Alpine Adventure

While in Munich this weekend, Debbie and I took a bus tour on Saturday down to the Bavarian Alps, where we saw two of King Ludwig II's famous castles and the quaint little town of Oberammergau. While we spent a great deal of time on the bus traveling from one sight to the next, I was constantly snapping pictures through the window, because the views of the mountains and countryside were just gorgeous! Our first stop was Schloss Linderhof, a small castle in a valley in the Alps. The tour of the inside of the castle was interesting, but the best part for me was the outside, with the fountain shooting up from the reflecting pool and the mountains all around. When we first got there it was cloudy and drizzling, and we thought the weather was not going to cooperate with us. When we came out of the castle, however, the sun was out, and it stayed that way the rest of the day. It was beautiful!

From there we headed to Oberammergau, a little village that is known for its passion play that it puts on every 10 years. Many of the buildings in this town are painted with murals on the outside. Two of the most famous ones have the stories of Little Red Riding Hood and Hansel & Gretl on them. We drove right past them, but I didn't have the opportunity to take pictures unfortunately. We only had about a half hour in Oberammergau, and we spent most of it shopping. They are also known for their woodcarving, so it's a great place to get authentic German gifts.Finally we went to Schloss Neuschwanstein, the fairy-tale castle that was the inspiration for Disney's Sleeping Beauty Castle. It was amazing! I've seen Mom and Dad's pictures from their visit to Neuschwanstein when we lived in Germany, but the real thing is so much better! We walked out to the Marienbrücke where the view of the castle is incredible, then took a tour of the inside (again, interesting but nowhere near as awesome as the outside).

On our walk down to the castle we could also see another castle, Schloss Hohenschwangau, a medieval castle that Ludwig lived in as a child. We didn't get to visit this castle up-close though.

I could have stayed there exploring the area and taking pictures of the castles and the mountains all day, but alas, the bus was ready to move on. So we headed back to Munich. But I tell you - if I ever get the chance to go back and spend more time exploring southern Bavaria and the Alps, I will certainly take it. It was by far the highlight of my trip to Germany.