Germany - Day 5

View from Neuschwanstein

5/1/2007 - Bavaria

We were up early to get to Neuschwanstein before the crowds.  My college roommate had a poster of this castle hanging in our dorm room and I had dreamed of visiting it someday.  That day had finally come.
We toured Hohenschwangau first.  This was King Ludwig's boyhood home.  Then we hiked up to Neuschwanstein.  The views were incredible.

Thankfully, both tours were in English.  One interesting fact - the indoor potties are basically a closet that juts off the side of the castle, with a "toilet" that empties to the ground below. Pity the person who's standing in the wrong spot at the wrong time.  After many photo-ops, we headed to the beer garden for lunch.  My husband was brave and tried the white sausage (which comes in a bowl of water) and pretzel.

Albino sausage...yum

Katie and I opted for the safe ham and cheese sandwiches.  We decided we needed dessert, so we ordered the Bavarian Creme and the Black Forest Cake.  Neither disappointed.

On to Wieskirche ("church in the meadow"), an old Rococo-style church.  My husband opted to nap in the car (oh, the evils of beer for lunch) while Kate and I went inside.  It was beautiful and worth the stop.

Next we stopped in Oberammergau, a little town known for its woodcarvers and the Passion Play they put on once every ten years.  Disappointingly, many of the shops were closed for May Day.  We had hoped to tour Linderhof, the hunting lodge of King Ludwig, but as always, we ran out of time.  We circled around to Lake Plansee and then back to Reutte.

Enjoying some liquid refreshments at Lake Plansee.

Our route - started in Reutte, just south of Fussen and travelled north to Wieskirche (circled), then east and south to Oberammergau, then west past Plansee and back to Reutte.