DACHAU

We left Schwangau in the morning, driving part of the Romantic Road. At least for the portion that we drove, I wouldn't go out of my way again to drive it. For gorgeous countryside, drive the Rhine or Mosel Valley.


Our house frau and her husband, the Gorlichs.














The Gorlichs, me, another house guest, Klaus, and Roxy the dog. We had breakfast with Klaus each morning. He was from way up north in Germany. Roxy was a sweet and gentle dog. (You know us and dogs :)







The plan had been to drop the car in Munich and go on to Salzburg, Austria. We were ending in Munich and planned to spend some time visiting Dachau, one of the concentration camps at that time. Don decided he really did NOT want to see Dachau, which was very disappointing to me. One of the ways we decided what to see and do on this trip was, if one of us wanted to do something and the other didn't care one way or the other, it was added to the list. Dachau was something I wanted to see and Don hadn't cared, but over time, he was less inclined to see it and this caused the only 'disagreement' in our plans. As we drove toward Munich, we discussed the situation. Don came up with the idea of driving out to Dachau now, staying briefly, and then continuing on to Munich. I am actually glad we did it this way. Following the original itinerary would have had us in Dachau the day before we left Germany and I now know that I would not have wanted it that fresh in my mind - I wouldn't have wanted it to be the last memory of this trip. It is sobering.




Arbeit Macht Frei = Work makes you free. A rather taunting lie as the captives entered the camp.
























Restored barracks that are now the museum. As part of our bargain, we did not go into the museum.
The courtyard is quite large. The inmates would all be gathered here for head counts.



















































The trench in this section was restored to show how difficult escape would have been. The trench was full of water then, I believe.















Barracks foundations. It was a little mind boggling just how big this place was.












At the far end of the main area there are three memorials. This is the Jewish Memorial and was the most impressive and moving to me.

















The symbolic simplicity really touched me. That is a hole in the ceiling.

















Catholic Memorial


















Part of the Catholic Memorial




















Protestant Memorial












Russian Orthodox Memorial

















The crematorium. When we entered this building, it felt sacred and I could not take pictures.














Den toten zur ehr den lebenden zur mahnung.

To honor the dead, to warn the living.

FOLLOWING THE CASTLES

The Alp See (Alp Lake) is by Hohenschwangau. All the water here is beautiful colors. In many calendar pictures and such, the Alp See looks to be right next to Neuschwanstein - it's not. It is an interesting perspective trick and kind of surprising to see the distance between them in 'real life.'
















The color of the Alp See.













You can see Hohenschwangau almost right in the middle here. The Alp See is the body of water on the left. This is looking from Neuschwanstein.









From Neuschwanstein we hiked another moderate to strenuous path up to Marionbruecke - Mary's Bridge. The wind was howling through this canyon. A lot of people were hesistant to step onto the bridge or even go out half way. There is a great view of Neuschwanstein from the bridge, but this back side of the castle was completely draped for renovations.



You can see the bridge from Neuschwanstein right in the middle here, spanning the gap between the cliffs.

















Zoomed in.


















Looking down from the bridge.

















Neuschwanstein from Marionbruecke.











We caught the shuttle down from Marionbruecke - hallelujah! We walked through town and caught the bus to Tegelberg, a kind of fun activity park. We rode the gondola up to Tegelberg peak where we had an excellent view of the valley all around. Then we did a very fun thing - we rode the luge.

That speck of white is the gondola, looking at it from from Neuschwanstein.












Looking at one of the gondolas from the station at the top.












There is a restaurant at the top and areas to view the valleys. There is also a 'launch pad' for hang gliders. Nobody was hang gliding this day.



























































The little lane you see on the left here is the lane we walked. It intersects the tree-lined road and following that to the left takes you to our room, just a couple of houses in.

























Foggen See



























Hang glider's launch pad.


























Looking down on the luge track from the gondola.















Being pulled up to the top.















After the fun at Tegelberg, we found that the bus wouldn't arrive for 20-30 minutes and we somehow thought that we could walk back to our room in that time.... What were we thinking?! We knew the direction to go and what landmarks to watch for, but I don't think we really had a good idea of the distance. So, after what had been a long and already active walking and hiking day, we struck out toward home. It was at least an hour later that we arrived, weary and foot sore, but having had a great day.


Neuschwanstein in the background. I had moved my bag around to the front to relieve some pressure on my neck.

THE FAIRYTALE CASTLES

I hadn't realized just how excited Don was to finally see Neuschwanstein in person. When we returned from our drive, we went in to Fuessen for dinner and I thought we would have a nice quiet evening to relax and write in the journal and read. But Don decided we should do a test run of the walk to the ticket office for tomorrow's big castle day. The guidebook said the walk was just 15 minutes, but we had already determined that Rick Steves must walk VERY briskly to get the times he states. So we headed off down the lane in the early evening. We didn't want to have to push too hard, so took it easy and it took about 25 minutes. We took a couple of pictures of the castles lit at night, but they didn't turn out all that well.




From the head of the lane, Neuschwanstein on the left, Hohenschwangau on the right.












Neuschwanstein from the lane


















Zoomed in













Hohenschwangau from the lane













Zoomed in













Neuschwanstein at night













Hohenschwangau at night











We had heard a real cuckoo the morning of the drive and as we walked along the lane on the castle morning we heard one again. I don't know why that was so wondrous to me, but it was - a glorious little bird call made famous by clocks and now sounding across the field in real life.




We also passed these cows and I loved the clanging choir of bells. Eleven cows, each with its own bell ringing out in a real cacophony that was loud and crazy and terrific.












Many, if not all, of the towns have a maypole in the town center. The little signs show businesses in the town.
















Hohenschwangau sitting above the town. It was the boyhood home of King Ludwig.










It was a little hike - on paved road - up to Hohenschwangau. This is the entrance to the courtyard. If you want to see both castles - and trust me, you do - you have to see Hohenschwangau first.

Hohenschwangau means High Land of the Swans.

Hohenschwangau, like the other of Ludwig's castles, is all dedicated to Richard Wagner. The rooms are decorated with murals depicting scenes from his operas. There is even a room set aside for Wagner, in case he was to visit, but he never did.










The first of many fountains.














One of the craziest things about this castle was one of the renovations that King Ludwig made when the castle became his. In his bed chamber he had the ceiling painted a dark nighttime blue with stars. Holes were drilled in the stars. Servants would light candles and set them on the floor above, over the holes, so that Ludwig could lay in bed and feel like he was lying under the stars.







There was also a 'moon' in the ceiling with a circular plate that slides across it, depicting the moon phases. Candles were set over this, too, of course.





























Click on this link to see a couple of interior shots.

From Hohenschwangau there is a fairly stiff hike to Neuschwanstein. The little map they give you says it takes 40 minutes to walk it. There's only 45 minutes before your allotted tour time. We thought we would use the shuttle up and walk down, but the next shuttle wasn't going to leave for 20 minutes and make us late, so we walked and managed it in 25 minutes.




Looking at Neuschwanstein from Hohenschwangau. There is a room in Hohenschwangau with a telescope trained on Neuschwanstein where King Ludwig watched the progress on his new castle.











































The 'rest stop' by the castle where you can grab a bite to eat and sit down for a bit. Sitting is a good idea after the hike as you will climb up and down 300 stairs during the following 30 minute tour.
















The courtyard entrance.














Entering the courtyard.












This courtyard is rather desolate, especially when compared to Linderhof and Hohenschwangau. King Ludwig was actually the designer of the castle interior. The castle interior was only 1/3 finished when he died suddenly. The remaining rooms that he had planned were finished later. The 3rd floor is completely empty. As much as he loved fountains I think he must not have gotten around to designing the grounds and that is why they are empty.











The interior of Neuschwanstein was a surprise after all of the gold leaf in Linderhof and Hohenschwangau. There was a lot of beautiful carved dark wood here. This castle is like the others with its rooms designed after Wagner opera scenes.














































The view from Neuschwanstein.

Click on this link for interior pictures - be sure to click on them to enlarge them!