Day 9: Neuschwanstein & Munich

It was very difficult to say goodbye to Engelberg and the Edelweiss Hotel. There really is no beating a family-owned hotel like this one. After our last fantastic Swiss breakfast, marched down the hill to our waiting coach and the next stage in our journey.

After a couple of hours and a bit of traffic for some road work (They actually maintain the roads here. Nothing like San Diego.), we drove into the tiny country of Liechtenstein and its capital, Vaduz. There really isn't much to see here, despite the fact that Liechtenstein has the highest per capita income in Europe (92,000 € per year). This country is so small that Chinatown in Vaduz consists of one building (no joke) that they have to share with Thailandtown (also no joke). We paid the 2.50 € to get our passports stamped and then moved on.

Two hours later, we arrived at our second stop, King Ludwig II's Neuschwanstein Castle. Ludwig was a slightly eccentric character, and that is putting it mildly. He had a terrible temper, often verbally abused his household staff, and was prone to daydreaming. He sank a fortune into building three elaborate palaces. Neuschwanstein is probably the best known. In order to reign in their financially ruinous king, the Bavarian state government had him declared mentally unfit to rule, without a proper examination. Two days, and two attempts later, he was arrested and imprisoned in a castle on the Starnbergersee. The next day, Ludwig and the doctor who declared him unfit were found dead in the lake. The mystery of his death remains unsolved to this day.

We arrived in Munich later than planned. We checked into the hotel, ran out the door, and made it to dinner in the Ratskeller on the Marienplatz by 8:00. Dinner was very typical Bavarian food. We had small Nurnburger bratwurstl, sauerkraut, potatoes, and (of course) some of us enjoyed a weissbier (Franziskaner, the best). After dinner, we stopped by a small brew pub for a last bier before heading off to the hotel for bed. Tomorrow will be our only full day in Munich. This is way too short for me.

Sorry there are not that many photos on this post. No free WiFi in this hotel.

 

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