Three go mad in Munich- Day 2. (including a Disney castle)

[Mags]

We all knew that today was going to be a very long day and this meant an early start. The alarm went off at 6.45am. I hate that thing! it yells at me, 'Its 6.45, its time ti get up!' over and over again. Meanwhile in the other corner of the room, Michael's alarm is playing 'Here comes the sun' by The Beatles. Everyone is moaning at this stage about turning the alarms off, so I stumble out of bed followed soon by the other two. Breakfast was the usual array of German fare – ham, cheese, eggs, fruit, yoghurt and more. Seb had given us instructions on the fastest way to get to the central train station and this time it was a matter of using the tram. We walked down to Romanplatz, caught the tram and 12 mins later we were at the train station. The bus was already there, as was our guide Petra and a long line of tourists as well. It was a very cool modern double decker. We all decided to sit upstairs as we knew we would be able to get some great shots over the Alps as we travelled.
I wanst quite sure what this trip would be like but the reviews were so good on Viator, I reckoned that this was the one for us. Honestly, I have to say that this was the best organised trip I have ever been on in my life. Even my two surly teens were taken aback by the sheer beauty of the countryside, the castles and well, the whole experience. t was an easy 15 mins drive out of the city. As we moved, we could see the area where the tents were being erected for the Oktoberfest in two weeks time. It was mightily impressive and I could just imagine the amount of drinking that was going to done over those two weeks!
It didnt take more than 40 mins before we could see the Alps looming in front of us. Out came the camera. Apologies for the shot. It is taken after all from the upstairs of a moving bus, but you get the picture.

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As we moved further and further towards the Bavarian Alps the scenery just got better and better. In front of us were beautiful alpine pastures with cows grazing on them, the barns that are so familiar to the Alps and all those gorgeous houses with summer window boxes. I tried to take pictures as I went. Please excuse the quality, as again they were taken from the bus.

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About 11am we arrived at the Linderhof Palace, one of the three palaces built by King Ludwig 11.
Approach to Linderhof
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The situation of the palace was stunning and although small in area, the grounds were stunning. We walked past the hunting lodge used by the king and were taken through by our guide through the rooms.

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Hunting Lodge
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Unfortunately we werent allowed to take pictures inside the palace but it was really beautiful and very ornate. It is stacked with marble and gilt and very ornate. The view from the King's bedroom was particularly stunning (over the Alps) with the mountains and an Alpine stream for a view.

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We had a walk around the grounds afterwards, taking in the sheer beauty of it all, before making our way back to the bus for 12pm.

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[Mags]

Our next port of call was the famous Alpine town of Oberammagau. It is well known for it's the yearly series of passion plays that draw people from all over the world. The houses leading into the town are like something out of a fairytale . All the houses are painted on the front with scenes from famous fairytales. Excuse the photos – again from a moving bus. It was the best I could do. This one is from Hansel and Gretel.

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There were just so many beautiful frescoes.
Unfortunately we only had about 30 mins in Oberammagau before heading off to Neuschwanstein Castle. We parked up and headed off to look at a few souvenir shops
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They actually sold fairly nice stuff as a lot of the gifts were hand carved wood products made in the town itself. We bought a few nice bits and pieces , took some more photos of the very pretty town and were off yet again to Neuschwanstein .
Views along the way.

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Now, Neuschwanstein is the castle that the original Cinderella's Castle is based on and you can easily see the similarities. It is also the one that Walt Disney based the castle in Disneyland on. It really is in a fairytale setting. Surely, there couldnt be a more beautiful spot in the world.

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[Mags]

To say that the scenery was breathtaking would be an understatement. The guide had booked up lunch for us all in the Hotel Muller at the 'base camp'. We didnt have to eat there but the problem was that there are often long lines of people waiting to eat, so we decided it was a good option. Kathryn and I had the delicious goulash soup with bread and Michael went for the sausage, sauerkraut and potatoes.

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The food was all very good and with drinks totalled 23 euros. We sat beside an Australian man and his wife. They were great company. They had sat behind us on the bus and we talked a lot on the journey about places we had all visited. They were just as much fun at lunch!
By now it was 2pm and we had to decide what way we wanted to get up to the castle. We could walk (40 mins – no thanks!), take the horse drawn carriage (expensive) or take the shuttle bus. We decided on the bus. It was a very crowded bus and a very steep climb but when we got there we were totally taken aback by the scenery and the castle. I could easily see how this fairytale castle inspired Walt Disney. We must have stood for 5 minutes just looking down the mountain and trying to take it all in.

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This was the castle built by Ludwig and dedicated to Richard Wagner – in fact anyone who visits any of his castles would call it an obsession!
We walked up as far as the castle and then came down on the other side to take a few photos from this vantage point.

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At 3pm we wandered back up to get in line for our tour around the castle. It wasnt as impressive inside as Linderhof, nor as ornate, but it was still lovely. Everywhere we looked there was evidence of the Wagner obsession. No photos were allowed in here either but I did manage to take a few looking out of the castle. That seemed to be OK with the guide. What a fabulous view it was too!

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Our tour over, we made our way down the mountain. We walked the 20 mins but at least this was an easy walk. I felt so sorry for all the keen photographers with their tripods making the walk up to the castle. They looked exhausted.

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At the base of the mountain, I snapped a few last photos and then we were on our way back to the bus and the 1 ½ journey back to Munich. We were all exhausted, but agreed that we had had an amazing day out and the best trip ever. We arrived back in Munich at 7pm at the central station.

[Mags]

The Australian gentleman who we had talked so much to and shared lunch with had told us of a great Thai/Vietnamese restaurant nearby. He knew his food and walked with us to show us where it was. He and his wife then decided that they would eat there again. From the outside it looked like nothing but the food he assured us was heavenly, and so it was. It was the best Asian food I have ever eaten and only cost 43 euros to boot.
Michael had beef pho soup and I shared some yummy Vietnamese spring rolls with Kathryn. Kathryn had prawn fried rice for mains (again delicious) and I decided to go for sweet and sour prawns, only because the photo of them looked so good.Michael had a very nice fragrant Thai curry. Flippin' heck, they gave me 22 battered tiger prawns. I ate about half of them but the gannets helped eat the rest, so they didnt go to waste. We were all absolutely stuffed after our meal and if ever in Munich again, this will be a must for us.

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We walked back to the station and made our way back to the hotel. What an outstanding day we had. After a quick cup od coffee and a shower we were off to bed. I can tell you we all slept well tonight.
Tomorrow, Dachau, the Biergarten and Nymphenburg Palace.

Margaret

[foreverducky]

Oh my goodness! :thud: That is one beautiful area!!! All the photos were fantastic, even the ones from the bus!! What a stunning place to live! Can you imagine waking up to those views everyday.

[Mags]

Oh my goodness! :thud: That is one beautiful area!!! All the photos were fantastic, even the ones from the bus!! What a stunning place to live! Can you imagine waking up to those views everyday.

I cant tell you how taken aback we were by the sheer beauty of it all. We hadnt a clue what to expect from the trip but it honestly was the most magical day ever. I hope t go back one day.

Margaret

[Ursula]

Wow! Loved that castle. All that's missing are the chocolates and jigsaw puzzles.

[uscwest]

Mags, I lived in Germany for 13 years. Your pictures and trip report are truly making me homesick. I wish I were back there.

[Mags]

Mags, I lived in Germany for 13 years. Your pictures and trip report are truly making me homesick. I wish I were back there.

I cant tell you how much we have enjoyed our trips there.I remember you mentioning that. I feel ashamed that I cant speak the language but everyone was extremely helfpul and spoke English. I was hoping to go to Salzburg (£5 flights and the airport is only 20 mins drive from here!) but I opted to go back to N.Ireland. If anyone has been to Salzburg, I would be very interested to hear all about that lovely town too.

Margaret