
That morning before we left, the Wileys and I dined on what was perhaps the best European breakfast yet. Unfortunately this would be our last one of the trip, but it included the traditional meats, eggs, and cheeses, while also having the added bonus of traditional German pretzels and champagne! As usual I started the day with filling my belly full and we then packed our stuff into the rental car and headed out to our first destination of the morning – two Bavarian Castles not far from where we were staying.
Okay enough talking about those European breakfasts…here’s your chance to see it for yourself
The now-fully bearded dude with the pretzel
We arrived in the tiny German village of Schwangau a little after 8am, parked the car, purchased the tickets, and then embarked on the 20 minute hike to the top of the hill where Schloss Hohenschwangau (which literally translates as Castle of the High Swan County) was located. This was the childhoom home of the famous Bavarian King Ludwig II, also known as “Mad Ludwig.” The castle was originally constructed in the 12th Century, but eventually fell into disrepair. It wasn’t until 1829 when Crown Prince Maximilian II discovered the historic location and had it rebuilt. He would later become king, and his older son Ludwig would be raised in this castle and then himself become the king upon his father’s death in 1864.
Hohenschwangau Castle
Me (with yellow umbrella) working my way up the stoop
The view from Hohenschwangau
The castle’s outdoor fountain
One way to get free water in Europe
That yellow building is Hohenschwangau – as seen from the Marienbrücke. I had just walked from there to where I am standing.
In 1869, King Ludwig commisioned a second castle to be built nearby which was even more extravagant than Hohenschwangau. This became Schloss Neuschwanstein. Unfortunately, Ludwig was declared legally insane (in what is today largely disputed as being politically motivated) and removed from his position in 1886. Days later, he was found drowned, having never lived in his castle – which was nearing its completion.
The Wileys and I first toured Hohenschwangau and then Neuschwanstein. Photographs were not permitted inside either castle, although Jimmy was able to sneak one of me with Ludwig’s bust in the latter castle. Although the castles were in the same vicinity, it was about a 45 minute walk (mostly uphill) from one to the other. The Wileys chose to take a bus to get there, where I (against better judgement) decided to walk while listening to The Strokes on my iPod. Fortunately, I didn’t have a stroke of my own, but was able to walk off a day or two’s European breakfasts, and besides, it was a very nice walk and a rare quiet (besides The Strokes) moment in the trip.
I made it to the castle and then had to walk beyond it to see the Marienbrücke (Queen Mary’s bridge), which offers a spectacular view of both castles, particularly Neuschwanstein. Here I met up with the Wileys and we walked beck to Neuschwanstein to tour it. It was a magnificent castle which featured amazing architecture, artwork, and design – including a grotto that looked like a real cavern and an amazing Throne room which featured paintings of the twelve apostles. And this castle is also significant as it inspired Walt Disney’s vision of the castles at his theme parks when he visited it while researching European culture.
Me and Neuschwanstein (as I forget to take The Strokes out of my ears)
The view of Neuschwanstein from Marienbrücke
It’s easy to see how this castle influenced the Disney castles
Jimmy took an illegal picture inside the castle…just so I could say “Mad King Ludwig’s Neuschwanstein’s Castle or bust!” It just rolls off the tongue.
The view of Marienbrücke from Neuschwanstein
I grabbed a couple of sausage sticks at a souvenir ship outside the castle and we headed out. I had purchased my obligatory magnets before we entered the first castle. By 12:30pm, we were on the road to Munich – or as the locals refer to it München. We arrived at the Renaissance Hotel by about 3pm. We checked in, put our luggage in the room, and then caught a train to the downtown area.
Our first sight upon arrival in downtown Munich 30 minutes later was that there was a college protest going on. This made Big Jimmy a little nervous. The last thing we wanted to do was get caught up in a swarm of protesters in Munich, Germany! But it seemed mostly peaceful so after wondering around for a bit, we came back to the protest area in the heart of Munich to see the Rathaus-Glockenspiel go off at 5:00pm on the hour. It was interesting, but rather unimpressive. We also found out that the protest was against the raising of student bus fares. We opted not to join in on the cause.
In front of the Residenz and statue of King Max. This is where the Bavarian royalty lived.
The Rathaus-Glockenspiel in Munich…doing it’s little jig
Having skipped lunch, we were ready for dinner by about 5:30, so when we came upon the authentic German-looking Augustiner am Dom, we chose to have our meal there. I had the epitome of German dishes – a Munich style special plate which consisted of grilled aroma salt pork, spicy red roasted sausage, sauerkraut, fried potoatoes, and horseradish. And I topped that off with a warm apple strudel in vanilla sauce, which surprisingly wasn’t all that sweet. Where I just went ahead and bought a water, Big Jimmy wanted to get a beer since we were eating ‘German’, apparently forgetting that we would soon be visiting a beer garden after dinner.
Big Jimmy and me with mouths all upset for a German meal
German beer number one for the Wileys
Jimmy and me with our German delicacies
And that’s exactly where we headed from there, the famous Hofbräuhaus am Platzl of Munich. Originally built in 1607, this was the mother of all beer gardens. It was incredibly gigantic and yet we had trouble finding a seat amid the wild beersuckers and accordian band music. This was as authentic as it got. The Hofbräuhaus was located directly across from the Hard Rock Cafe, so as I am trying to visit as many as possible I took a quick walk through the establishment. Since I had a huge meal inside of me and a huge beer coming, I bypassed actually eating in it!
Outside the Munich Hard Rock. I visited but didn’t eat. Does this mean I have to go back?
When we finally found a seat at the Hofbräuhaus, I knew exactly what I wanted – the gigantic 2-liter Hofbräu Special. It was good, but a little hard to fit into my already full-belly. The Wileys decided to split a smaller glass of beer. Big Jimmy, having already had one beer at the restaurant, was trying to convince Kris and Little Jimmy to drink the bulk of it. Little Jimmy doesn’t like beer so he was out after one sip. The elder Wileys then passed the glass back and forth like it was a ticking time bomb that they had to consume before it detonated. As non-drinkers, I’m sure the beer was making them rather loopy, but after my huge-ass mug, I certainly wasn’t in any position to judge.
Ready to enter the Hofbräuhaus
German beer number two for the Wileys
No words necessary here
We didn’t stay too long, nor did we leave a tip for our waitress, whose rudeness rivaled that of our Swiss waitress we had encountered two days earlier. We then grabbed the train to move up a couple of stops and see another area of Munich. When we exited the train five minutes later, I was walking up the platform with Kris when suddenly she exclaimed “where’s Jimmy??” I saw Little Jimmy up ahead but when I turned around, I saw Big Jimmy still on the train, holding onto the pole and staring out into space. Fortunately Kris was able to signal him and he got off before the doors closed. This made Kris giggle for the rest of the evening. Hofbräuhaus indeed. The Wileys are like medication…not meant to be mixed with alcohol.
On our stop, we walked around briefly and saw the Odeonsplatz – also known as the Theatine Church, which was completed in 1690 and houses the tombs of many members of the Bavarian monarchy, including many members of King Maxamillian’s family. In the area was also a nice statue of Mad Ludwig, although he is not bured in the nearby crypt.
At the Odeonsplatz. We didn’t go inside.
I crossed the street to get this photo of Ludwig’s statue, since I now seemed to know this guy intimately
We caught the train back to our hotel at about 9pm. Our room was nice, comfortable, and ‘Americanized’ (that is, Jimmy’s and my beds weren’t pushed together), but the amenities were non-existant. It would cost extra to watch TV or get on the internet. I went ahead and paid the five euros to get online for 30 minutes using Jimmy’s laptop. We fell asleep at a decent hour. We had just one more day to get through in Europe and we were running on the minimum human requirement of steam by this point.
The trip will continue…
I knew that they called it Munchen, but I just found out recently that in Italy they call it Monaco. Apparently when they are talking about Monaco (as we know it) they call it the principality or something.
chris
December 21st, 2008