Hi everyone, miss you all a lot.
On Sunday, our train ride took most of the afternoon. Karen and I sat up toward the front of a car where the seating was minimal (probably for people with bikes and heavy luggage). But the view was great. sometimes this preferable to riding backwards with a backward view out the window. Well, this would be a good time to talk about the intricacies of how to work European bathrooms. Craig took a good five minutes trying to figure out how to lock the door on this particular bathroom on the train. When he finally figured out the buttons, he then explained it to us. As Karen and I were sitting up in this front part, we were also sitting by the bathroom door. No surprise there, I realized that I became the bathroom monitor. It wasnt just us that couldnt figure it out. Even the locals were stumped. So as each person walked in (it was a big one for handicapped). Ýou could see puzzlement on their faces. The doors usually have the open and close buttons on them, but this one had open and close and lock buttons on the side wall. So I couldnt stand watching them struggle and there was no translation needed to show the open, close and most importantly the lock button. But each time we use a public bathroom, these buttons along with how does the water turn on, what do you push to flush the toilet, how do you dry your hands, and more always has us chuckling as we exit. Every single one is different and we do a lot watching others first to figure it out. Craig loved the one in Como where the doors opened and closed with a whoosh like a Star Wars space ship, and then when you were done, locked the door and sprayed the whole bathroom with water to wash it down. Other places where there is attendants, they take pride to keep them clean and when you are done, they are right in there behind you, making sure they are clean for the next person. Its really quite amazing to observe their workings.
Okay, we arrived in Munich. We got here in the afternoon, and immediately started checking the tour brochures as we only had one full day here. We finally found one that takes you out to the castles. But they were closed. So yesterday we were up and going by 8 a.m. at the train station to find the tourist office opened at 8. We found a tour bus that took you out to two famous castles and made the bus by 10 minutes. It was packed and we sat in the very back but we were excited to make it.
First we left Munich and got on the Autoban. Now I have heard a lot about this, but when we got on it, it wasnt that bad. The buses have to go no more than 65 mph in the slow lane but we found that most cars didnt fly by. An occasional zipper flew by but it didnt seem that scary.
First we went to Castle Linderhof. It was smaller, but when you got inside, it was opulent galore. It was built by King Ludwig II, the last Baviarian king. He loved French architecture and design and had barroque design everywhere. It was beautiful with gold carvings, statures and gold framed paintings on walls and ceilings.
We then made a quick stop in a town for shopping, there were tons of tourist stores here and our tour guide recommeneded three. It was obvious he knew the people but it was still fun to walk around and check out the stores.
We then went onto the next castle. Castle Neuschwanstein. This is the castle that everyone sees in postcards perched up on a mountainside looking like a fairy princess castle, and its the one that Walt Disney used to design the castle in Disneyland. We got to a lower parking spot for the bus and then hiked up (and up and up). But the view of the valley below was incredible. We then went on the tour inside. Again this belong to King Ludwig II and he loved Robert Wagner music so all the design inside reflected his operas and stories. But what was interesting was only about 1/3 of the castle was finished. For some unknown reason they had this king declared insane and shipped off to another castle where he was found drowned in a lake with his doctor the next day, all at the age of 40. Many speculate there was nothing wrong with him but policital intrigue looked for an excuse to get rid of him, so it could have been murder or suicide. No one knows. As the money for the castle building came from family money, I am suspicious they had had enough of his extravagant spending and called a halt. So we only toured the finished parts but wow, unbelievable extravagant furnishings and tapastries, and carved oak wood. We went way up in the castle and the views all around took your breath away.
We finally came down, got back on the bus and 2 hours later at 6:30 p.m. we tiredly returned to our hotel. Exhausted but thrilled at what we had seen.
We then returned to the Haufbrauhos restaurant again. Good German food. I loved their version of meatballs and mash potatoes. Craig ate pigs knuckle, he loved it. We sat in the non smoking section, but out in the main dining hall, the beer was flowing freely, with cigarette and cigar smoke. They were having a great time, as a band played.
Walking around Munich, you dont see much "old town" with 4 or 500 year old buildings. WWII destroyed much of their old town and they tried to reconstruct a lot of it, but it is more of a modern city to explore. But we found a pedestrian walkwaz with every possible expensive store you could imagine.
So today we are off to Frankfurt. Wont get there till later this afternoon.
We miss you all so much. Love from all of us to all of you.
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