Schwangau to The Zugzpitze, Deutschland (Germany) to Salzburg, Österreich (Austria)

The Alpenhotel Meier served a great breakfast and I was off at 8:30 to go see Mad King Ludwig‘s playhouse, the object of my affection today.  His early years were spent at his parent’s house Hoënschwangau, and then a young Ludwig wanted his own place I reckon, so he had Neuschwanstein (Noy-schvan-stine) built.  He only got to live in it for less than 200 days until he was deemed not right in the head and no longer fit to rule, so he was sent off somewhere and he and his psychiatrist were never heard from again.  Six days later, his castle became a public museum.  As castles go, it’s a relatively new one, having been completed in 1886 after 17 years of construction.  It’s all very touristy, but there’s sometimes a good reason for that, there was in this case.

I’ve talked about the whole opulence thing before but I must admit, this castle is quite something and it’s in a perfect setting, with a constant cool breeze coming from the mountains and the waterfalls.  I got my ticket and beat the big lines and got a tour time for 10:05 am.  There are options for transportation to get you to within a 15 minute hike from the castle, but silly me, I chose the Read Full Article & Comments…

Rothenburg to Schwangau, Deutschland (Germany)

The Gästehaus Raidel served a wonderful breakfast, after which I walked the wall.  Rothenburg is a walled city and on that wall, one may walk the perimeter, fairly comfortably as long as you’re under six feet.  There are some great views of the city and the surrounding countryside and river from the wall.

I was planning on staying another night in Rothenburg, but I was anxious to get on the road and head south down the Romantic Road (Romantische Straße) to Schwangau to see Neuschwanstein, Mad Ludwig‘s castle in the south of  Germany.

I passed though a few towns and then for some reason, the traffic in each town I approached was horrible.  It took an hour to enter one little town and another hour to enter the next.  So I got off that road, and off the map.  My map didn’t have enough detail to show exactly where I was so I winged it, trying to keep heading south, keeping the sun in its appropriate position.  It sort of worked, except for one little circuit of three towns that I made.  After a bit of that, it was getting late, so I tried to get Read Full Article & Comments…

Bacharach, down the Rhine to Heidelberg & the Castle Road, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, Deutschland (Germany)

After having breaky with Donna and saying goodbye to her and the guys and the Castle Stahleck Hostel, I sat in the car a bit planning out my route to Rothenburg ob der Tauber.  The Germany map I have is lacking a little detail, especially when it comes to big city interchanges, so when I get near a decent size town, it’s pretty much a crap shoot.  But generally, I was going to head down the Rhine for a while then toward Frankfort and down the Romantic Road (Romantische Straβe) to Read Full Article & Comments…

Bacharach, St. Goar, the Mosel River, Deutschland (Germany)

Awesome day.  Got up and had breakfast with Donna and the boys and Sarah.  Good conversation, good company.  Donna decided to cut the boys loose for the day and so we decided to go on a drive in the country.  Sarah headed back to London to return home and we wished her well.

I had to check out of the hostel because they were fully booked for tonight, but they told me to come back at 2:00 and see what’s available.  Donna and I hopped in the car and drove up the Rhine and then down the Mosel River for a bit.  We just enjoyed the scenery and all the little villages and castle after castle after castle.

On the way back, we stopped in St. Goar for lunch.  It’s another of those story book towns and we walked down a narrow road trying to figure out where to eat.  Without any real criteria to go on, we just decided to sit down at the place we were standing in front of.  It was fantastic.  An unusual salad, very tasty and a main of various cuts of the most tender pork I’ve ever had, cooked in garlic butter and a bowl of fries.  Mmmmmm mmmm.

We then headed back to the Castle Stahleck Hostel and I was told I had a choice regarding my room.  I could stay on a mattress on the floor in a big room upstairs or I could have a private room.  Tough choice.  After checking in, Donna and I headed back down the hill to see Bacharach.  It’s more of a story book town than St. Goar.  Just Read Full Article & Comments…

Malmedy, België (Belgium) to Bacharach, Deutschland (Germany)

Rough night sleep here at the Malmedy – Hautes Fagnes Hostel.  First uncomfortable bed I’ve had on this trip.  Guess I’ve been lucky thus far.  After leaving the hostel, got fueled up.  The gas price in town was 1.26 euros per litre, that’s the best I’ve seen yet.  I have paid up to 1.56 euros per litre for diesel.  You think you’ve got it tough back home?  I’ve been paying $7.50 – $9.25 USD per gallon for diesel, which by the way, is less expensive than gasoline here.  I think the government subsidizes it.  Use the Google Calculator to see what the USD price per gallon is (go to google.com and type in “1.4 EUR per litre in USD per gallon” without the quotes).

I also had to get some cash.  ATMs are not as plentiful here as they are back home so it took a while to hunt one down.  I left Malmedy and headed for Germany.  Just before the border, I stopped for a bathroom break.  Honestly, I’m not getting so familiar or senile that I want to tell you when I have to go, it’s just that it’s a little unusual in Belgium.  There is an attendant at public water closets and you have to pay 30 cents to use the facilities.  Sometimes they are right in there with you, to help, I guess.  It’s a little weird; no, it’s a lot weird.  On the other hand, it’s nice to always have a nice clean toilet to use and one of the sinks usually has flowers Read Full Article & Comments…

Brugge to Bruxelles to Malmedy, België
Bruges to Brussels to Malmedy, Belgium

Slept in today and awoke to thunder and pouring rain.  Loved it, loved it, loved it.  Took my time getting out of Brugge and headed for Bruxelles (Brussels).  It should have only been an hour long drive but it took me almost three.  I drove around in this big city for a bit trying to decide if it was worth parking and exploring.

Brussels was the original capital of the union formed by Belgium, The Netherlands and Luxembourg (BeNeLux) and that led to the formation of the European Union of which Brussels is also the capital.  So, it’s big, and it was rainy and the traffic was heavy.  The place didn’t seem very attractive, not sure if that was just because of the rain and dark skies or not.  I found out later that most Brusseliers think their city is ugly though and they’re OK with that.  I don’t know, I’d like to check it out Read Full Article & Comments…