Bavarian road trip - part 1

Angie was determined to get a car and do some more driving in Germany. We were a little worried about cash, but she was insistant that it was a good idea, which it definitely was. Driving is one of the best ways to see any country in my opinion, really glad that we did it, saw some small towns that we would've otherwise missed out on. Most of our highlights through France, Italy and Germany have come about as a result of having some wheels and getting of the beaten track.

As the cash was an issue, we decided to get the most out of Dave's gracious hospitality and head south for a day trip, then back to Munich for the night, before setting off North en route to Dresden where we would be dropping the car off. Loads of photos in this one cos it was really amazing.

Heading south to Fussen.

We couldn't believe how much snow there was, not that it was out of the ordinary for that time of year, just that we weren't used to it I guess.

Shot out the window

We stopped the car to take photos for a bit, it was FREEZING, the wind was serious, we only lasted about 5 min. Amazing scenery though.


Back inside Fritz the Ford.

The first small town we drove through,


Coming into Schwangau, the home of the castles.

This was the first view that we got of Neuschwanstein castle. The castle was built by crazy Ludwig II in the 19th Century. He was quite mental and dedicated each room to a different one of Richard Wagner's operas. Amazing place, but quite mental. No photos allowed inside unfortunately. Apparently this was the castle that Disney used as a model for their castle. Its pretty apparent when you see it.

carpark.


This was the childhood residence of Ludwig, Hohenschwangau. When he grew up he built Neuschwanstein right next door.

Hohenschwangau
Neuschwanstein castle, you can really see where Disney copied


You could either walk or get a lift in a horse drawn carriage up to the castle... We were broke so we walked. Cool walk though.



Freezing cold, see Angus' rosie cheeks

The castle up close.


Its perched in the most amazing place, sheer drops on either side. Must have been really nice to cozy up inside when it was snowing and listen to his Wagner operas.

Entry
The view, super rugged, really wintery and very beautiful.

There is a bridge that you can walk to, but its closed in the winter months. We could get through the fence but the snow looked way to hardcore to try it on, so we thought better of it.

The castle was pretty impressive inside, if a little weird. It was different than most castles we visited in that it was built not that long ago and wasn't build for war or battle. It was just labour of love for a crazy old man.


Back down at Hohenschwangau





As we got back down from the castle the snow really started hammering down, so cool!!!!!



Look at it go!!
Fritz all covered in schnee.

A shot of the roads all covered up. Tricky driving. We never made it to Fussen, but ended up crossing the border and heading into Austria by accident. Didn't matter tho, was a nice drive, even though the weather was getting pretty extreme.



Video of driving in the snow in Austria.

We eventually got back into Germany and stopped at another small town on the way back to Munich that we stumbled onto, found a tiny festival outdoorsy kinda thing and had a Gluhwine and some food.

Christmas cheer!!

Village gluhwine stand


Gluhwine came in a boot mug. Such a good drink in the snowy weather, loved it!!

Pretty little town.
Locals out and about having a gluhwine and some sausages.

So after just 1 day of driving we had forgotten all about what the car had cost us and were so rapt with what we had been able to see. Got back to Ando's loving Germnay to bits and crashed out, ready to kick off the second leg the following morning.