Neuschwanstein Castle, Fall

Yes, snow in my fall shot.

As you may recall, this castle has graced my blog before.  But I wanted to try to get some pictures with the changing leaves.  Lots of vibrant color.  I may have been a bit early.  But the snow was earlier than me.  So I did have a small window to try with.  This is the first trip where I managed to make it before they closed the trails to Marian's Bridge.  This bridge gives you a great shot of the Neuschwanstein Castle.  But you can take ever better pictures of the castle if you hike past the bridge.  You do have to cross a bent fence to get to the better pictures.

Marian Bridge from below

Starting my climb to get the 3rd picture above.

Interestingly, I was ok crossing this bridge.  There were tons of tourist on it, but I didn't get anxiety like I normally do high up.  Which I figured I would.  Especially since it was 3 people deep the whole way across.  Not sure what changed, but I like it.
The mountain I climbed to get some of the beautiful pictures above:

I did not climb to the peak.  I made it to the little ridge near the peak.  But it was fairly high up there.  This concludes the behind the scenes tour of how I get the pictures.

Christine

Christine at Schloss Eberstein

I love castles.  I love visiting them and taking pictures of them.  And I love eating delicious food.  Of course I found a lovely Michelin restaurant in a castle.  So I can enjoy all my indulgences at once. 

Some of the delicious food.

Amuse Bouche:  

Fillet of sea bass accompanied by mango chutney:

Black Forest venison:

Chilled Opalys chocolate cannelloni with apricots, raspberry and rose petal syrup:

One of my favorite parts:  chocolate!  But, don't disappoint your guests.  Fill up all the spots next time. No, I did not eat some and then take a picture.

The views were pretty spectacular as well.

The vineyard at the castle.  Surprisingly, I enjoyed the German wine.  

Christine

Christine in Lisbon, Portugal

In Portugal, Lisbon is actual Lisboa.  And what a hot city.  Not just the fun and excitement.  I think I visited Spain and Portugal during the hottest time possible.  It's a wonder I didn't melt.  Oh, don't look for ice cream in Lisboa.  It is impossible to find.  I confirmed this with a Portuguese friend.  I spent a day and a half visiting the city.

Very cool art on the building:  

I hiked up to see the Castle of Sao Jorge.  In 38 C (100 degrees F) heat. That is quite an accomplishment.  

A view from the castle grounds:

Inside the castle:

Lisbon has a famous Tram 28.  It goes around many tourist attractions, to include the castle.  Not that I would take the Tram up there when I can walk.  I later took the tram to see the Christopher Columbus memorial.  It was across town.  And remember, it was 40 Celsius.

The Mosteriro dos Jeronimos is beautiful architecture.  I went inside the church (to the right) but mass was ongoing.  So no pictures inside.   You can thank Maria (the greatest travel partner ever) for these pictures.  I think if it was just me, I would have quit before I walked up to see the castle.  But I didn't want to ruin her vacation.  I remember DC hot.  And I think I liked it.  But I have definitely acclimated to Stuttgart, Germany temped weather.  Where hot is over 20 C (or around 75 degrees).

Lisbon has a huge Christopher Columbus Memorial.  Notice anything familiar in this picture?  Hmm, what about that bridge?  Besides the fact it is super high.  One of the Stuttgart Tuesday Night Dinner participants was Portuguese.  He told me it the United States paid for it.  And the same architecture from the Golden Gate bridge designed it.   Only the Americans would build a ridiculously high bridge.  The rest of Europe has short bridges.  The train from Faro to Lisbon travelled over it.  Trust me, it is high.  I know high.

I visited the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum.  Essentially, the Armenian left his fortune to his adopted country.  Included is amazing Oriental and Occidental art.  There were gorgeous rungs and pottery to admire.  I don't take many pictures of art, because I'm a believer of enjoying it in person.  But I did love The Boats by Claude Monet.  (Or maybe I don't take many pictures of art because it is hard to center the art without a tripod.  Hmmm.)

Thank you for traveling with me Maria!  I loved every minute of our vacation.  And we should vacation more often.

Christine

Christine in Krakow, Poland

What's the best way to keep pigeons off a statue?  Have it breath fire.  Seriously.  I loved Dragon statue under Wawel Castle Grounds.

The Wawel Cathedral was first started in the 12th century.  And they added on.  There is 14th century gothic, 17th century Baroque, 16th century Renaissance, and 18th and 19th century Neoclassical.  You are not allowed to take pictures inside.  The Polish redid an area and it is now the Chapel of the Blessed John Paul II.  They hope to one day have the former Pope buried there.  I wouldn't bet on that though.  His statue is outside the Cathedral.

The castle is modeled after Florence.  Something about the inner courtyard of the castle is off.

Figure it out?  Look closer.

The wall on the one side is fake.  Look at the windows.  You can see the "outside."  This is to make it appear proportionate.

The Main Market Square is bustling.  Lots of people everywhere.  Tons of outside cafes.  Jazz performers played at one place.  And St. Mary's Church.  The inside is beautiful.  Very bright with sky blues and red paints.  A church has stood on that spot for 800 years.  And the gothic alterpiece is for Mary.  Cloth Hall is also on the Market Square.  You can buy any souvenirs you want there.   (Practicing my evening picture taking.)

This picture was taken early in the morning.

Pope John Paul II was originally from Krakow.  He was archbishop at St. Francis Basilica.  They marked his favorite pew.  The church has amazing stain glass windows.   The Basilica building is not that impressive.  When he visited Krakow he stayed across the street from this Basilica.  The Polish love Pope John Paul II.  There are pictures of him everywhere.  The Polish are very catholic.  There are 32 churches in Old Town alone.  

The Polish own a Leonardo da Vinci painting:  Lady with an Ermine.  No pictures of this.  But google for an image.  It is considered one of his best surviving pieces.  No restoration or changes done to it.  I looked at it for a while.  I noticed that da Vinci can not paint hands very well.  Her hands are huge.  See, even the greats have room for improvement.  

The best thing about Poland?  Hands down--Pierogies.  I went to a Milk Bar.  Back in the Communist era, the Soviets thought everyone should be able to have a good meal.  So they subsidized Milk Bars.  Well, the one I loved still looks like 1950!  Even the workers had that about them.  But the pierogies were amazing.  I ate the plate full of cheese ones on the first day.  And went back for the meat pierogies on the last day.  Both days I sampled the Borscht Ukrainian soup (beet soup with vegetables).

If you are interested, you can read about the Holocaust part of my trip after the jump.  But I'll keep it brief.  The visit to Auschwitz is more something you experience then I can adequately explain on a blog.

Christine

Christine in Liechtenstein

I traveled through 4 countries in one day, visiting one of the smallest countries in Europe, Liechtenstein, this month.  Yes, I drove through Germany, Austria, Switzerland (illegally), and Liechtenstein.  In Switzerland, you have to purchase a vignette to drive on the autobahn.  I didn't realize I would be driving on the autobahn (hoping to skip Switzerland) so I did not purchase one.  This time it worked out.  If you get caught, there is a huge fine.  Usually paid on the spot (so they get their francs).

The folks in Liechtenstein speak German, but use the Swiss franc for money.  So I did not purchase anything there, as I don't want to end up with lots of different money.   Liechtenstein is totally within the Alps.  And one of the few countries that will stamp your passport (for a small fee of 2.50 Euro).  Of course I paid my Euros for this.  Most European Union (EU) countries don't bother to stamp your passport, even if you fly between them.  So when I flew to Amsterdam last year, no stamp.  

Vaduz Castle is a private castle, where the Prince lives.  The mountains in the background are real.  This is just what Europe actually looks like.

The Red House that the tourist bureau lady said everyone visits:

A church, under construction.  Go figure.  I think it's a requirement now that I'm visiting them all.  I mean, it's been hundreds of years since the place was cleaned/fixed, a couple more years won't hurt.

Christine

Christine Visits Castles

Germany is full of wonderful, old Schloss (castles).  I love them all.  And want one.  Except it would be ridiculously expensive to heat.  And Europe is kinda cold.  And I love being warm.  More than living in a castle.  So I only visit them.

Last weekend I visited a castle less than an hour outside of Stuttgart.  Burg Hohenzollern is private property.  It sits atop a hill, and you can see it well before you arrive.  But like most winter days in Germany, there was no sun.  Or great visibility.  So no spectacular pictures this go round.

 

You walk up thousands of steps to visit.

Or you can take a shuttle (but not if you are me-you walk).
And then you see:

I also drove 2+ hours south, in snow, to visit Neuschwanstein Castle.  This castle is different in that an artist designed it, not an architect.  Which is why it looks like a fairy tale.  Mad King Ludwig built the castle.  He died in Lake Starnberg, with his doctor.  Many think it is because he kept spending the kingdom's money on beautiful castles.  But where would Germany be without them?

As you can guess, it is being renovated, and has scaffling up spring-fall.  So I thought, I should visit now.  This is my 2nd visit in snow.  Years ago, I visited and toured the inside.   To be honest, kind of a let down.  This go round, I took pictures with my new camera.  I will visit again in the fall, with all the beautiful leaves.  Assuming it stops snowing one day.

My camera is so amazing you can see snowflakes.

Just inside the brown doors (you see above lower left corner).

Across the valley sits Hohenschwangau.  Which King Ludwig built as well.  This is at a slightly lower elevation, in that you do not have to walk 30 minutes straight up hill to visit it, like Neuschwanstein.  (There are horse carriages that take visitors to Neuschwanstein, but that seems cruel to the poor horses.)

I still have to visit the nearby Ludwigsburg Palace (waiting for spring because of the garden there) and maybe I'll visit Schloss Solitude, which is practically on my way to work (though you cannot see it from the road or anything), to take pictures as well.  I just wait for a nice, sunny day.

Christine

Christine in Kitzbuhel, Austria (Again)

I won the world cup race in Kitsbuhel!  Well, in my mind I totally did anyway.  Kitsbuhel has a very famous, very tough, world cup ski run.  The winners of the race have a Hahnenkammbahn (gondola) car named after them.  For example, I saw Bode Miller's gondola.  Mostly Austrians and Swiss have won the race though.  This visit I actually skied the run.  Well, some of it.  There were parts that they do not groom ever, which led to huge snow mounds with sheets of ice around them.  That did not look like a good idea.  

Kitsbuhel has a lot of mountain to ski, which made it ideal for a long, holiday weekend.  And the 2 peaks are connected by a gondola.  

I did not make the hotel arrangements.  Because it would not occur to me to stay in a Schloss (castle).  That has a chapel on site.  Or a witch Keller (cellar).  They dropped the witches through a trap door in the ceiling.  But they set up the room so if the witch survived the fall, she would not touch the floor.  They believed witches got their powers back if they touched the floor.  

This 12th century castle did have 2 fires.  And was at one point a youth hostel, for a church.  Now it is a lovely hotel.  The only down side-stairs.  Lots of stairs to walk, which is fine when you feel normal.  Not so great when you are sick.  As I picked up my key, I mentioned to the front desk I did not feel well.  The hotel brought me tee (tea) to help me feel better.  Then they charged me for it.  Not sure about that part.  

Ceiling in original room

Chapel

Witch Keller, trap door

In the future, I may try to stay in castles.  It was that fun.  

Christine