The previous day's 'adventure' with the trains caused us to revise our plans for the upcoming week's travel. We decided to stay two nights in Füssen, then travel to Freiburg for two nights there. This reduced the amount of train travel, and thus the scope for errors. It meant one full day of travel in three nights, rather than a bit each day. However we prefer two-night stays to overnight stops.
For us, just out of Füssen lie the Kingdom of Narnia and country of Vulgaria. The movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang included a kidnap of the children by Baron Bomburst off to his castle in Vulgaria. For us it was an easy trip on the local bus service, and we arrive at a village in a fairy-tale land heavy with snow.
We had two palaces to explore - Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein - and some woodland walks between them. Our walk to Hohenschwangau takes us past a delightful street lamp located in the middle of the wood. Susan stood there waiting for Mister Tumnus, but soon got cold.
Hohenschwangau is a neo-Romanesque castle built in the early 19th century for the Maximillian II when he was King of Bavaria. This palace had a homely feel, which I think resulted from both the relatively small scale of the castle and its primary use as a retreat from state business.
Next we walked to Neuschwanstein the long way through forest full of snow. Though cold, it was peaceful and an experience we will not likely repeat for many years. This took us past Marienbrucke, a bridge built specifically to provide this view of Neuschwanstein.
The path from the bridge to Neuschwanstein had a layer of ice across it. Susan with her slippery shoes needed support from both a handrail and myself to get safely down it. The reward was entry to Neuschwanstein. If we were late, we would have missed out.
Ludwig II, King of Bavaria, built Neuschwanstein as a fairy-tale castle, using the operas of Richard Wagner for influence. He went bankrupt before he finished it, and this cost him the kingship. However, he finished enough to create a most marvellous building, one takes its place in my memory with great ease.
In addition, the views from Neuschwanstein over Bavaria (or Vulgaria for those in the land of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) deserved some appreciation.
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