The Romantic Road

Leaving Munich, we headed into the Bavarian countryside to see the quaint homes decorated with frescoes and fresh flower boxes.  You know, the kind that Heidi lives in.  The land bordering the German and Austrian Alps is famous for it’s picturesque towns as well as for all of it’s castles.  Although we have been here before we both felt compelled to return and wanted to satisfy the deep need for bratwurst, sour kraut, beer, and to jump in a pair of tight lederhosen and dance a jig with a good oompa band.  First stop - Garmisch.

 

We wondered….would it be weird to add this type of decoration to our house in Portland?   And is it a full time job to dead head and water this many flowers?

Next stop Fussen and the very nice houses of Mad King Ludwig.  We spent a day exploring Germany’s most famous kings’ childhood vacation home and the home on which he spent much of the country’s wealth; Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein. 
 
After squandering his kingdom’s money to build his most outrageous home, he was declared mad and the next day he mysteriously drowned, along with his personal physician.  Rumor has it that his subjects were fed up with his decorating and spending habits and had to put a swift end to it.  He lived in Neuschwanstein for only 17 months, and it was only 1/3 decorated at the time of his departure. 
Interesting side note - The family’s heirs still own the land around the castles.  The castles have been sold to the state as the family needed the money and couldn’t afford the upkeep.  But the lands are now used by vendors, hotels and restaurants.  The family has a clause in the contract that forces the tourists to arrive at the castle one hour before their assigned castle tour time.  Of course, they are hoping that each and every tourist will spend their Euros while waiting.  Nice business model!
After touring the famous castles, we hiked the grounds above them to get the best view of these huge homes. As you can tell from the photos we ran into all types of weather.  We felt very lucky to have many layers of clothing with us!  Teehee…. Some of the scenery reminded us of an Oregon hike we take regularly…..To our Oregonian friends, does this look kind of familar?  Multnomah Falls? (ish)Check out this trail….would the US Park Service allow this?  There is not a bit of solid ground underneath this elevated trail.  We then had to have a rich,  smooth Bavarian beer and a juicy
brat while watching all types of swans (Ludwig’s favorite animal) and contemplating kings, kingdoms, castles and romantic Bavaria.