Neuschwanstein Castle

 I should mention that we do not have any photos of the interiors of these castles because you cannot take pictures inside.  Every inch of space is decorated in one fashion or another. There are crystal and porcelain and ivory chandeliers.  Intricate and amazing mosaic floors. Detailed wood carvings.  Really beautiful.  That said, the reason the family had to open Ludwig’s castles to tourism ( and why they also want you to buy their images in the gift shop ) is because Ludwig only received a 1M Deutschmarks a year in stipend  and managed to die at 41 30+M in debt.

Now, to follow-up on yesterday’s glimpse from a distance, here are some photos of the valley below the castle and a few of the different sides and towers.  Whether you are a Zugspitze or a castle or a couple of old folks…we all have our better sides.

Off to Linderhof

 First up this morning, we confirmed that the mountain hadn’t moved.

Yup. Still there.  The clouds moved in early and we needed to be on our way anyway.

Next stop: Linderhof Palace of King Ludwig II. If we were going to have a drizzling overcast day, it was best that it be this one for hiking the grounds and getting up higher still to the Venus Grotto, the largest artificial drip stone cave of the 19th century constructed for the sole use of the King.

Afterwards, we headed on to Fussen passing through a couple more tunnels. Emerging from the last one was like finding ourselves in a different world back in agricultural valleys so green it felt like we were driving through a 20km long golf course. 

We came into Fussen from the east so at one point Michael said, “oh there’s a castle.”  Indeed there was. That being our first look at Ludwig’s Neuschwanstein Castle. Otherwise known as the Disney castle because it inspired Walt Disney and his vision of Sleeping Beauty’s Castle at Disneyland in California. Also, our reason for being here.  Tomorrow we tour.  Tonight, full of spaetzle and roast pork, we sleep.

Staying Put Today

There is an option to ride a gondola or a train up to the top of the Zugspitze. We intended to do that when we booked two nights here since the enjoyment of that experience is weather dependent. And this morning, clearly, the weather was stellar. However, after yesterday’s 10 hours in the car and in tunnel after tunnel after tunnel, we just couldn’t get excited about spending the day in close quarters doing that. Plus, the view was sooooo beautiful from down here.  Even at high noon in the worst light.

Instead we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast. Sat on our balcony. Walked into town. Stopped and had a 🍺 .

Chatted with a couple there with their Shiba Inu. They were surprised that we/I had lived in Pennsylvania (her sister lived for many years in New Jersey). Then in California. And now in Florida. Those places all being so far away from each other. (And that was before the mention of the Caribbean.). But then she offered that moving around like that isn’t unusual for Americans.  Where were they from? She is Polish and he is Belgian. Which, to us, seems far more note worthy and cosmopolitan than moving about in one’s own country. 

Anyway, their dog jumped up and took note when our glasses were set down on our table. But immediately sat back down. They explained that their previous dog, a German Shepherd, loved beer -of course. But this one prefers Bailey’s. 😉

On the topic of drinks, I nearly sprained a wrist trying to remove the cap from the first Coke Zero we bought. They are designed to make that absolutely impossible. Pour the content into a glass or fight the cap drinking from the bottle, but you will not discard that cap on its own. 

So why here but not in the States?

Finally, thanks to the internet again. I looked up why traditional Bavarian farm buildings have walls that are not vertical but rather angle diagonally so the building is larger at the roofline than at the floor. It increases stability is buildings. No, no photo as we were driving at the time. But feel free to Google it.

And while we are on the topic, one can actually see an unfamiliar car emblem fly by, google “car emblem that looks like a kokopelli’s head” and ultimately find your way to this:

What a world!

Tonight a fancy dinner here in the hotel. 

Then tomorrow a short drive, I sincerely hope, to the next town on the itinerary.

Here We Go

 (To quote Trump in what I believe is a more appropriate use of the phrase he used to respond to Russia sending drones over Poland ☹️)

To recap yesterday.

As I mentioned, we set out for Lichtenstein. The roads in Germany are toll-free. But if you’re gonna drive into Austria, you have to stop at a gas station and buy a vignette toll sticker to drive on Austrian roads. We were prepared for that, and stopped at the last gas station to buy that sticker. We never saw a sign that indicated that we were entering Austria. But halfway through the next long tunnel, we did receive text notification from T-Mobile on our cell phone, alerting us to the fact that we were now in Austria. The navigation system took us over some little back roads and across the bridge where we came face-to-face with immigration officials and a Swiss flag. I tried to adequately convey my concern and pointed to my Austrian sticker on my windshield, The officer pointed down the road to a gas station - I assumed indicating that I could now get a Swiss sticker at that station. That accomplished, we proceeded to Lichtenstein. 

Not much to write home about there. But here is a picture of Schloss Lichtenstein and of my t-mobile texts proving we traveled from Germany through three other countries and back.

It was about 1:30p so we elected to grab some snacks and head on to our final destination back in Germany.  ETA 4:04p.  The route took through 35 or 36 tunnels (one 15.5km long!) and then up and over Fernpass. About 35 minutes from the hotel heading down the other side, we came to a standstill. The red on the route on the map did not indicate slow traffic from a switchback. It was completely stopped. We heard sirens. Waited. Nothing.  An hour passed. Nothing. Another hour passed. And sirens came from behind us leading what was clearly not your average tow truck for removing a compact SUV. This was an industrial strength tow truck that must have had to come from some distance to get here for what must be at least one very large rig.  Not good news. Not good at all. 

A gentleman parked somewhere behind us had been speaking to the truck driver some cars in front. As he walked back past us, I asked if he knew anything. The trucker told him that the police advised (1) that it would still be another two hours before the road was opened and (2) that people should wait rather than turning around. After a call to the hotel to find that the front desk was only manned until 10p. Then a brief moment of panic and tears. We checked the map for what turning back and routing around the mountain would entail. No areas of red. A new projected eta of 8p. Weighed that against the possibility of the road opening at 8p and the possibility of sleeping in the car. And I turned around. 

The mere fact that we were moving was exhilarating. And the scenery was stunning and idyllic and peaceful. And there was no traffic and no more delays. And we arrived at 8p. 

I checked the map again later. 

Note the “road closed until September 11”!

Very glad we defied authority and turned around especially since defying authority is not normal for me.

And we had some lovely drives.

And from where we were stopped forEVER, we were lucky that this was our view of that side of the Zugspitze.

And this morning this is what it looks like from our room on the other side.

So all’s well thst ends well!

PS. I couldn’t find info about the crash, but the desk clerk this morning checked and it was a fuel tanker that wrecked. No one was killed. And the road was closed for over nine hours! Given that we were probably stopped not five or ten minutes from the crash, no matter what, always better to be behind the crash than in the crash.  Word to literally live by. 

No Thank You

 We left Munich this morning just before 10a on a cloudy drizzly day. So we decided to bop on over to Lichtenstein to visit our 71st country.  Should have been 2-1/2 hours over and then 2 hours back to our hotel in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. We should have been here at 4p. We arrived at 8p. I will have to get back to that story. Too tired now. 

But I will leave you with this notice/offer? In our bathroom.  Again, too tired to look up the translation.  I just know that free or not, I have no interest in a probe at this time. 

Pleasant dreams.

Are Playing Cards Different Here?

 I try to abide by the rule of thumb that a serving size of meat is the same size as a deck of cards….

If that is the case, are German decks WAY way way way way way bigger than mine?

(And yes my utensils are dirty coz yes I had already eaten some before I took this picture. And yes again I was really glad I didn’t order any sides!)

Guter Tag!

We are in Munich.  This is the trip we had scheduled for May of 2020 that had to be canceled because of Covid. (Hmmm do I find it slightly unsettling that auto fill offered up ‘because of Covid’ as a likely end to that sentence?)

Anyway, here we are. The goal is to see Bavaria at large.  Having arrived on a red-eye, we are just taking in a few sites here before picking up a rental car and heading out tomorrow. 

We are staying in a crap little hotel at the train station (one block from where the bus from the airport drops us off and one block from the rental car office). Dropped the bags at 8a and started walking to the Marienplatz. A nice straight shot past churches ( St Michaels and Frauenkirche) and the bronze boar

And a Five Guys

But we were here for local fare so we walked past and instead had a late breakfast of  Munich’s weisswurst (white veal sausage), pretzels, mustard and beer - of course. At a table perfectly positioned directly across from the New Town Hall where the clock tower showcases the famous Glockenspiel.

Let’s try a brief video clip or two…

We continued a circuit through the marketplace and to see the Hofbrauhaus beer garden (it’s huge!)

Gonna rest now. 

Safe and Sound with Following Seas

No worries. The earthquake and tsunami warnings in Alaska did not affect us. We were just quiet because it was a day at sea getting to Vancouver to disembark.  Just hanging out. Eating and drinking, playing bingo and trivia. Blessed with following seas because it looked pretty rough out there. 

The morning started out dreary. Another of those days where the photo looks like it’s black and white when it isn’t.

As the day wore on we started to see some sun again along with a few humpback whales.

Already looking towards our next trip in less than two months. In the meantime, once again Happy Trails / Sails. (There is another cruise ship also leaving Haines right there in the middle of the horizon.)

Klawock - last stop before disembarking

This morning we woke up in Klawock. Population estimated to be a smidge above 700. We decided to stay on board even though tomorrow is an at sea day powering down to Vancouver.

The terrain is definitely different now.  From the low lands of Katmai, to the glaciers, down to the mountains and now this view with so much blue I don’t even know how to photoshop the pine trees to green…:

Sitka

Yesterday we stopped in Sitka.  The weather remains sunny and clear.  By the time we reach Vancouver it will be in the 80s again.

We had a nice little tour around the nice little town, population about 8,000. Including a visit to the tribal community house…a modern version of the traditional long houses where entire families lived together on terraces inside around a large fire pit. The higher your clan status the closer you were to the fire.  The chief’s living space was behind the elaborately carved screen.  This one depicts the lovebirds at the top.  A raven and an eagle, the two moieties or descent groups in Tlingit culture. I cannot see any difference at all in the two carvings. Maybe that is intentional as the distinction in the tribe is spiritual not physical.

This is also the city where Russia signed the final documents selling Alaska to the United States followed by the lowering of the Russian Flag and the raising of ours.

We visited the raptor rehabilitation center. And saw a bunch of totem poles.

Sitka’s other natural, towering landmark is the volcano, Mt Edgecumbe, affectionately referred to as their Mt Fuji. So for comparison purposes I offer both:

On A Clear Day…

 Life is so much nicer…

Woke this morning in Haines with this view. We could see the tops of the mountains!

And that thing called sky. Disembarking into Fort Seward.

Our excursion today was a drive up the Haines Scenic Byway to the Summit which took us into Canada and back. Gorgeous scenery as we drove from temperate rain forest through forest and then tundra.  At one point the trees disappeared in the blink of an eye. ( Of course I can’t load video so trust is key. )

And then up high

At the summit, we thought we would be at a peak and be able to see, well, Russia maybe. But the road doesn’t go that high.  About 3400 ft.  So there are still a whole lot of mountains around…

Still really stunning and a beee-you-ti-ful day.

I did try to spot bald eagles since this is THE place for them. During the Chilkat Eagle Festival in November the late run of chum and coho salmon here brings over 3,000 bald eagles to the area.  Today I only spotted one juvenile. And I only recognized that brown bird as a bald eagle because I was obsessed with the bald eagle nest cams in the Lower 48. (Thanks to Sunny and Gizmo and brave little T3.)

Seeing a Theme Here

First, we are, at least temporarily, past the rough seas. Yay!

And last night before dinner, the bar we were going to was full. So we continued on to the Observation Lounge and were rewarded with seeing a pod of three orcas and then three more singles (or the same single three times). No pics though. Those guys don’t stay on the surface long but at least they contrast well with the color of the sea.

Now here in Juneau. This morning’s view…overcast and drizzling. One could be led to believe that we are in the Pacific Northwest or something.

Today’s excursions took us to the Mendenhal Glacier. 

Where, I saw this: purportedly a porcupine.

Then a quick ride up the tram and back down again.

Hubbard Glacier

 Today was all/only about seeing the Hubbard Glacier.

It’s still mostly overcast, and our expectations were low. This is what the view looked like this morning.

But at least the glacier didn’t disappoint.  It is definitely a glacier - a huge, very impressive glacier.

Oh and some folks asked us to play team trivia with them.  Then they didn’t show. And we won!

49th = 50th

After a lazy morning in Seward, we got to the Silversea ship, the Silver Nova just after noon. For all of our travels, we have not been cruising people. The cruises we have taken in the last couple years have been to places you have to see by boat: the Galápagos Islands, Antarctica, and the Kimberley coast of Australia.  Those trips were also all on small expedition ships with 200 to 250 passengers. This ship can hold 728 passengers. It seems enormous.

As I type this, the Captain just made an announcement that we will be encountering 13 ft waves that may impact our comfort and our it itinerary.  🫣. We will be underway soon.

There isn’t much more for me to write today except to post our view here in the Harbour. And to take this belated opportunity to point out that Alaska, the 49th US state, is Michael’s 50th state visited. He has now been to all 50 states and earlier this year all seven continents. 🎉

Over The River And Through The Woods

A more scenic travel day today on the scenic coastal train from Anchorage to Seward. The 5:45a check in was a bit of a downer but the seats were comfy. Breakfast in the club car was nice, and the scenery was stunning. Also saw a moose, a beaver, eagles and swans. Yes, swans. Not sure why that surprised me, but it did. As it turns out, though, Alaska hosts tundra swans and is home to 80% of the world's trumpeter swans. 

Hanging now waiting to embark on the cruise tomorrow. Seward provides a free shuttle that loops around town (about two miles long and just one loop) and one of the stops is right outside our window. 

Meanwhile some pretty pics. One mountain and a few glaciers.