Austria: Castle Day
...or better titled: "My butt aches from all the hiking..."
Morning found me looking at today's schedule. I slowly lifted my busted knee up and down. "I can do this. I can do this hike. I want to do this hike," was my mantra. We've got so much walking to do for the rest of the trip. I have to get used to it. I worried excessively about pushing myself to overexertion.
Much to the surprise of the group hikers, I decided to join the four-mile trek hike to Neuschwanstein Castle - the one that inspired Disney to build his Sleeping Beauty Castle. (Note this castle is in Germany) So half the group went. After ten minutes into our walk, I thought to myself: "This is a very, very bad idea." I forgot to take pain killers. The initial climb was steep and I was out of breath fast. I honestly didn't think I would make it and that I should have taken the bus.
But you know what? Walking through this medival forest - with nothing but our footsteps and the wind brushing against the leaves for sound - gave me such an overwelming sense of peace. It was so lush, so beautiful. Halfway through the hike, I decided, "Oh, screw it - it's a well paved and well marked trail - I am going at my own pace!"
At one point the trees gave view to the lakes near the Castle grounds. The waters here are glacial waters - so the rivers and lakes have this surreal color to them. Martha Stewart would probably label it "Castle Ecru Blue." I've only seen this type of blue waters in one other place - Cancun, Mexico. The day was starting to get cloudy and the waters below seemed to reflect the impending rain.
The rain picked up. You could actually see it approach like a ghostly curtain. Lucky for me, I packed a handy-dandy scrunchable travel hat! (www.llbean.com - "honeymoon hat") I highly recommend it! "Functional never looked so fashionable!" Well, after an hour and a half we reached the base of the hill. Just the base?!! Half the group started climbing up. I looked around desparately.. thank God for the tram! I jumped right on! The tram took us just below the castle, there was still a steep hike to the the entrance. As you glanced up, it was something out of a children's book. A fairy tale castle rising out of the mist.
The group rejoined with Jeff handing out our tickets. Our tour guide, a young woman, sounded like a tired, memorized script. Nevertheless, it was quick and informative. The rooms of the castle were glorious - they were an absolute showcase. The tapestries and beddings are faded bright blue - I can only imagine how bright these pieces once were.
Unlike the castles we saw dotting the Rhine River yesterday, this castle was recently built around 1850. It has some interesting and even mysterious history, but was by no means ever used as a fortress or for defense. It showed like something out of Martha Stewart's Living - had she built a castle. (Although I'm sure she would have preferred to compliment these rooms with an elegant Morrocan Mocha trim. ;)
The best view of the castle is from a distance. This would be from Mary's Bridge - that is, if you can stand to walk its wooden, shaky planks - which has more creaks and give than I cared for. OK, I admit that it took me three tries, a lot of deep breaths and intensely focusing on the other side to finally brave walking to the center of the bridge. Once on, I highly suggest that you not to look down and take your pictures fast. One of my best shots came from here. You really can't go wrong.
Once I got off the bridge, there was a musician and her sleeping dog. I stayed for one song and dropped my remaining German Marks into her hat. I was able to pet her dog before I left to go town the hill. Again, I whimped out and took the tram down. Lunch, which was supposed to be lakeside was moved back to the hotel due to rain. They served a great soup: Noodles and Vienna Sausage - it reminded me of my mom's cooking.
A tour was planned for Weis Church (Wieskirche) which was half an hour from the hote... but first: THE LUGE!! It had been raining most of the morning, so we didn't know if the Luge would be open, but Jeff called ahead and it was! I was expecting something similar to the Alpine Slide in the Big Bear mountains in California, but this Austrian slide didn't look as steep - so I thought, no problem.
Well, it wasn't steep - BUT it the was made of steel instead of concrete which made very, very fast! It was cool though - you sat on this fiber glass luge, got dragged uphill for 10 minutes and once you reached the peak, you let go of the brake and off you went like the wind!
It was so much fun - up until you reach close to the end, that is. There were these sets of rather large orange leather strips hanging from a rack. I wondered why they had them in there to begin with - but man, once you get whipped in the face by the first set, you pull on your brake immediately! I learned this lesson once and learned it fast.
After the first run, I bought another ticket. On the second run, I followed Katy uphill with Dave behind me. He shouted "I'm going to catch you!" at which I shouted in return: "No way!!" Katy stopped up hill and asked me to give her enough space, I told Dave the same thing. Off I went!! I was going really really fast, trying to catch up to Katy...I only slowed down towards the end to get my picture taken. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dave. It was too late. His luge rammed into mine, knocking me sideways. I scraped the steel track a bit with my leg and hand as I recovered from the impact and righted myself. I didn't know how bad it was until the burning sensations in my leg and hand started. Dennis and Vivek also had the misfortune of colliding. So, at the days end, there were casualties and wounds which stung, but we all lived.
After the Luge, our group proceeded to Weiskierch which had its interior all done with beautiful, ornate and outlandish Roccoco design. Much like Baroque, but so much more convuluted - I like to think of it as "Baroque on Crack." I sat down and admired the works of art while my body rested from its superficial, stinging wounds... Supposedly, the cruxifix here once cried tears, thus, this ornate church-size chapel emerged.
After we got back to the hotel, I jumped into the shower. Molly, who had opted out of the Luge, heard me shout "Ow! Ow! Ow!" as the suds hit my wounds. I can still hear her laughing as I drifted off to a much needed nap.
Dinner consisted of either Weiner Schnitzel or Trout. I opted for the latter which turned out to be a mistake. After dinner, half of us crowded into the Hotel bar. People in our group were buying rounds. We, Americans, were getting a tad drunk and loud. We got some looks from the stoic-faced Austrians. Amidst personal stories and reliving the days events, one thing that the group agreed upon that night: Dave would be "most likely to be voted out of the tour." We all had a good laugh - including Dave!
Morning found me looking at today's schedule. I slowly lifted my busted knee up and down. "I can do this. I can do this hike. I want to do this hike," was my mantra. We've got so much walking to do for the rest of the trip. I have to get used to it. I worried excessively about pushing myself to overexertion.
Much to the surprise of the group hikers, I decided to join the four-mile trek hike to Neuschwanstein Castle - the one that inspired Disney to build his Sleeping Beauty Castle. (Note this castle is in Germany) So half the group went. After ten minutes into our walk, I thought to myself: "This is a very, very bad idea." I forgot to take pain killers. The initial climb was steep and I was out of breath fast. I honestly didn't think I would make it and that I should have taken the bus.
But you know what? Walking through this medival forest - with nothing but our footsteps and the wind brushing against the leaves for sound - gave me such an overwelming sense of peace. It was so lush, so beautiful. Halfway through the hike, I decided, "Oh, screw it - it's a well paved and well marked trail - I am going at my own pace!"
At one point the trees gave view to the lakes near the Castle grounds. The waters here are glacial waters - so the rivers and lakes have this surreal color to them. Martha Stewart would probably label it "Castle Ecru Blue." I've only seen this type of blue waters in one other place - Cancun, Mexico. The day was starting to get cloudy and the waters below seemed to reflect the impending rain.
The rain picked up. You could actually see it approach like a ghostly curtain. Lucky for me, I packed a handy-dandy scrunchable travel hat! (www.llbean.com - "honeymoon hat") I highly recommend it! "Functional never looked so fashionable!" Well, after an hour and a half we reached the base of the hill. Just the base?!! Half the group started climbing up. I looked around desparately.. thank God for the tram! I jumped right on! The tram took us just below the castle, there was still a steep hike to the the entrance. As you glanced up, it was something out of a children's book. A fairy tale castle rising out of the mist.
The group rejoined with Jeff handing out our tickets. Our tour guide, a young woman, sounded like a tired, memorized script. Nevertheless, it was quick and informative. The rooms of the castle were glorious - they were an absolute showcase. The tapestries and beddings are faded bright blue - I can only imagine how bright these pieces once were.
Unlike the castles we saw dotting the Rhine River yesterday, this castle was recently built around 1850. It has some interesting and even mysterious history, but was by no means ever used as a fortress or for defense. It showed like something out of Martha Stewart's Living - had she built a castle. (Although I'm sure she would have preferred to compliment these rooms with an elegant Morrocan Mocha trim. ;)
The best view of the castle is from a distance. This would be from Mary's Bridge - that is, if you can stand to walk its wooden, shaky planks - which has more creaks and give than I cared for. OK, I admit that it took me three tries, a lot of deep breaths and intensely focusing on the other side to finally brave walking to the center of the bridge. Once on, I highly suggest that you not to look down and take your pictures fast. One of my best shots came from here. You really can't go wrong.
Once I got off the bridge, there was a musician and her sleeping dog. I stayed for one song and dropped my remaining German Marks into her hat. I was able to pet her dog before I left to go town the hill. Again, I whimped out and took the tram down. Lunch, which was supposed to be lakeside was moved back to the hotel due to rain. They served a great soup: Noodles and Vienna Sausage - it reminded me of my mom's cooking.
A tour was planned for Weis Church (Wieskirche) which was half an hour from the hote... but first: THE LUGE!! It had been raining most of the morning, so we didn't know if the Luge would be open, but Jeff called ahead and it was! I was expecting something similar to the Alpine Slide in the Big Bear mountains in California, but this Austrian slide didn't look as steep - so I thought, no problem.
Well, it wasn't steep - BUT it the was made of steel instead of concrete which made very, very fast! It was cool though - you sat on this fiber glass luge, got dragged uphill for 10 minutes and once you reached the peak, you let go of the brake and off you went like the wind!
It was so much fun - up until you reach close to the end, that is. There were these sets of rather large orange leather strips hanging from a rack. I wondered why they had them in there to begin with - but man, once you get whipped in the face by the first set, you pull on your brake immediately! I learned this lesson once and learned it fast.
After the first run, I bought another ticket. On the second run, I followed Katy uphill with Dave behind me. He shouted "I'm going to catch you!" at which I shouted in return: "No way!!" Katy stopped up hill and asked me to give her enough space, I told Dave the same thing. Off I went!! I was going really really fast, trying to catch up to Katy...I only slowed down towards the end to get my picture taken. Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw Dave. It was too late. His luge rammed into mine, knocking me sideways. I scraped the steel track a bit with my leg and hand as I recovered from the impact and righted myself. I didn't know how bad it was until the burning sensations in my leg and hand started. Dennis and Vivek also had the misfortune of colliding. So, at the days end, there were casualties and wounds which stung, but we all lived.
After the Luge, our group proceeded to Weiskierch which had its interior all done with beautiful, ornate and outlandish Roccoco design. Much like Baroque, but so much more convuluted - I like to think of it as "Baroque on Crack." I sat down and admired the works of art while my body rested from its superficial, stinging wounds... Supposedly, the cruxifix here once cried tears, thus, this ornate church-size chapel emerged.
After we got back to the hotel, I jumped into the shower. Molly, who had opted out of the Luge, heard me shout "Ow! Ow! Ow!" as the suds hit my wounds. I can still hear her laughing as I drifted off to a much needed nap.
Dinner consisted of either Weiner Schnitzel or Trout. I opted for the latter which turned out to be a mistake. After dinner, half of us crowded into the Hotel bar. People in our group were buying rounds. We, Americans, were getting a tad drunk and loud. We got some looks from the stoic-faced Austrians. Amidst personal stories and reliving the days events, one thing that the group agreed upon that night: Dave would be "most likely to be voted out of the tour." We all had a good laugh - including Dave!
posted by Jenny Rose at 1:56 PM
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