Day 5 was the first day of our bike trip in Bavaria. Sorry I haven't written, but we had a bit of a problem. On Sunday, we began riding in fairly heavy rain, and while we were transitioning from the road to a bike trail we hit a small curb at an angle and went down hard. Jeri, unfortunately took the brunt of it and sustained a pelvic fracture and a pretty impressive periorbital hematoma (which now has spread to her entire face). She has been in the hospital since the injury, but has been a trooper through all of this. Fortunately, she is having minimal pain and has progressed from a walker the first morning, to crutches that afternoon, and stairs today. They plan to discharge her tomorrow morning, and we should be home on Sunday. It will be a long recovery for such an active woman, but we'll get through it. She is already talking about getting back on the horse.
Tuesday, August 31, 2021
Saturday, August 28, 2021
Bavaria Day 4- Neuschwanstein and Hohenschangau Castles
Day 4- Neuschwanstein and Hohenschangau Castles
Today is the first day on our own. We had to rush through breakfast (took rolls and pastries with us for the train) to catch a train for our trip to Neuschwanstein Castle. I had promised Iwona that I would try weisswurst this morning. Jeri and I both gave it a whirl and other than the color, it wasn't bad with a lot of special sweet mustard.
I have to admit, we stopped at one "promised" bite.
After a few anxious moments, we found the direct train to Füssen, gateway to Neuschwanstein and Hohenschangau Castles.
From the train station, we had to take a bus to the tiny town of Schwangau,
and finally a 10 minute climb up to Hohenschwangau Castle.
The castle grounds were dotted to fountains and gardens.
From the grounds, Mad King Ludwig II was able to watch the construction of his crown jewel, Neuschwanstein Castle.
Sadly, the weather deteriorated (from bad to horrible) as the day progressed with rain off and on and 48 degrees! We were wet and miserable and had about 2 hours to kill before our tour of Neuschwanstein, so we found a nice restaurant and had a German lunch (big). We then had to climb up to the castle on full stomachs, about a 25 minute steady climb in steady rain. Yuchh!
No photos were aloud in either castle, so you'll just have to use your imagination. The trip back to Munich was uneventful and by the time we got back, most of our clothes had somewhat dried.
Packed tonight for our bike trip starting tomorrow. The cold rainy weather isn't supposed to break until Thursday, when sun and a high of 60 is forecasted. Can't believe this is August.
Friday, August 27, 2021
Bavaria: Day 2 Munich Environs
Day 2: Munich Environs and Tegernsee
The bread and rolls in Germany are fantastic! Especially at breakfast. The bike trip better start soon, or we won't be able to fit into our spandex.
Hymie met us this morning with a very comfortable Mercedes minivan for a drive outside the city. On our way out , we passed Hitler's Munich office (now a music academy),
his mistress, Eva Braun's house,
and his personal residence.
Again, all very creepy.
We were passing the English Garden and stopped to do a bit of surfing (Dave, we should have not given up so quickly). It is very strange seeing people walking around a land-locked city with surf boards and wetsuits, but people line up for a minute of hanging 10 on the Eis Bach ("Ice Brook", aptly named for its 50 degree water coming off the Alps).
We then drove on backroads through the beautiful Bavarian countryside dotted with small villages with houses lined with windoboxes. We stopped at one of the larger towns, Tölz Bad, known for its healing spas and now a tourist destination. All its buildings are decorated with colorful murals, Lüftmalerei, or frescoes, of traditional Bavarian themes, fairy tales, religious scenes. Lüftlmalerei is common in Bavaria and its name may be derived from an Oberammergau house called Zum Lüftl, which was the home of facade painter Franz Seraph Zwinck (1748–1792). Some of the buildings here date back to the 1400's.
Couldn't pass up some almond horns, though everything looked delicious.
We stopped for a late lunch at a beautiful Bier Garten overlooking the Tergensee See.
You could tell the view would have been outstanding had it not been raining and foggy.
The drive back to Munich was quick, via the Autobahn, but rainy. Jeri and I both fell asleep in the car.
After a brief rest back at he hotel, It was time again to eat. We decided to walk to the restaurant which was located behind the Munich Opera House, but had a bit of difficulty finding our way (only about 10 minutes late for the reservation). On our walk we passed through Marienplatz again.
Dinner was wonderful, though we were all a bit nervous about eating indoors. Jeri is even beginning to develop a taste for hellebier.
The stroll back was much more direct and Marienplatz was beautiful all lit up.
Tomorrow is our last day in Munich with Iwona and Lothar.
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