Monday, June 1, 2009

Neuschwanstein

Hugging the treeline at the base of the Alps and passing beautiful clear mountain lakes and green, green fields leading to black forests, we made our way to the final "castle" destination on our trip (thank God and Wayne). They are all stunning and I so enjoy the unique history of each one, but I don't believe I can take many more LONG and HIGH flights of steps. Someone really needs to introduce the lift to Germany! The castle of the day (as I have come to call them) was Neuschwanstein and was different from the others in many ways. Among them being that it was the most modern, (if work being done in the 1800's could be called modern) and it is purported to be the castle that Walt Disney modeled his most famous one after.
This time we were offered the option of a horse-drawn carriage ride up the steep mountainside to reach the castle, so you know was in THAT line. 7E seemed a small price to pay as opposed to walking. We also took the tour and saw each room inside. It was fascinating and worth the time.

Bridget and Wayne are regrouping here after boarding the carriage for the ride up .

Crystal and Damion were excited about the carriage ride but for a whole other reason. They thought this was going to be romantic! NOT. This carriage held about 12 folks who were either too tired or lazy to make the hike. I think they enjoyed it anyway.

This is the view of the castle I got upon my approach. Even the grounds were lovely and many tourists took advantage of the lovely weather to tour.

Okay, here I need a translator. I should have just picked one up when I landed in Frankfurt and had him stay with me the whole time :)

This picture was just too beautiful to omit. Looks like those folks need to be wary of that gate coming down!
I don't recall seeing any scenery much more beautiful than this in my life! Magnificent view!

Sister-in-law Bridge took lots of photos and they were all so good...I just had to get this shot of her.
Brother Wayne even posed for me this time while we were waiting for the tour to start.

But I LOVED the look of this guy. It is just uncommon to see males wearing pants at this length in America so I took the picture. Of course it's NOT a bad view, either.

Isn't that grand? I was standing RIGHT THERE. It seems very surreal now that I am back in America.

This mountain lake was so clear and you could almost FEEL how cold it was.

Where's that translator when you need him? I was hungry!

Upon leaving there, we headed back north, this time on the eastern side of Germany. I was so impressed that we saw a large building withe the Veolia Water Co. name on it as my son-in-law works for them in Kentucky.
We went through Nuremburg but way too fast for me. There is so much war-time history there! Maybe another time. I only had two days left and Bridget wanted to shop some, too.
Dinner in the guest haus dining room was French onion soup and spaghetti. I know, I know, but schnitzel was overwhelming me!

2 comments:

Lesa said...

Oh Polly! I'm enjoying your post so much! I look forward to them every night before I head to bed! Tonight I will be thinking of the beautiful mountain views and castles! I too enjoyed the view of the guy in the short pants - extra nice view! Thanks for sharing!

Marie Reed said...

The photos are truly magical! I have NEVER been to this famous castle Polly! You are such a lucky duck! I can see how schnitzel EVERY day would get old! haha I'm actually making schnitzel for dinner tonight though! :)