For the last 2 weeks or so I have been in Bavaria (southern Germany) with my good friend Julia. It was a blast! We did something interesting every day, so there is a lot to share.
On the first day, Julia took me to the famous Neuschwanstein castle (the one that the Disney castle was modeled after). The drive there was beautiful…Bavaria is full of lush green grass and gorgeous mountain ranges. We were lucky that the weather was good. However, once we got there, we found ourselves in the total chaos of international tourists…EVERYWHERE. Because we didn’t get there when it first opened, we weren’t able to get tickets to go inside Neuschwanstein, but we did get to go into the “sister castle” Hohenschwangau that’s right next to it. It was unbelievably gaudy and glamorous, and it had the most amazing views toward the lake and mountains. I wished I could have stood there at that window forever!
I hate tourists. (I can say that now without being TOO hypocritical, seeing as I have a visa and am a semi-citizen of Germany…just saying). Especially the tourists with fanny packs, cameras around their necks, hawaiian shirts, tan shorts, and sunglasses. Yes, there were many of these stereotypical tourists here. I also know now (one of the reasons) why Americans have such a bad reputation…There were several really obnoxious Americans that thought the world revolved around them, leaving garbage behind and yelling across the street at each other. Why do idiots like that have to make traveling abroad so hard for the rest of us?
The next day, I almost died on a 4-hourish bike tour around the region that Julia lives in. Things like that make me even more aware of how horribly out of shape I am, at least in the strength/endurance area. I had to stop and rest so many times, it was embarrassing. It amazed me how Julia could just keep riding and riding without stopping or even getting out of breath, while I was passed by an 80-year-old man. Anyway, our ride was awesome…there were so many things to see! Along the way, we stopped for a swim in the lake. I brought my swimming suit along, but there was no where to change, forcing me to do so in public (no big deal in Europe). AHH!!! AKWARD!!!
Julia also took me to Salzburg, Austria one day. It was pretty cool to see where Mozart was born/lived, even if only from the outside. We did a little shopping in the old part of the city, had some lunch, checked out some old churches, and literally CLIMBED A FREAKING MOUNTAIN to the huge castle in the middle of the city. Awesome!
I have never seen such massive snails and slugs in my entire life as the ones I have seen in southern Germany. They are disgusting! Generally, the slugs are about the size of a large lipstick container, while the snails with their shells are even bigger.
Being the simple Montana girl that I am, the idea of mass public transporation scares the crap out of me. Julia was kind enough to teach me the way of the S-Bahn, a subway type deal that runs above ground. So much to learn! We rode it to Munich, did some shopping, watched the glockenspiel (a cool bell thing with little dancing puppets that goes off every 3 hours), and toured the Frauenkirche (womens’ church). The thought of taking the S-Bahn by myself is still a scary thought, though…
I also experienced my first German movie theater adventure in Rosenheim when Julia and I went to “Kiss und Kill” (aka “Killers” with Ashton Kutcher). Watching movies that are redone in German is strange…everyone’s voices are different, and the language doesn’t match the culture in the movie. Later, we also watched “Letters to Juliet”.
The indoor swimming/sauna place here is awesome…there are so many pools, inside and out! One of the pools had music that you could only hear underwater. Another had waves and a current that swirled around like a whirlpool. Wish we had something like that back home. Maybe someday.
After two weeks of being in Bavaria, I can finally understand a little “Bairisch”, the local dialect. At least, I now know it isn’t some kind of wacky French. ;)
At the end of my stay, I caught a ride back to Eisenhüttenstadt with another random person from the internet, who seemed to be pretty nice. Again, not a rapist/serial killer. That’s pretty much my only standard.
