87. A Blast from the Past

 Like many of the other towns we have visited, Munich was also on the PMO tour last year. While I pretend to be a pro in these places, the reality is that I only remember the bigger places we went, the performances, and the nights out. Today the family took a day trip to Neuschwanstein Castle. Of course I recognized this name! The Disney castle! Who could forget? But did I know anything about the small town of Füssen sitting at the base of the mountain it’s on? Of course not! On the PMO tour, if we weren’t sightseeing, eating, singing, or checking out the night life, we were sleeping. This means any town we drove through on the bus is lost to me. The bus meant sleep. Period. I guess that’s the price of performing and touring another country at the same time.

 

One difference between seeing the castle today compared to last May is that we didn’t have a drop of rain! Last year, as we scaled the mountain to see Mary’s Bridge behind the castle, we were all huddled under each other’s umbrellas, pulling up our hoods to protect the hair we styled every day - that definitely doesn’t happen on this trip. When the group got to the bridge, wet and cold, it was packed with people and we pushed our way through the crowd to snap one picture that probably included a strangers hand or head in it. The faster we could get back to the safety and warmth of the bus, the better. That didn’t stop us from taking a break halfway down the mountain to enjoy some awesome deep fried donut balls. This is a tradition I made sure to pass on today. 

Crazy King Ludwig had a thing for swans. I remembered this from last year, and challenged Scarlet to try and count them all. This soon became impossible when we noticed the swan carvings lining the walls, all over the curtains, on each light fixture, lurking in corners of each portrait, and on the door handles. We gave up. 

After admiring Ludwig’s extravagantly carved bed, we walked through what each tour guide described as “a view of the west gardens.” Both times I’ve been on this tour, they fail to mention that the view of the west gardens is seen through the windows of what can only be described as Ludwig’s cave. How can they miss telling the story behind it?! We literally walk through a 20 foot long cave. Stalagmite and stalactite and all!

After the creepy cave, and a look on the – not crowded – Mary’s Bridge, we started the hike back down to catch a bus into Füssen. Füssen turned out to be one of the cutest towns we have visited on this trip.

 We walked all over, saw the monastery, the summer home of some duke, a frescoed  church, and a shopping street! The best part was the summer home – palace – that was painted. The cool thing to do was to create the illusion of a highly decorated place only through paint on a flat surface. They tricked me at first!

Our next task was to get home before the market closed so we could get dinner. As always, we made it back in time. And in honor of Cinco de Mayo or what Brody called “Some day in Mexico” we had tacos!