June 23
Boy did I have to get up early (5:00 am) to catch my train
leaving Lindau at 06:10 and I had to miss the breakfast at my B&B. Since no one was up, I just left my keys on
the front desk counter and headed off to the train station.
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| Neuschwanstein Castle |
I was in a hurry to catch as early of a train as possible
since I was going to go see Neuschwanstein Castle, one of Bavaria’s top tourist
sites. I had a two hour train ride Füssen
and tour the castle then catch a 3.5 hour long train ride to Salzburg and then
a 45 minute bus ride to Berchtesgaden. So
to say the least I had a pretty busy schedule ahead of me today and I knew that
starting as early as possible would allow me more wiggle room to work with if
my schedule didn’t go as planned. Also
by planning ahead, I ordered my tickets for touring the castle ahead of
time. Immediately after arriving at the
train station I found the nearest Information Station and chucked my luggage
into one of the lockers so I could travel light. A short bus ride brought me to the ticket
station at the base of the mountain for the castle. I arrived at about 10:00 am and there was
already a ton of tourists there all waiting in a long line to purchase their
tickets. I was so happy I had already
preordered my tickets because by the time I waited and line and I walked out
with my tickets only five minutes had passed.
I picked up a brat for a quick bite and headed to another bus station
for going up to the castle.
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| Fussen |
I was able to get into a tour of the castle about an hour
earlier than I had reserved for and the tour started only five minutes after I
arrived. The unfinished castle is one of the late
19
th century built by a crazy King who basically dedicated the whole thing
to art (his fantasy world). In fact the
main architects were theatrical painters.
It went unfinished because he after his mysterious and early death his
family canceled any future construction plans and about two weeks later opened
it up as a museum. Very cool! I then caught a bus back to Füssen to get
some lunch and stroll around before my next set of trains/buses.
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| Picture of Bavarian Countryside from my Train |
I spent the next 3.5 hours on trains going to Salzburg to
catch a bus to Berchtesgaden. Looking
out at the beautiful rolling green hills of Bavaria did not make me mind the
length of time I spent on the trains. I
finally arrived to Berchtesgaden around 07:30 pm and now had to find my way to
my B&B with only a bus number and the name of a bus stop to get off
at. With a little help from my sister
over a phone call I was able to find my B&B. Next time I really need to make a detailed
list of directions instructions, lesson learned. I found my key in an envelope outside of the
door and I let myself in.
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| Bier Garten in Berchtesgaden |
Finally I got to put my bags down in my room and I realized
I was very hungry. Unfortunately for me
it was late and raining, I had no internet, the hostel owners were out, I
possessed no map and I was out in the countryside. How was I going to find anything to eat at
this hour? My hunger drove me out of the
B&B to go in search for something, anything. I walked about five blocks and found a German
restaurant open so I entered. The
restaurant staff was all wearing lederhosen and dirndls and there were live
musicians performing for the guests. I thought
to myself “I found the right place”, and sat down for some good food and some
beers.
Exhausted, I crawled into bed and instantly fell to sleep.
Ready for another jam packed day the next day!
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