The "Queen of Everything" Has Her Crown

This morning we walked to the train station and took a relaxing 2-hour trip to Fuessen. From there we took a bus to the town of Hohenschwangau. A gentle snow was falling that didn't drench us to the skin, didn't collect on the ground, but made the trees look awesome. Today's mission: visit 2 castles.

I visited Neuschwanstein in 2004, but this was my first visit to Hohenschwangau castle. Oddly enough, the village of Hohenschwangau is what I remember most from the previous trip. I have no memory whatsoever of how we got from the train to the village. Nothing in between looked even slightly familiar.

From the village you can see both castles, but all eyes are on Neuschwanstein.

In order to take English-language tours in both castles, we started with Hohenschwangau. We intended to take the horse-drawn cart up to the castle, but discovered that during the winter they travel only to Neuschwanstein. So... we walked/panted/hobbled up to the castle. That parking lot down there is approximately where we started.

During the tour I learned why the other castle is NEUschwanstein. The original Hohenschwangau castle was known as Schwanstein. I also learned that Wagner, a favorite of King Maximillian, was a frequent guest and composed some of his music while a guest in the castle. The piano he used is still in residence.

Inside the castle we climbed some more, and some more, until we ended up here.

No photos are allowed inside the castle, but we were allowed to take photos out of the windows.

When we left, King Ludwig waved goodbye.

And we walked/stumbled/hobbled down the mountain by a different route, the path the horses would have used.

We DID take the horse-drawn cart up to Neuschwanstein. When we arrived, another passenger in our carriage asked when the last carriage down left. The driver told her "right now". We all thought he was joking.

During the tour we learned that "Mad King Ludwig" actually was. He was declared incompetent shortly before he and his psychiatrist were found drowned in suspicious circumstances. Also, it was a family matter, since his brother Otto was also deemed insane, albeit at a younger age.

After the tour we found out that the driver wasn't joking. We had to walk down a pathway similar to the one above. In the dark. Okay... I exaggerate. It was dark out, but there were enough lights along the way to keep us from tumbling over the edge. We were rewarded for our efforts with a view of a fully-illuminated Hohenschwangau castle.

From there we made our way back to the bus, back to Fuessen, and back to the train. We grabbed some take-out in Fuessen and ate on the train, for which we only had to wait about 10 minutes. You may have noticed the absence of lunch. Our hotel breakfast, plus the endorphins from exercise, kept us from being hungry all day. We may just lose some weight on this trip.

In case you're wondering about the crown... my family refers to me (sometimes) as "The Queen of Everything". In the gift shop I finally got my crown. It's silver, with sparklies, on a necklace chain.

"Wet Snow" is Definitely Wet

After recuperating for an hour or so in our hotel room, we set off to visit our first Christmas market. Actually, it's 3 markets that kind of run into each other. The main one is the Christkindle Markt in Maienplatz. On the outskirts is the Rindermarkt. The name of the third one escapes me at the moment. But the divisions are really rather arbritrary. 

It's exceptionally difficult to get a picture that shows the size of this Markt. Maybe if I was up in one of those towers? There are 4 or 5 rows of huts that run the entire length of the square, plus more stalls lining the streets off to the sides until they reach another square with another concentration of vendors.

I didn't take a lot of photos because of the weather. Having lost a camera at Niagara Falls due to the spray, I was a little leary about exposing another one to the weather.

This little hut selling Gluehwein and other alcoholic specialties is typical of the huts in the Markt.

I've seen these oversized candle towers in other markets, but I'd never seen one used as a hut (this one selling sausages in the Rindermarkt).

Of course our eyes were also wandering over the fabulous architecture. I spotted this dragon immediately after taking one of the street scenes above. Aaargh... water on the lens is more scary than dragons!

Tucked between and behind stalls was this pillar. Although not so visible in the photo, the cherubs at the base are wrestling with snakes and the like... probably demons?

And a random building just because I liked it and could get a good angle. And more water on the lens!!!!!!

Linda isn't exactly a German name, but there seems to be "one in every town".

And we spotted this charming animated Kinder Window at the Galleria Kaufhaus.

We didn't take our umbrellas because it was "snowing" out. Mistake. The snow was more of a slushy rain. By the time we headed back to our hotel, the term "drowned rats" came to mind. I'm hoping we'll carve out a few hours to go back during better weather. Even real snow would be preferable. And I don't like snow.

5 Hours 'Til Hotel Check-In and 100 Pounds of Luggage

So what does one do when arrives in a foreign city in the morning with suitcases, carry-ons, and personal items... and hotel check-in isn't until 3:00 pm? Oh... and you're not renting a car, so you can't throw your stuff in the trunk.

You thank your lucky stars that your hotel let you check in early!

Actually, our hotel had listed a luggage room under amenities and we were planning to stow our luggage there for a few hours until we could check in, but having the opportunity to go straight to our room and unwind a bit before sightseeing was golden.

We're staying in the Atlas City Hotel. I booked it based on the price and proximity to the main train station, despite knowing that near the HBf there are such interesting enterprises as "Exotic World" and "Sexy (something-or-other)", not to mention at least 3 casinos. Being able to walk from the station to the hotel was far more attractive than the neighbors were off-putting. And I wasn't seriously concerned. I'd walked through the neighborhood back in 2004, day and night, and never felt the least bit nervous.

Because it's a budget hotel, our room is barely bigger than a cubicle. I was standing with my back against the wall to take this photo.

It's big enough, but just barely. The bathroom is almost as big as the sleeping area.

It looks sleek and nice, but this is the most inconvenient bathroom ever. The support for the shower head won't hold it properly and the spray is entirely directed at the wall unless you take the sprayer in hand. There is nothing remotely resembling a shelf to hold toiletries. They nicely provide a wall-mounted dispenser of generic hand-face-body wash... which shall never touch my skin. And it's a nearly zero-threshold shower... with an inadequate drain. I yelled at Nate for getting water everywhere and proceeded to do the same, despite my best efforts to be careful.

None of the lights worked when we first went up to the room. Nor did any of the outlets. We flipped all the combinations of switches we could think of to no avail. Apparently all those incomprehensible words that surrounded "Schlussel" (key) when we checked in were important. We needed to insert the room key into this box on the wall just inside the door to turn on the electricity in the room. No leaving lights on when you go out.

We also have a delightful church across the street that helps us keep time by chiming every 15 minutes and gives us a concert chorus of bells at 6 p.m. No extra charge.

Breakfast is not included, but is provided for an extra charge. Having learned my lesson in Berlin with Penninah, we took the breakfast. (Penni and I wandered for hours on a Sunday morning looking for a restaurant for breakfast, and ended up spending 3 times what the hostel breakfast would have cost.) It's typical for Germany except for adding scrambled eggs to the buffet, which I've never seen here before. Not gourmet, but certainly adequate.

Oh... and the bed is exceptionally firm. (Read that as hard.)

So this is our home-away-from-home for the first four nights of our adventure. Would I book this hotel again? Absolutely. It's clean, it's quiet (except for the bells), it has an en suite bath, it has beds... that's all I ask of a hotel.

OMG! Propellers!

Ok... I knew the plane was small. Only 20 seats. But I was expecting at least a turbo prop. But, no. For me, at least, there's a big leap from intellectually knowing it's a small plane to the reality of HOW small a plane it actually is. Yeah... this small.

 There were only 5 passengers (including us) and 2 crew members (both in the cockpit), so there were a lot of empty seats. Well... 15 or so.

 For those who are nerd-inclined, this is the breed of beast.

It was bumpy, since we were barely skimming the clouds, but we survived. The pilot took my picture with the plane. Yes, the pilot.

 Now we're sitting in Pearson International Airport awaiting the departure (and probably also the arrival) of our magic carpet to Munich. Still, I'm glad I changed the reservation. I don't think I would have been able to make a 1-hour connection. It was a long walk from the boondocks to the international terminal.

When we finally got to the gate area, we passed through this interesting structure... kind of like through the belly of the whale. I'm not sure what, if anything, it symbolizes. It felt kind of like being swallowed by the airport.

 Eating is always a good way to fill the time when one is waiting. I decided to actually try poutine. When in in Rome and all that. This one had pulled pork and carmelized onions added, making it gourmet poutine.

There was apparently a juried jewelry competition in Toronto with superstition as the 2012 theme. Some (or perhaps all) of the entries were on display. This piece reflecting "knocking on wood" was the first to catch my eye.

 There was also an adorable voodoo doll.

And this more conventional piece is meant to represent worry stones.

We still have a few more hours to kill, but I think we've seen pretty much all there is to see. We're not allowed to leave the gate area, so our explorations are limited. At least tomorrow, after our own personal "shortest night of the year" will bring lots of opportunity for new sights and adventures.

'Til then.

Germany 2012

Once again I'm on my way to Germany. This time I'm traveling with Nate, my oldest son.

Our trip has been on the planning/dreaming drawing board for a number of years. In 2006 we had the opportunity to spend the Christmas holidays with a German family. On that trip we visited our first Weihnachtsmarkt, or Christmas Market, in the city of Bremen. I found the Markt to be a magical wonderland. Unfortunately, due to work constraints, Nate came on a later flight and totally missed the experience. Since then we've been talking about making a tour of the markets in various cities all over Germany. This year it's really happening.

This was the best photo I was able to get of the Bremer Weihnachtsmarkt in 2006.
I'm planning to do much better this time out.

Our journey begins with our flight to Munich via Toronto. Munich will be our base for several days, then we'll work our way up the western side of the country until we reach Bremen again. There we'll spend a weekend with our German friends. Then our trip will end in Berlin where we'll spend a week with dear daughter and her Freund.

And now the waiting is over... off to the airport. Tomorrow... Munich.