Germany-January 21, 2009

Today was still snowy, but we woke to a better view of the mountains. We were exhausted from the drive and chose to sleep in today. We weren't sure where we were going to go, but had thought about Dachau concentration camp before breakfast. By the time we got ready, ate and were out the door...it was too far to drive to Dachau for the day. We decided to go to Neuschwanstein castle, just 30 miles through the mountains.

I was so excited. Neushwanstein Castle was right at the top of my "to see" list when we came to Germany. It was built by King Ludwig II. It was designed by a theatre set designer instead of an architect, and each room in the castle has a theme...usually the theme is based on one of Ludwig's favorite plays or scenes. He was a wild supporter of the theatre and the arts. Because it looks so much like it's from a fairy tale, Walt Disney used it as the blue print for the castle in Sleeping Beauty, which later became Disney's logo. Everyone associates Walt Disney with the castle...in short, Neuschwanstein castle. It was cool to see the castle that inspired the magic.

Anyway, we got to the site by 2:00pm. I forgot to figure into the deal that we were in Europe and it was winter time. Everything closes early here in the winter. We got to the ticket counter to find out that the place closed at 3pm. It was a 45 minute hike to the castle from the bottom. Even by horse and carriage, it wouldn't have given us much time to look and wonder. But, we decided to hike to the top anyway and see the exterior, if nothing else. I was more than a little heart broken, but glad to be here, nonetheless.

Kevin carried Weslee most of the muddy way. The snow had melted on the dirt road and turned everything into a mudslide of sorts. Horse manure mixed in with it all and made it a rather revolting mess. The woods were gorgeous though. The trees were lined with white frosting. Little sprays would fall from the trees and sprinkle the air with glittering "pixie dust".

By the time we reached the top, we were breathing heavily, sweating to death in our overstuffed coats and hats. We walked around the castle and took pictures. It was like a storybook...the long spires stretching to the grey sky. We were sad to find out that while the last entrance is at 3pm, the castle doesn't actually close until 4. It was too late to go and get a ticket. We would have had plenty of time to tour the inside afterall. We were a little miffed. I took pictures while we cooled down.

Slowly the clouds pulled back over the castle and it began to snow again. It got cold and windy and we put our coats back on. Kevin carried Weslee down the long slope and the poor kid crashed on his shoulder for part of the way.

We headed back to the hotel in quiet, enjoying the snow covered Alps. We ended the day by going to the Hotel Gastholf Fraundorfer for dinner. They served German food in a family style environment...which means that if your party doesn't fill up the whole table, they will seat another party at the same table with you until it is full. We shared a booth with two English men who spoke wonderful German. They told us all about their adventures skiing the Alps, the Rocky Mountains, and travelling the world. We listened intently while Weslee slept in my lap. He slept for the entire meal and didn't wake until we were almost through with dessert.

We ordered Wienerschnitzel and Pfeffersteak...which were both very delicious. But the height of culinary pleasure came with the Apfel Streudel. I hate baked apple things...but this delicious apple pastry with vanilla ice cream was divine. We should have ordered two! The entertainment was fun. All of the staff were dressed in German "folk" attire, two teenage boys did traditional dances for the crowds, and another man played the accordian all night. Very fun and entertaining. It capped off the day and by the end, I called it a very good day indeed.