Left lovely Rothenburg, and headed to our campsite on the River Lech, outside Augsburg. This is a great campsite, and we explored the neighboring village Mühlhausen that afternoon.
Wednesday 08 JuneUp early to catch the bus for the 10 minute ride into the centre of Augsburg. Another picture book city on the Romantic Road.
Augsburg is a great mix of the old and the new - all the brand names in the new shops, alongside (sometimes within) very old buildings. It is Bavaria's 3rd largest city after Munich and Nürnberg, and dates to 15 years BC.
The city also honors the Fugger Family, who built housing for destitute Catholics charging the equivalent of only 1 euro per year. You had to fall on hard times by no fault of your own, and pray to the family every day in order to qualify! The entrance to the original Fuggerei House is shown here.
Visited the local fresh produce markets for lunch. Like all towns so far, there was heaps of fresh fruit and veges, meats, seafood and flowers, and the prices are all very reasonable. Tried coffee and hot Chocolate at Pow Wow, Augsburg take on Starbucks... the result was the same.
That was it for Augsburg, caught the bus back to our camp, for a yummy Turkey Steak dinner, a la Sylv. It seems Turkey is the Chicken of Germany.
Thursday 09 June
Friday 10 June
Today we are off to see the Disney Castle. Waiting for the bus to the next village, we broke every parents rule, and accepted a lift from a stranger! Some nice local man saw us waiting, and offered to take us to Fussen. We saved a bus fare, and survived, but like most German drivers, this guy thought he was Michael Schumacher. Then caught the bus to the Castles, where we signed up for the Kings Tour - both Castles.
The first is mum & dads castle - Hohenschwangau Castle - where little Prince Ludwig grew up with his younger brother Otto. This is where Prussian blood was introduced to the German Royal family, with bad results at the end of the day. Both boys were troubled with mental issues, Otto locked away to draw crazy castles, Ludwig let loose to build them.The tours were managed with great German efficiency with electronic queuing and precision entry to both castles. But you have to be fit to walk between them, or you can take a horse drawn carriage or a bus.
Ludwig was the Michael Jackson of his day, and dreamed of a "Neverland" of his own. Once he became King, he planned to build 6 fantastical castles, but only built 3, only 1 completely (Linderhof Palace). Today we got to see Neuschwanstein, so fantastic that it inspired Walt Disney!
This castle was so surreal that aspects were used to prove his insanity, as cause for his removal as king by the parliament in 1886, and mysterious drowning the very next day. Ludwig did not like official business, preferring a solidarity life, were he could live out his fantasies. For example, he built a room to resemble a cave, with secret doors, which we walked through. The dining room was built for one. But he had vision too. An automatic flushing toilet! Unfortunately only 16 rooms were completed before he died, which were open to the public soon after. But he did not seem to have an ego. There are no images of or references to the King in the Castle, but numerous images and sculptures of his favorite animal, the Swan. Neuschwanstein roughly means New Swan Stone.
As a change of pace, we came upon a German Bucks party on the way out, where the groom to be was being mercilessly striped of his body hairs in public view. Back on the bus to Fussen, for an afternoon of walking around this nice town, before we really tested our legs, for a 5km walk back home.
Saturday 11 June
Cold and wet today. Wearing thermals and multiple jumpers/coats in the middle of summer. The good news is the Sprouts did it! We can eat tomato and cucumber without further guilt.
But now news reaches us that IKEA stores are being attacked. Is nothing safe?
More Photos Here.
Next...
- Munich
- Salzburg
- Vienna
What a strange thing to do on a bucks night......!
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