Disneyland?
Monday 12/05
A big day ahead so we set the alarm for 6:00am. After a buffet breakfast we headed off and hit the autobahns again. Certainly getting used to them now and even set a personal best - 163km/h - and the best thing is it was legal - and felt very safe. The car had pretty much maxed out by then though. Hall that I do tend to set the cruise control to 120 or 125 when there is no limit or when it is 130, so it's not all about speed.
Our main destination today was Neuschwanstein castle, apparently the inspiration for the Disneyland castle. It rained quite heavily on our way and looked like the clouds were going to be an issue as well - given it is set high in the mountains. When we got to the carpark and got out of the car it was still raining heavily, so we grabbed our umbrellas. Not long after though it cleared and we began the 20 minute walk up the hill to the castle. We had read various things on the internet about where to get the best views and chose not to do the tour - seen one castle seen them all? Besides, the outside was fairly spectacular. Trace had this on her bucket list and wasn't disappointed.
After we left here we found 'The Romantic Road'. Designed in the 1950's by some travel agents as a marketing tool, the road takes you through many cute little villages each with their own character. We stopped at quite a few for photos and then found a hotel once it got late.
Tuesday and we continued along the 'Romantische Straße' but only as far as a small town called Dinkelsbuhl, stopping here because it was another beautiful old town.
After this stop we were running late, so hit the autobahn again to save time. We were meeting Elisabeth and Jurgen, the parents of a girl who has stayed with us twice and who Lauren stayed with when she was on an Exchange to Germany 5 years ago. We were meeting in Rothenburg and staying there one night before heading to Kaufungen and their home. But first Rothenburg and it was a medieval city with about 90% of it's walls still preserved and able to be walked on. The four of us wandered the streets and walked on the wall and chatted - kind of. My German is non existent and Tracy's slightly better. Jurgens English is quite good and Elisabeth's is reasonable. We visited the 'Criminals Museum' which had displays about crime, punishments and torture through the middle ages. Rain came and went during the day but not too bad.
Wednesday we followed Jurgen to Kaufungen, arriving around lunchtime. After unpacking and eating they showed us around their city. They are very proud and it is a lovely town. We went to the Museum which was very interesting and included an underground area designed to look like a coal mine, as that was mined here until the late 60's. Jurgen works as the Town Planner and showed us inside the waterworks, where the drinking water is pumped from 250 feet underground and stored in a 65,000 gallon tank. Back to their house for dinner and some drinks. Tracy and Elisabeth made spatzle, a traditional German dish.
A big day ahead so we set the alarm for 6:00am. After a buffet breakfast we headed off and hit the autobahns again. Certainly getting used to them now and even set a personal best - 163km/h - and the best thing is it was legal - and felt very safe. The car had pretty much maxed out by then though. Hall that I do tend to set the cruise control to 120 or 125 when there is no limit or when it is 130, so it's not all about speed.
Our main destination today was Neuschwanstein castle, apparently the inspiration for the Disneyland castle. It rained quite heavily on our way and looked like the clouds were going to be an issue as well - given it is set high in the mountains. When we got to the carpark and got out of the car it was still raining heavily, so we grabbed our umbrellas. Not long after though it cleared and we began the 20 minute walk up the hill to the castle. We had read various things on the internet about where to get the best views and chose not to do the tour - seen one castle seen them all? Besides, the outside was fairly spectacular. Trace had this on her bucket list and wasn't disappointed.
After we left here we found 'The Romantic Road'. Designed in the 1950's by some travel agents as a marketing tool, the road takes you through many cute little villages each with their own character. We stopped at quite a few for photos and then found a hotel once it got late.
After this stop we were running late, so hit the autobahn again to save time. We were meeting Elisabeth and Jurgen, the parents of a girl who has stayed with us twice and who Lauren stayed with when she was on an Exchange to Germany 5 years ago. We were meeting in Rothenburg and staying there one night before heading to Kaufungen and their home. But first Rothenburg and it was a medieval city with about 90% of it's walls still preserved and able to be walked on. The four of us wandered the streets and walked on the wall and chatted - kind of. My German is non existent and Tracy's slightly better. Jurgens English is quite good and Elisabeth's is reasonable. We visited the 'Criminals Museum' which had displays about crime, punishments and torture through the middle ages. Rain came and went during the day but not too bad.
Wednesday we followed Jurgen to Kaufungen, arriving around lunchtime. After unpacking and eating they showed us around their city. They are very proud and it is a lovely town. We went to the Museum which was very interesting and included an underground area designed to look like a coal mine, as that was mined here until the late 60's. Jurgen works as the Town Planner and showed us inside the waterworks, where the drinking water is pumped from 250 feet underground and stored in a 65,000 gallon tank. Back to their house for dinner and some drinks. Tracy and Elisabeth made spatzle, a traditional German dish.
Comments
Post a Comment