Hohenschwangau, Germany - Sept 11 (UK trip day 30)

 
So glad we set out early this morning since Munich streets are very LESS than well marked.

Just when you finally discover  a street sign you're on the next block and the street name has changed.  We'd lost our good map while touring  the Munich Residence  and had no phone internet connection but since the route to the Munich Central train station was basically straight we did remarkably well only missing one turn. 

That and having to find the pedestrian underbridge to cross the busy street and my detour to take a picture of the impromptu tribute to Michael Jackson we spotted at the base of a statue in a park.
I'd expected the Munich train station to be huge, and it was,  (see map on right)  but not easily seen from the street as it's surrounded by buildings and mostly underground.

 There are 3 levels and everything is really spread out so finding a rest room was difficult. 

Then Jim noticed that we now need to look for signs that say  "WC" - water closet - instead of "Toilet" as in the UK.  Also, there are only 2 in the whole station because entry is thru a ticketed turnstyle and costs 1 euro or 7 euro for a shower.  At least the fee insures that they are extremely clean so we don't mind paying.

                                 
 
Then finding the information/ ticket booths proved almost just as challenging.  We had to exit the train/food area back to the outer area.  At least once we talked with an agent, she was extremely helpful and actually researched to find how to save us money. With 40 minutes until our train, next requirement was purchasing sandwiches to eat on the train during the 2 hour journey to Fussen.

Jim took a short nap but I have always loved watching the countryside fly by. Lots of fields of almost fully grown corn. Most intriguing were fields of solar panels mixed in with the corn fields, some with sheep grazing amongst the panels.

Saw a Russian mosque that I realized was the domed top of a church steeple. Started seeing more of them, one in each small village that we passed. I will have to research and find out what denomination that is as they are all alike and very interesting.

The closer we got to the mountains, the taller the trees. Like those in the forests of Seattle.  Also the train slowed down to a crawl probably due to the constant uphill travel and the frequent turns. The only damper was the clouds that got darker and the rain that started falling.

On arrival in Fussen, the end of the line, the entire train emptied out. We found a WC and then rounded the station to find the bus stop. Easy to find the bus to Hoehenschwangau as that was the one with the long line. We paid the driver and ended up standing for the 10 minute ride to Hohenschwangau. As we exited the bus and turned around THERE it was - Neuschwanstein castle - up the mountain, in the clouds, shrouded by fog created by the rain and cold. Yes, the temperature had dropped at least 10 degrees (to low 50s) and it was raining. At least we were prepared with sweaters, rain slickers and umbrellas as we made our way up the road to our hotel.

Hohenschwangau is a VERY small village that exists only to support the 2 castles - Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein.  It is comprised of the ticket office and hotels with restaurants and souvenir shops.

Hotel Alpenstuben was easy to find, just over a block from the bus drop off. The hard part was finding the Registration desk behind the 2 souvenir shops and the restaurant. We ended up going into the shop, out thru the back garden, into the back of the restaurant and finally finding the small registration desk tucked into a corner . Nope there is no sign on the outside, but we now know to just go thru the restaurant.

During the check in process we made dinner reservations and requested our entrance tickets for the 2 castles. Since they are next to the ticket office they get the tickets for you based on the time you desire and you pick them up at breakfast - instead of standing in the ticket office line.

Our room is bright cheery and clean, and bigger than our Munich hotel. We could even unpack into the shelves in the closet. Best part is the balcony with the view of the Castle! I'm in heaven. Went downstairs and got 2 beers to bring up to drink on our balcony so I could continue staring at my castle. Enjoyed watching the horse and carriages pass by (one of three ways to reach the castle).  Next we went browsing in the souvenir shops, bundled up against the rain, then returned for dinner.

Just had to take a video of Jim demonstrating the glass door to the balcony. It's like the window we had in Munich that Jim had finally figured out. The door swings open regularly, or opens at the top making it a window for air to come in. We've not seen any screens yet in Europe, none in the UK nor Munich. 

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