Our Last Stop: Germany

We took a train from Austria to Germany. We stopped in Munich for about an hour to drop off our luggage and check into our hotel and then were off to Fussen, where we saw Neuschwanstein Castle, the castle that the Disney Castle is modeled after. It was built by Mad King Ludwig in the 1800s. It is built high up in the mountains and has a great view of the city. King Ludwig built approximately 5 castles, all of which he paid for out of his own pocket, causing his family to become almost bankrupt. 174 days after he completed Neuschwanstein, he was arrested and removed from kingship under the charge of being mentally inept. However, before he could be tried, his body was mysteriously found in a lake. No one really knows what happened to him, even still. The castle was opened to the public immediately after his death because people were accusing parliament of murdering him. They thought that one room in the castle would prove Ludwig’s craziness. That room was an imitation cave. For some reason he built a fake cave in the castle with concrete walls and ceilings to look like boulders and stalagmites. I don’t really know if it helped parliaments cause, the guide didn’t mention that part. The castle was beautiful and the tour was interesting. Afterwards, we went on a little hike to get a better view of the castle, and it was worth it. Day two we spent in Munich. We walked to Oktoberfest grounds, saw the city, went to the city center, and did some shopping. The Munich City Center is famous for its cuckoo clock. It’s the biggest one in the world. We also went to a church where the devil set foot. As the legend goes, the devil came into the church and the priest told him that he wasn’t allowed to come any farther. The devil got mad and stomped his foot, and being the devil and all, it was so hot that it melted the tile. Did you know that the devil wears shoes? Our last day in Europe was spent at the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial. It was so sad, but very informational. After the camp, we went to the city center again. Bayern Munchen had a game that night and they were having their pre-game party. There was beer, music, chanting, singing, yelling and lots of Lederhosen. It was so much fun to see. There were so many people there, all singing and chanting that I couldn’t help but smile. Danny found a couple of steins on the ground that he just had to have, so we took them, washed them and brought them home.

Translation: Work will make you free

Many people still give flowers and wreaths as a memorial and out of respect

Even though we got to see so many amazing things the very best thing about our vacation was getting to spend 2 weeks with the person I love. We didn’t have to think about work. We didn’t have to worry about cell phones or email, we just got to be together. It was so great to have that time together. I would do it all over again in a heart beat.