Beautiful Bavaria

Caitlyn and her boyfriend Chris were our third group of company in the month, so we were ready to try something totally different for traveling. After showing them around Koln and letting them take 2 days to get acclimated we headed six hours from Koln in the car and focused on the Bavarian region of Germany. 

Right at the foothills of the Alps are two towns made famous in the 1938 Winter Olympics for their incredible access to amazing mountains. The towns are Garmisch and Partenkirchen. The scenery around these two towns is just breathtaking! The mountains are huge and surround the area with peaks, valleys, and trails perfect for summer hiking and winter skiing. The hikes take you up into the mountains where houses dot the meadows, trails take you to edges of steep cliffs, water running in brooks, waterfalls coming from the hills, and gorges that take you 15 minutes to walk through.

 You are in awe of the natural beauty that you are walking through. Because of arriving later in the day the trails we were on were pretty much empty of others and we could hike at our leisure. At the beginning of the hike we came across the ski jumps. They are covered in an astroturf type of material and people were using the smaller one to practice jumping without snow. The viewing stands were old ones from the Olympics and you could see what an incredible view you would have for any of the many events they host here throughout the year. Inside the viewing stadium there was a soccer team enjoying a late evening on the field. What a beautiful day to start exploring this area. 

The next day, we took a drive through an incredible tunnel in the mountains and came out on the other side in Austria. Again the scenery was just beautiful and the weather was perfect too! We drove an hour and spent the day touring and viewing two of the castles built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria. The first is called, Hohnschwangau and was his boyhood home. When he became King at the age of 18 he renovated this castle to his liking and then went about building his first castle, Linderhof which we visited the grounds of later in the day. The second castle which is the most recognizable and famous is Neuschwanstein. It is the castle that the Disney modeled the Cinderella Castle after. 

It is an awesome sight which you can view from a bridge on a path up to the castle. The picture of the bridge from the castle is amazing too!!! As you stand there viewing the finished castle you are in disbelief that you are on a metal bridge that is spanning two severe mountain peaks.You can see Neuschwanstein from Hohnschwangau and Ludwig had a view with a brass telescope set up to watch the building project. For his bedroom in the castle he employed 14 wood carvers that worked for 4 years in just that room. You can just imagine the detail - on the bed alone there was a replica of the castle that was carved and sat on top of the wooden canopy of the bed. Really over the top! Only 2/3 of the rooms were completed and he only lived in the castle for 70 days before his mysterious death at the age of 46. The kingdom was not happy with the money he was spending on his fantasies.  

After a tour of the castle we again were treated to a hike down which took us past a beautiful gorge with rushing water, waterfalls, and severe cliffs that you are walking along. Can't imagine having a small child along for this hike because at times the trail was a metal walkway with very little railing and you are sort of suspended on the side of a mountain. The sights were worth it for sure. 

The next couple days were spent in Munich and Heidleberg which are in Bavaria as well. More gorgeous cities with castles, squares, cafes and restaurants that spill out into the cobblestone streets. 

 We spent a sobering, somber morning at Dachau. It was not a visit that I was looking forward to, but felt with all the history we are covering while living here it was one of the places we had to go to. Very few words can describe the horror that took place here as well as other camps. Dachau was mainly a work camp, not built for extermination. Many different groups were imprisoned here, men used to work as slaves basically. Many died here from the inhuman treatment they received while working and being imprisoned. Truly a sad, sad commentary on cruelty.