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.

Habsburg, Habsburg, everywhere a Habsburg

What do you get when you cross 7 centuries of a ruling noble family and a very large army made up of most of Europe with fervent Catholics that think there shouldn‘t be any other religions.……yes, you guessed it - The Habsburgs (referred to in history as the Austrian-Hungarian Empire).  Given that much of their empire was on our Central European itinerary, we thought it was important to know more about them. 

Both of us had been introduced to the Hapsburgs earlier in our lives (in world history class?), but were astonished to learn the exact extent of their empire.  We had no idea that they ruled many different regions of Europe for a very long time - 1200’s to 1918.  It came to an end for them when they lost WWI, which by the way, they helped start.  It was astounding to us when we realized that at various times they ruled over Germany, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Poland, Portugal and France.  We found it interesting that they stayed in power, for 700 years, with a marriage strategy when most other monarchies failed with a warring strategy.  Each new Hapsburg ruler had huge families, and they would marry off the kiddies to their powerful friends and feared enemies, thereby bringing in new lands, peoples, and of course….more taxes.  What to do with all these new found riches?  Commission ornate Catholic cathedrals and grand palaces and castles of course.  And, erect monuments commemorating yourself, build statues of yourself, and acquire bejeweled treasures.  Vienna, for example, is so architecturally beautiful because of this family.  They ruled from Vienna and wanted their surroundings to be stunning.  It was and remains a sight to behold. 
(The Hapsburgs weren't considered the most handsome family.  Note the distinct under bite on this Hapsburg.)
It was fascinating to us to discover that the Habsburgs were not only the Kings and Queens of a large part of Europe, but they also carried the title of Holy Roman Emperor.  They actually revitalized the label Holy Roman Empire to keep the spirit of Catholicism alive and well.  They considered themselves the living representatives of Christ on earth.  In other words…..the Pope reported to them.  Nice work if you can get it.  Some of the more famous names that were part of the Habsburgs included Napoleon, Maria Teresa, Franz Joseph II (started World War I), and Marie Antoinette (beheaded in France - “Let them eat cake”).


When they lost World War I, everything was taken away from them, and all their lands were divided up into free and autonomous countries for the first time in history. We weren’t surprised to learn that there are lots of Hapsburgs around today - 700 of them are living normal lives, in exile.  After being exposed to more Hapsburg info then expected during the course of travels, it was a perfect full circle to have a Hapsburg discussion with a couple of small town Austrians.  We were fortunate to be introduced to the owners of a small, family owned and run winery.  We sat with the mother and son for several hours, tasting wine and talking about anything and everything Austrian.   We were surprised that they felt that some of the Hapsburg’s properties should be returned to them and it was unfair that everything was taken away.  How interesting, we thought, given that these properties were created off the backs of the people they ruled (conquered).

The Austrian people are proud of the Hapsburg legacy and for tourists, like us, it's a great way to experience history - through beautiful architecture, art and wine!  

We all end up the same....some of us just happen to have prettier boxes.  This huge over-the-top fancy box is the double casket for Hapsburg Empress Maria Teresa and her husband Francois de Lorraine.  

Munich, errands, and a few good beers

Lots to do before starting the European leg of our adventure.   We landed in Munich primarily because it is the eastern-most city that we could pick up our leased automobile.  How exciting!  Freedom from buses, taxis and metros.  90 plus days of touring around the Eastern European country side with our own wheels!   We also thought Munich would be the perfect place for a few errands and a few purchases (we just wish the US Dollar went farther then it does).

-          New hiking hiking boots for Steve – already wore out the tread on one pair while in S. America!

-          A new GPS with all the Central and Eastern European city maps included.  A Must for where we were going.  We've named her Beatrice.  She is our best friend most of the time, but when she insists that we make a U turn over and over again, we want to throw her out the window.

-          Some clothing additions for Amy – hey you can't expect a woman to wear the same thing month after month.

After  completing our errands, we had some time for a bit of Munich touring.  We walked around the Marianplatz area (old city) and marveled at the architecture and the contrast of what we had just seen in our last days of Ecuador. 

 

 

We also ran into Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz!  Yes, really.  While walking through this area, there was a big setup for the Munich premiere of their latest movie  - Knight and Day.  Low and behold, they both showed up to sign autographs and promote the new film.  We saw both of them doing their best fan appreciation saunter around the stage area.  Did not expect this one, but we stayed to see them both and even felt a bit star struck.  They are very handsome people.

 We also had the opportunity to REALLY ENJOY our first great German beers.  Nothing against South America, but the beers just can’t compare with the fine barley and malt offered in Germany.  I think I will take another please!

We used the efficient and quiet German public transportation system, and picked up our new Renault vehicle after a few days….plugged in our GPS……we are ready for the road.   First stop – Bavaria and the Alps.

 

We're Not in Kansas Anymore!

We now know how Dorothy felt when she landed in Oz.  Except in our story, Oz is Munich, Kansas is Ecuador, the tornado is a long plane ride, the yellow brick road is the German public transportation, and the good witch is Fatima and Jan (our B&B owners).  After the countryside of Ecuador, it seemed we had landed in the perfect place - no litter (very little anyway), quiet subway trains, buses that were as smooth as butter, toilets that could accommodate TP, drinkable tap water, pampered dogs, smooth dark beer, edible raw vegetables; it was by far the largest cultural difference we've experienced, to date, including traveling from Portland to Buenos Aires.  All of this Ozness comes at a cost though - exorbitant prices, traffic sounds instead of nature sounds, and lots of smoking.  The worst part of being whisked away to Germany is all of the tall, thin, light haired people.  Where are all the munchkins?   Even though we very much miss our friends and family we're not trying on the magic red shoes in hopes for a way home yet.

Mindo, Ecuador: Birds, Coffee, Chocolate

In addition to great birding in Mindo, we have a couple of other topics that came to our minds during our venture to this particular area of Ecuador.

Mindo is a tourist destination for both foreigners and locals.  For Europeans and Americans it is a bird lovers paradise; for locals it is an escape from the city and a place for adventure sports.  Locals typically aren’t interested in the bird life and want more exciting ways to play.  We talked to several local people who worry about these competing interests.  More and more of the jungle is being destroyed for zip lining platforms, four wheeling and adventure lodges.  We could “feel” that the area is at a tipping point and we hope that it’s decided to keep the area as natural as possible instead of creating an amusement park out of the jungle.

Mindo is also a vast coffee and chocolate growing region.  Being regular consumers of both beans we were very curious about this and visited several growers.  Our discussions with the land owners made us keenly aware that buying fair trade coffee and chocolate is an important practice.    The farm workers are typically not paid a living wage and yet both businesses are hugely profitable.  Others are buying up the farms and converting them back to jungle.

Life is complex….for us, balancing enjoyment and doing the right thing is difficult.  We want to observe wildlife in it’s natural state AND consume great tasting, affordable coffee and chocolate.  And we occasionally desire to take part in the adrenaline rush activities.  Yes, we want it all.  Tough balance.  We’ll work on this for the rest of our lives.  

On a lighter note…the birding in Mindo was fabulous.   For bird enthusiasts Ecuador isn’t just the Galapagos Islands by any stretch.  It is home to over 120 species of hummingbirds, 20 or so kinds of tanagers and many other great looking birds (Cock of the Rock!).  We wanted to see some of these colorful creatures for ourselves and turned our sights to the various climate zones and elevations in an area just northwest of Quito.  With it’s cloud forests and dry valleys, the variety of bird life is off the charts.  A local guide enhanced our experience with his incredible eyes and ears.  He would hear a faint call in the thick jungle, mimic it’s mate and entice it toward us.  He did this several times bringing us some real beauties.  We are new to bird photography and we don’t have a camera that focuses very fast, but you’ll get the idea of the variety and of the colors. 

Cock of the Rock, photo by someone who
was really lucky and fast!

The elusive Cock of the Rock,
photo by Amy and Steve

Day trips to Quito and the middle of the world

Quito is the 2nd largest city in Ecuador and it’s capital.  While staying in our “country home” in La Merced, we made multiple 3 hour round trips to this lovely area to see the old square.  This area of Quito has one of the largest collection of Spanish colonial buildings in South America dating back 300 plus years.  We spent hours just strolling the area, having coffee or lunch, and then climbing to the highest areas for a view on the city.

Quito is at 10,000 feet in elevation and is surrounded by no less than 11 volcanoes.  One of them was active only a few years ago and the residents of Quito had to wear masks to keep out the ash from their lungs……can you say St Helens?
Mitad del Mundo (middle of the world) sits exactly on the equator, or really close anyway, it depends on when the measurements were taken.  This was very touristy, but we had a good time and even straddled the equator and stood in both the Northern and Southern hemispheres - we just went with it.

After we had our fill of the big city......we were off to the rain forest of Mindo and our last stop in South America!