It’s funny, but I do think that my wife, who is over at the next computer in this Internet cafe/bar, actually enjoys checking her email and such while here in Germany more than I do. Go figure. Anyway, we are back in the cafe today because Grandma and Grandpa Wannamaker have taken Will off to go hiking and then swimming and then out to dinner. But I’ll get to that later….
Yesterday, we went to Neuschwanstein, and yesterday was pretty miserable. The weather here (up until today, at least) was just freakin’ miserable, I mean like mid-40s and raining, and we had packed thinking that it would be in the 70s pretty much the whole time here. So for a couple of days at least, I was getting by with borrowed sweaters from Annette’s father.
But back to the trip.
So, the deal is they take you out th Neuschwanstein, which is easily the biggest tourist attraction in Germany, or at least this part of Germany. The whole Cinderella castle thing. The deal was, at least as we understood it, they take you out there and then get you tickets to get in. Well, we get out there and the bus driver comes back and says, basically, sorry, no tickets today, they are sold out. Now, since I was a guest and, quite frankly, this wasn’t my dime, I didn’t make a stink. But what was very surprising to me was that no one on the bus made a fuss about this, which I found odd. I mean, had this happened in the US, the people on the bus would have killed the guy. Literally.
In any event, this meant that the closest I got to our destination for the day, and as you can see, the weather was just fabulous. We went to tour the castle next door (this is actually part of a pretty large complex), and when we got done with that tour, it was not just pouring rain, it was hailing. Here’s Annette, enjoying the moment.
Oh yeah, and the place was full of construction, like this:
And also crazy full of tourists. I think this is the “high season” for things like Neurschwanstein, while it was the “low season” for Florence. I tell ya, if the crowds were this bad in Florence, we would have had a much different trip to Italy, that’s for sure.
But hey, it all works out. Today, which is actually a holiday in Bavaria (the Ascention of Mary), is absolutely beautiful, which is why Will went hiking with the grandparents. Annette and I did a little light shopping (lots of the stores are closed), and we could not resist the allure of the “umpa music” coming from this Gastaus:
Beer, brats, and polka, and all of a sudden, rainy days are but a memory…..
Ah, Steve having a beer and a brat listening to oompah music auf Deutschland–an image I never would have expected! Too bad about the castle–I’m stunned you let down the side by not making a good old American stink about it. Annette S. would never stand for that. Sounds like a miserable day to be in the castle anyway. I say you go back and storm the castle a la Princess Bride: “Good luck stormin’ the castle, boys! (Think they have a chance? It would take a miracle.) Ba-bye!” Just get out your holocaust cloak to scare all the guards in armor away … Weather here is just gorgeous, btw. Auf weidersein (sp).
Actually, I would have indeed made a big stink about it, but I didn’t pay for it, I was but a guest, etc., etc. And it turned out that if you read the fine print, there was indeed no actual promise of getting into the castle. I’ll try the storming tactic next time….