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Bavarian Castles

September 6, 2014 – Saturday – Castle Day – Bavaria, Germany

Rick Steves Best of Europe in 21 Days tour

We drive back into Germany from our Austrian hotel this morning to see two famous Bavarian castles both near Füssen in Bavaria.

Neuschwanstein Castle from Hohenschwangau town
Neuschwanstein Castle from Hohenschwangau town

King Ludwig II’s Neuschwahstein Castle is probably the most famous, since Disney’s Fantasyland castles are modelled after this spectacular castle located on a hillside overlooking a beautiful green valley and lake.

The crowds here are very bad, especially on Mary’s Bridge, which is above the castle, giving a picture postcard view of the castle with the valley behind. This castle was built in the 1800s, and poor Ludwig only got to enjoy his castle for a few months before he died. When Ludwig was king, his ministers plotted to depose him in 1866 because he was homosexual. He committed suicide in the nearby lake along with his doctor (who had just declared him mad – later disproved).

Heohen-Schwangau Castle is a beautiful castle located beside The Alpsee, a glacial lake. This is where Ludwig’s parents lived, and where he was raised. His father the king loved the night sky, and had his bedroom equipped with stars in the ceiling and a Moon, which could have the phase changed as required.

Jennifer and Sylvain have a picnic lunch all ready for us when we return to the parking lot, so we spread out near the Alpsee lake and enjoy ourselves. After clearing crowded Neuschwahstein Castle, we take a group photo in the nearby valley, posing with the castle behind us on the hill while sipping some schnapps.

Joe, Greta and Paul on the luge
Joe, Greta and Paul on the luge

Next stop is a luge – individual carts run through a metal tube down the hill, slalom-style. Everyone in the group tries it – some go faster, and others take is slowly. The luge is one of the reasons I finally decided to book this Rick Steves tour. I reasoned that any tour operator who includes a ride on a luge as part of the stated itinerary must have something going for them!

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Dachau

September 5, 2014 – Friday – Rothenburg, Germany to Routte, Austria

Rick Steves Best of Europe in 21 Days tour

After leaving Rothenburg, we drive down the Autobahn to another medieval Bavarian town called Dachau. Of course, everyone has learned this name in their history lessons, because this is where the Nazis built their first Concentration Camp during WWII. Our guide Jennifer carefully prepares us for our experience this morning by describing the history of the war, how Dachau Concentration Camp is now run as a memorial to the prisoners. She also lets us know that we can stay in the bus if any of us can’t handle seeing the Concentration Camp. I seriously consider staying behind, but I decide I owe it to the prisoners to bear witness to their suffering by seeing this place for myself.

We are taken on a walking tour by a guide who is originally from Ireland. He first assures us that there is nothing gory about the exhibits we are about to see. He explains that dehumanization of the prisoners was the primary aim of the Nazis. The prisoners were literally worked to death. If they weren’t healthy, or if they were too big or too small, they were immediately executed. Our guide tells us the crematorium was going full bore most of the time, and in the weeks running up to the end of WWII the Germans ran out of coal, and then resorted to burying the bodies in mass graves. Dachau was the first concentration camp built on German soil, and was a training facility for the staff that ran the other concentration camps as they were built in other countries.

We have an hour and a half to ourselves after our guide leaves us. It is very sobering as I walk around the site, and I soon realize that I only have a limited amount of personal energy I can expend in this bad place where so many suffered and died horribly. I force myself to take some photos to document what I see, but I can’t bear to look at them for weeks after I return home from the trip.

It is a relief to leave this deeply disturbing place.

Roccoco style alter and columns and ceiling – Pilgrimage Church of Wies

We stop to visit the Pilgrimage Church of Wies in Steingaden, Germany. This Rococco church has Jesus sitting on a rainbow on the ceiling. In the adjacent farm there are young cows frolicking in a paddock with bells around their neck, and children playing in the farm yard. I find this a welcome relief from the profound sadness of seeing Dachau earlier today.

We take the Autobahn to Austria, and check into Alpenhotel Ernberg, our hotel in the small city of Reutte.

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Rothenburg

September 4, 2014 – Thursday – Bacharach to Rothenburg, Germany

Rick Steves Best of Europe in 21 Days tour

Lavazza coffee bar at an Autobahn rest stop
Lavazza coffee bar at an Autobahn rest stop

After breakfast in our hotel in Bacharach, we schlep our bags across the street to where the bus is parked. Our bus really hustles along the German Autobahn, passing the ultra-modern Frankfurt airport before arriving at our morning rest stop.

This rest area facility is very deluxe: a nice gift shop with high end stuff for sale, German pastries, Lavazza coffee bar, deli smorgasbord, and wonderful toilets and showers! There is a 0.70 Euro charge to use the toilets, but they give back a 0.50 Euro coupon for merchandise purchases. There is even an adjacent, small hotel for overnight rest stops. Our bus driver tells me he has used the hotel on winter ski trips, and says the rooms are very nice, and quite inexpensive.

Ornate signs on Schmiedgasse in Rothenburg
Ornate signs on Schmiedgasse in Rothenburg

We arrive at Rothenburg ob der Tauber around noon, and after some lunch on our own, Jennifer walks us through the main street to familiarize us with this medieval city. It is obviously what Disney uses to pattern their Fantasyland theme parks after. Rothenburg has an impressive wall, towers and gates around the old city, cobblestone streets, quaint shops with eclectic merchandise, and beautiful vistas of the valley below.

As I wander the streets, there is much to see and experience: German confections in a bakery window; castle gates; giant bird’s nests on rooftops; clock towers; churches with flying buttresses; pretty half-timbered houses; endless window boxes sporting Geraniums and other flowers; cobblestone streets; ornate metal signs above all the businesses; huge numbers of hotels, drinking and eating establishments; Christmas shops and other specialty shops.

Then there is the Medieval Kriminal Museum, which I decide to visit. It is filled with masks of shame, executioners costumes, racks and torture chairs, bludgeons, and describes medieval justice in great detail (not all of it gory). The Meistertrunk town clock is very special, since two mechanical figures appear out of two doors beside the clock face once in awhile, and do an elaborate ritual before retreating back inside. I would say, there is something for everyone in Rothenburg.

The city is jammed with day-trippers during the afternoon, however by evening they all leave on the buses they came in, and the streets return to normal. Some of us go to a Greek restaurant across the street from our hotel for dinner. I then grab my camera and take advantage of the beautiful pastel-coloured light as the Sun is setting. The whole city looks magical as I walk along a section of the city wall during “the golden hour”.

The Night Watchman of Rothenburg In front of the Franciscan Church
The Night Watchman of Rothenburg In front of the Franciscan Church

Later, I meet up with the tour group in the main square at dusk. We follow the Night Watchman, which is a guy in medieval costume carrying a scepter and lantern. He delivers a humorous historical talk as we wander from place to place through the city. He explains the function of the night watchmen in medieval times: ensuring doors are locked and people are not on the streets as night falls. He describes the city gate system, and how people had to make their way inside the security of the walled city an hour before dark. He does two walks/talks – one in English and one in German.

September 5, 2014 – Friday – Rothenburg, Germany to Routte, Austria

The breakfast buffet at Hotel Gerberhaus
The breakfast buffet at Hotel Gerberhaus

The breakfast buffet at Hotel Gerberhaus this morning is very impressive and quite delicious. The coffee is also the best we have had on the trip so far, despite it being filter coffee. There are all sorts of cheeses, cold meat, pastries, fruit, cereal, and sweets, including chocolate!

We then schlepp our bags out the back door, down the alley and through the doorway in the city wall to our bus waiting for us in the parking lot.

Rothenburg
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The town clock
The town clock
Medieval buildings beside the main square
Medieval buildings beside the main square
Hotels, city hall, approach to main town square
Hotels, city hall, approach to main town square
Marien Apotheke decorative standard and building
Marien Apotheke decorative standard and building
Sundials on three sides of a building
Sundials on three sides of a building
The church tower and outside of the main sanctuary
The church tower and outside of the main sanctuary
Decorative towers and roofline
Decorative towers and roofline
Inside the sanctuary
Inside the sanctuary
Garden restaurant beside the church
Garden restaurant beside the church
Street scene
Street scene
German confections in a bakery window
German confections in a bakery window
A cat rolling around in the roadway
A cat rolling around in the roadway
Castle Gate & clock tower
Castle Gate & clock tower
Rothenburg at dusk
Rothenburg at dusk
Rintfleisch-Pogrom Jewish Memorial
Rintfleisch-Pogrom Jewish Memorial
The Castle Gate and tower
The Castle Gate and tower
The Castle Gate
The Castle Gate
A busy street
A busy street
Entrance to the  Kriminal Museum
Entrance to the Kriminal Museum
A rack and torture chair
A rack and torture chair
Bludgeon
Bludgeon
Executioner's costume
Executioner’s costume
Mask of Shame
Mask of Shame
Plönlein "Little Square" and Siebers Tower
Plönlein “Little Square” and Siebers Tower
Wall tower and house
Wall tower and house
Spital bastion gates
Spital bastion gates
Tower, rooftops and the setting sun
Tower, rooftops and the setting sun
Tower, rooftops and the setting sun
Tower, rooftops and the setting sun
Tower, rooftops and the setting sun
Tower, rooftops and the setting sun
Pretty half-timbered house with windowbox flowers
Pretty half-timbered house with windowbox flowers
A Porsche Panamera
A Porsche Panamera
Gate, clock tower, and bird's nest on a rooftop
Gate, clock tower, and bird’s nest on a rooftop
Ornate signs on Schmiedgasse
Ornate signs on Schmiedgasse
Kathe Wohlfahrt's famouse Christmas shop
Kathe Wohlfahrt’s famouse Christmas shop
High end cars parked in the street, including a classic Jaguar
High end cars parked in the street, including a classic Jaguar
The Night Watchman of Rothenburg
The Night Watchman of Rothenburg
The Night Watchman of Rothenburg blowing his horn
The Night Watchman of Rothenburg blowing his horn
Lit passageway behind City Hall
Lit passageway behind City Hall
The Night Watchman of Rothenburg
The Night Watchman of Rothenburg
Peggy and Dan follow the Night Watchman
Peggy and Dan follow the Night Watchman
The Night Watchman of Rothenburg
The Night Watchman of Rothenburg
Looking back at night over the Tauber valley at the city from Castle Park
Looking back at night over the Tauber valley at the city from Castle Park
Archway and gate lit at night
Archway and gate lit at night
The breakfast buffet at the hotel
The breakfast buffet at the hotel
St. Jacob's church
St. Jacob’s church
Looking down Herrngasse toward the Franciscan Church and the Castle Gate
Looking down Herrngasse toward the Franciscan Church and the Castle Gate
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Bacharach & St. Goar

September 2, 2014 – Tuesday – Haarlem, Netherlands to Bacharach, Germany

Rick Steves Best of Europe in 21 Days tour

Our group having pre-dinner drinks on the patio few metres from the train tracks at Hotel Kranenturm
Our group having pre-dinner drinks on the patio few metres from the train tracks at Hotel Kranenturm

We arrive in the small town of Bacharach located on the Rhine River after driving the whole day from The Netherlands. We are staying in Hotel Kranenturm, a 700 year old structure which was one of the towers along the wall around the town. It was part of the city’s original rampart wall, and is just a few metres from the train tracks. Kurt and Fatima run the place. Fatima decorated the hotel, and Kurt is the chef.

I draw the room at the top of the tower (Prince’s Room #18), which means I have the most stairs to climb, but end up with one of the funkiest rooms with the best view of the river and the town and hills. Our group have drinks on the patio while the trains scream past us, and we also have dinner together in the hotel dining room.

September 3, 2014 -Wednesday – Bacharach & St. Goar

JoeTourist: Bacharach &emdash; Herr Jung show us a map of the old town and its fortifications
Herr Jung show us a map of the old town and its fortifications

After breakfast in the hotel, we go on a walking tour of Bacharach with Herr Jung, an 83-year-old ex-schoolmaster with a great sense of humour. He takes us through the dark history of WWII from a German boy’s perspective (he was born in 1931). He was quite emotional at times, and everyone was very receptive to his message. He also led us on a walking tour of the town, highlighting the wine growing (which the region is famous for), the historic wall around the town, and interesting anecdotes about his personal friends and acquaintances.

After our walking tour, Sylvain drives us to St. Goar, a nearby town along the river where we do a walking tour of the Rheinfels Castle. This huge, historic castle was originally built in 1245, and withstood multiple sieges. The French invaders finally took over the castle without a fight and promptly destroyed most of it in 1797 during the French Revolution. Although the castle is considered to be in ruins, it is still very impressive as it sits on a hillside overlooking the Rhine River. A hotel is part of the castle.

Before we take a KD Rhine boat from St. Goar down the river to Bacharach, Jennifer leads us into playing “the name game” in the town square. We go around the group round-robin style, adding our names to the list of names, which everyone then has to recite (as a group). Of course, the list keeps getting longer, but the repetition helps us all remember each other’s names. The people in the square not in our group are amused by our antics!

The cruise down the river is great, since it gives us all time to rest our weary feet, and see the Rhine Valley and all the little towns, vineyards and numerous castles from a fresh perspective. We see: Loreley Rock (remember the old song “Sweet Loreley”?), Gutenfels and Schonburg castles, Liebfrauenkirche church, Burg Pfalzgrafenstein (a castle in the middle of the Rhine River), and the Oberwesel tower.

We arrive back in Bacharach late in the late afternoon. I go out with some of the group to a little restaurant on the main street only a block from our hotel and have a nice Jagerschnitzel, some Rhineland white wine, and a cappuccino to finish. Germans seem to serve cappuccino with a dollop of crème on top, so I have to ask for “plain, no crème”. Our all-American group is a lot of fun to be with, and this evening is no exception!

September 4, 2014 – Thursday – Bacharach to Rothenburg

After breakfast in our hotel in Bacharach, we schlep our bags across the street to where the bus is parked, and we are off down the highway to Bavaria.

The advice from Rick Steves to pack light is a valuable lesson to be learned by travellers taking his tours, since there is no porterage and the hotels often have no elevators! Rick Steves tours do not issue name tags…you are expected to make an effort to remember everyone’s name.