After an early, three-hour train ride on Sunday, I made it safely to Munich. My brother was there to pick me up at the train station and get me back to his place. I took the day to get in a lot of missed rest. I hadn’t been sleeping well (or much) since I’ve been here, plus, my knee was swollen and killing me. The day to get in some RICE (rest, ice, compression, elevation) did me good. As was the time to catch up with my brother and watch some stupid movies. While my knee is still tender, the swelling has gone down a ton. Fingers crossed more rest is all I need.
Monday was my day of “me time.” It was nice to have my own agenda. I took the 9:00 a.m. train to Fussen, and then a couple busses to get to Neuschwanstein Schloss, or better known as Neuschwanstein Castle. I’ve been to Germany a few times, and this is the last “touristy” thing to check off on my list. The castle was in an absolutely stunning part of Bavaria. It means “new swan stone,” which apparently was a bird King Ludwig II was a big fan of.
One of my favorite classes I took in college was an art history class on Walt Disney. It was during that class I learned that the inspiration for the castle at Magic Kingdom came from this castle. He and his wife spent time at the castle while on a European vacation. It was first depicted in the movie Sleeping Beauty, and then created at Disney Land (which came before Disney World).
Despite it being a rainy, gloomy day, it didn’t take away from the magic of the day. The mist would part occasionally, to see this massive castle on the top of a very high hill. There were options to bus, take a horse-drawn carriage, or walk up it. I opted for the hike, which I’m so glad I did. The walk was very steep and was like walking through an enchanted
forest. I joke about it, but I really did have a number of “Pretty, Pretty Princess” moments that day. There were streams, and waterfalls, and just…magic. I hiked around a lot that day, taking in the incredible surroundings. I guess I get what may have inspired Disney.
I missed the train I intended to take back to Munich, which unexpectedly gave me some great time to explore the very small city of Fussen, pronounced “foo-sin.” I think Bavaria is like Switzerland in that they can’t help but make their little towns so damn quaint and beautiful. I was damp and cold, so I grabbed a coffee and croissant to try to warm me up. I napped for a chunk of the train ride back, occasionally peeking out the window to take in the Bavarian countryside. I met a really nice man who commutes in an hour every day. He mentioned that while he works in Munich, he prefers living where he does over urban life, which after what I’ve seen, I kinda get. (Don’t worry — I’ll still be a city gal with a penchant for the outdoors!)
So yeah, it was another wonderful day.
I planned to walk around Munich with my brother’s dog today, but it’s been raining again, so I decided to catch up on my blogs, pack up my stuff and get my stuff ready. My brother and I head out of town and will be making our way down to Ljubljana, Slovenia tonight. We’ll then make our way through a few cities in Croatia, then on to Trieste, Italy, before getting back to Munich on Saturday night. I’ve heard great things about where we’re headed tonight, so it should be a good time!
Cecilia the TravelGurl 