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Days Day 00: Changi Day 01: Paris Day 02: Paris Day 03: Paris Day 04: Berlin Day 05: Berlin Day 06: Munich, Füssen Day 07: Salzburg Day 08: Vienna Day 09: Vienna Day 10: Florence Day 11: Cinque Terre Day 12: Pisa, Rome Day 13: Rome Day 14: Pompeii Day 15: Vatican City Day 16: Barcelona Day 17: Barcelona Day 18: Granada Day 19: Seville Day 20: Seville Day 21: London Day 22: London Day 23: London Day 23: Liverpool Day 23: Manchester Day 23: Outside London Day 24: London |
Day 06: Munich, Füssen Tuesday, 25th March 2008
We awoke to find that our train had arrived in Bavarian Germany. München, to be precise.  The streets of Munich greeted us with snow. In the cold, and with much difficulty, we found our way to our accommodation in Munich, the Wombat’s hostel. There, we deposited out bags into the hostel’s luggage room and left as quickly as we could back to the train station to catch our next train out of town. We did have some time to spare though, and so we stopped for a quick breakfast at McDonalds’. We then boarded our train. Next stop: Füssen.  The snow got heavier and the landscapes got whiter the further we got away from Munich. Upon arrive in Füssen, we found ourselves shivering in the heavy snow. Having never gotten the chance to play with snow as kids, we indulged in a snowball fight, amongst other silly things. Snowball fight!  Alwyn vs Chun Yang  5 idiots doing push ups without gloves on the snow (Guess who's the smart one who volunteered to be the cameraman ;p)  Ice Kachang anyone?  Arriving at the ticket office, we collected our tickets to the two castles we were to be visiting that day: the Hohenschwangau and the Neuschwanstein. This was followed up a short hike uphill to our first destination, the Hohenschwangau. The name Hoenschwangau literally translate to “Castle of the High Swan County, was the childhood residence of Mad King Ludwig and built by his father, King Maximilian II of Bavaria on the remains of an medieval fortress once inhabited by a family of knights.   While waiting for our allocated tour timing, we took refuge from the heavy snow in a souvenir shop where we kept warm by standing by the radiators. Funny thing, our tour guide began the tour by saying, “First of all, I’m not responsible for the weather!”. Photographs in the interior were not allowed. With the tour over, we hiked back down to the foot of the hill, where we opted for the cheaper lunch option of takeaway sausages, served with sauerkraut. Not many of us liked the taste of the sourish fermented cabbage! It is quite an aquired taste!  With our stomachs filled, we then began our march up an even steeper and longer trail to the Neuschwanstein castle. On the way, we did catch some amazing picturesque views, and took some nice photographs as well.  Daryl and Hak Liang      The castle Neuschwanstein was built by King Ludwig as a retreat and as a homage to his close friend Richard Wagner. In fact, much of the interior of the castle depicts scenes from Wagnerian operas, and even includes a concert hall. Regrettably, the castle was never completed, as construction was halted after King Ludwig was declared insane, and deposed of. Again, photographs of the interior were not allowed. The walk down was tumultuous, with some of the snow starting to melt away, and the paths were covered with slush and mud, and all sorts of vile things like horse dung and what have you. Fortunately, despite many close calls, no one slipped. Before long, we were at the bus station. After a 45 minute wait, and after the snow storm hit again, our bus to the train station arrived. At the train station, we spent another hour and a half waiting for our train back to Munich. Snow storm  We were all tired, cold, and hungry. And without waterproof shoes, our socks were soaking wet and freezing cold. The train ride back was more than two hours long. It was also on this train ride where Chun Yang and Daryl first encountered racist Americans. A group of American students walked by their seats and taunted them, repeatedly chanting “Konichiwa!”. Dinner was back in Munich, at a local restaurant. As we made our entrance, we walked around the place looking for a place to sit, all the while with local heads, diners and staff alike, turning and looking at us like aliens, us being the only tourists in the authentically local joint. Amidst the discomforting stares, we found ourselves a table, and a kind waitress came over to serve us. Derrick with his beer and beef steak  The food was all wonderful, as the portions were big, the cuisine authentic Bavarian, and the German beer simply delightful. Checking in at our hostel, the receptionists were frighteningly friendly and cheerful, and we almost wondered if they were on drugs… Nah… I guess they were just genuinely nice! Cheers  Interesting vending machine at the hostel 
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