4 Countries In One Day!

Today we left Munich in the morning and drove two hours to Fussen, Germany to Neuschwanstein, otherwise known as the castle of King Ludwig. This is actually the castle that Disney modeled its Sleeping Beauty castle after. I don’t think any of us were prepared for the hike that we had in store for us though. We parked at the base of a hill and had to walk up a very steep incline for nearly half an hour to even access the castle. It was HARD! I felt lame because older people were doing this as well, but didn’t seem to breathing as heavily as we were. Although, I’m pretty sure we were going at a much faster pace than recommended because we got to the top in only about 25 minutes when the map told us it should take 45.

The view was incredible! The German countryside with lakes and the German Alps in the background was breathtaking. I knew it would only be a tune up for Switzerland which I have heard to be one of the most beautiful countries in the world. We had time to kill once we got to the base of the castle, so we ate our packed lunches from the Holiday Inn breakfast (they did not appreciate us doing that by the way. They told us this morning that if they saw anymore of us doing that they would call the cops on us for stealing. I don’t know but I’m pretty sure the police in Munich have bigger problems to deal with like the massive “Free Gaza” rally that we saw on our bike ride yesterday. I’m just saying…).

Anyways, after we took a lot of pictures and hiked even further to a bridge suspended over a canyon for the best view of Neuschwanstein, it was time for our scheduled tour time. The tour was relatively short to others we had experienced on this trip (only about 30 minutes), but it was still nice to see the inside of this famed castle. King Ludwig was an interesting man with his obsession over Richard Wagner and Swan Lake. What is even stranger though is the circumstances regarding his death. It’s still one of Bavaria’s (the region in Germany) biggest unsolved cases.

It was surprisingly hot even at the top of the hill the castle is perched upon, so I grabbed some ice cream for the walk down to our waiting coach. It completely hit the spot… cold and refreshing! After waiting for about another hour for people to finish up their visits, we finally were able to depart Fussen for Lucerne (Luzern), Switzerland.

On the way, we drove through a small sliver of Austria and then we entered Liechtenstein, a sovereign country in its own right but a principality of Switzerland. We stopped here for about half an hour so we could add another country to our checklist for this trip. I bought 2 postcards and perused the Swiss Army Knife collection available. There are so many choices to pick from, and I want to get individual kinds for Brad, my dad, and my grandpa. I was also able to get money exchanged from both Euros and Pounds which we aren’t using anymore. As of Liechtenstein, we have officially changed over to the Swiss Franc for the remainder of the trip!

Then we entered Switzerland! It had been a beautiful day and drive thus far, but Switzerland was the icing on the cake. Driving through the Swiss Alps, with the jagged rock faces and staggered cliffs, it was absolutely breathtaking at some points! I didn’t sleep during this part of the bus ride like I normally tend to do. I was simply staring at the window and snapping pictures when I had a good opportunity.

We arrived in Lucerne a little later than on our planned schedule at about 7:30pm. We quickly checked into the Best Western Hotel Flora that is situated right on the lake/river that splits the town in two basically. From what I have seen of the city so far, it looks so cute! I can’t wait to do a little bit of exploring Monday after our business presentations are finished. After we had our presentations and orientation meeting for Lucerne, we quickly raced across the street to get to the Burger King before it closed at 10. We got there at 9:50! It was a late dinner, but the worst part was the price. My combo meal that I ordered (which would be the size equivalent of a medium/regular combo in the States) was 12.50 Swiss Francs! OH MY GOD! ☹ We were warned that this was the most expensive stop on the trip, and they weren’t kidding! Thank goodness we’re only here about two days, or I wouldn’t have any money left to spend (I don’t really even at this point, but that’s beside the point, haha).

After skyping with my family and showering, I headed off to bed. Tomorrow morning is going to come extremely early, seeing as I have to meet downstairs in the lobby at 7:30 to catch a train to Engleberg. We are going to Mt. Titlus tomorrow to see the sights and play in the snow! I’ve been looking forward to this all trip so hopefully it lives up to my expectations!