The Wieskirche
After our morning in Dachau our mood lightened as we arrived
at the Weiskirche, an over the top Baroque style church. And wouldn’t you know it a wedding was about
to take place! What luck! We managed to have a look around this opulent
church before the bride walked down the aisle, pipe organ playing, to her
awaiting groom while the church bells rhythmically rang outside! What a perfect moment! Twenty minutes down the road we arrived at
the Luge. Unfortunately Julie was so
slow that she held everyone up! Slow and
steady wins the race, isn’t that what they say?
Well, maybe not in this case!
Checked into our hotel in Reutte and a group buffet dinner was prepared
for us in a private room. We were
spoiled with all the choices!
Fairy-tale Castles
The next day our main excursion was a tour of Neuschwanstein
Castle and Hohenschwangau Castle. After
a hearty breakfast we boarded our bus in anticipation of another great day
ahead and more Old World Charm discoveries!
We were now very used to great days!
Keith warned us that we would be walking a fair distance uphill to the
entrance of the castle. No, he was not
joking! But when you are chatting with
friends and encouraging one another on, it makes for an enjoyable walk! Our tour of the castle was very interesting,
focusing on the life of King Ludwig II who became King of Bavaria at 18 years old who
built this castle for himself with all the bells and whistles in the 1860’s in
the Romantic Style. He only lived there
for 172 days and authorities deemed him unfit to govern and he was moved to a
castle near Munich. His death is a
mystery as he and his doctor were found drowned in a nearby lake soon
afterwards. Sounds like a job for Sherlock!
After seeing the inside of the castle we walked to Mary’s Bridge (behind
the castle and further up the mountain) where we had a perfect view of the
castle. We then had a picnic lunch
(which our guide Keith and bus driver Richard picked up for us) at the Alpensee. Afterwards we toured the boyhood castle home
of Ludwig that he shared with his parents (Hohenschwangau Castle).
What an incredible day! Back in
Reutte we decided it was time for some afternoon Austrian “Kaffee und Apfelstrudel”
(coffee and apple pie) which did not disappoint. A very
full day! Next stop: Venice!!
Yippee!!
Lunch on the Alpensee
The Castles
Austrian Cuisine!
Old World Charm of Bavaria
Continuing with the trend - we are spoiled for choice in the charm category. But for this stop it would have to be the wedding at the Wieskirche, the fairy-tale castle of Neuschwanstein, and the delicious Austrian coffee and apple strudel we enjoyed after a busy day at the castles. Everything picture perfect!