I got up early this morning, feeling like dog poo because Beerman and I were out late last night, to get on the subway to figure out how to get to a surface train to Fussen (2 stops and switches in the middle) to get to a bus to go to Neuwanstein.
I taught a German lady how to knit on one leg of it. I was knitting my sweater, and she brought out her yarn and needles and was struggling with how to cast on. So, we had an impromptu lesson.
And then after what felt like an eternity, and figuring out the Fussen city bus system, I'd finally arrived. And there it was in all its fairy tale glory. So up the mountain I raced to excitedly see it closer.
And then I got to the wooden bridge, frantically pushing the Japanese tour group participants aside to see the fabulous view of Neuwanstein, the notorious castle of crazy King Ludwig!
Yes, indeed, that would be complete scaffolding hell...
Completely annoyed, I decided to not go in. Because, honestly, I couldn't give a rip about the castle of some crazy German guy who is long dead. And why I'd really come was to do the mountain hike. So off I went.
As I started on what I hoped was the right way, I noticed this. This, ladies and gentlemen is your only warning. No legal waivers, no other signage. Just stay on the frickin' trail, stupid American girl who likes to go the wrong way to get a good photo. Yes, I understood. If you're dumb, you're dead.
Red for up, blue for down, red/white for kilometer markers. And they may or may not be regularly positioned or obvious.
And then I saw the castle again.
And along the way, I got to see some other gorgeous things. And I was walking with 2 German guys and their German shorthair puppy (who growled at me the first time I tried to pet the little bastard, but by the end was my good friend), which was nice. A normal person probably would have been freaked out to be with 2 giant men who don't speak the same language in the wilderness, but they had a puppy, so I figured they were alright. (I know, my logic is astounding).
And then I reached what I was dreaming of. What I climbed for an hour and a half, while sucking wind in the thin air to see. "The view of 2 lifetimes," they claim...
Seriously, if this is worth 2 lifetimes, my life sucks. (Yes, I'm loving the crazy hair too. At least you can't see my swoob in this shot)
In case my face was in the way of that gorgeous 2 lifetimes of view, here's another shot of it, because I wouldn't want you to miss its beauty.
Frickin' fog was like soup. So pissed off and grumbly and about the fog and the rain and the cold, and completely starving hungry, and muttering about how I really don't love this place becaus it clearly doesn't love me, I made my decent.
And then it hit me. Germany doesn't hate me at all. I just needed to get my ass off that mountain and do what Germany meant for me to do!
So I waved goodbye to crazy King Ludwig,
And made my way home on the train. I talked to a guy who is an English and History teacher the whole way back and learned a lot about the German education system while I knitted quite a bit more of my sweater.
And then I stopped and got a slice of apple strudel.
And realized I had a pretty damned good day.
I taught a German lady how to knit on one leg of it. I was knitting my sweater, and she brought out her yarn and needles and was struggling with how to cast on. So, we had an impromptu lesson.
And then after what felt like an eternity, and figuring out the Fussen city bus system, I'd finally arrived. And there it was in all its fairy tale glory. So up the mountain I raced to excitedly see it closer.
And then I got to the wooden bridge, frantically pushing the Japanese tour group participants aside to see the fabulous view of Neuwanstein, the notorious castle of crazy King Ludwig!
Yes, indeed, that would be complete scaffolding hell...
Completely annoyed, I decided to not go in. Because, honestly, I couldn't give a rip about the castle of some crazy German guy who is long dead. And why I'd really come was to do the mountain hike. So off I went.
As I started on what I hoped was the right way, I noticed this. This, ladies and gentlemen is your only warning. No legal waivers, no other signage. Just stay on the frickin' trail, stupid American girl who likes to go the wrong way to get a good photo. Yes, I understood. If you're dumb, you're dead.
And then I saw the castle again.
And along the way, I got to see some other gorgeous things. And I was walking with 2 German guys and their German shorthair puppy (who growled at me the first time I tried to pet the little bastard, but by the end was my good friend), which was nice. A normal person probably would have been freaked out to be with 2 giant men who don't speak the same language in the wilderness, but they had a puppy, so I figured they were alright. (I know, my logic is astounding).
And then I reached what I was dreaming of. What I climbed for an hour and a half, while sucking wind in the thin air to see. "The view of 2 lifetimes," they claim...
Seriously, if this is worth 2 lifetimes, my life sucks. (Yes, I'm loving the crazy hair too. At least you can't see my swoob in this shot)
In case my face was in the way of that gorgeous 2 lifetimes of view, here's another shot of it, because I wouldn't want you to miss its beauty.
Frickin' fog was like soup. So pissed off and grumbly and about the fog and the rain and the cold, and completely starving hungry, and muttering about how I really don't love this place becaus it clearly doesn't love me, I made my decent.
And then it hit me. Germany doesn't hate me at all. I just needed to get my ass off that mountain and do what Germany meant for me to do!
So I waved goodbye to crazy King Ludwig,
And made my way home on the train. I talked to a guy who is an English and History teacher the whole way back and learned a lot about the German education system while I knitted quite a bit more of my sweater.
And then I stopped and got a slice of apple strudel.
And realized I had a pretty damned good day.
1 comment:
What a fun entry. I loved all the photos and I especially love your solution to what you should have been doing to make your trip worthwhile. (That strudel looks amazing)
*Mingling*
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