Swabia: Augsburg and Neuschwanstein
/One of the most visited attractions in Germany and by extension, Europe, is the fairy tale-esque castle of Neuschwanstein. It is nestled in the Bavarian Alps in the south of Germany and sees scores of tourists flocking to the area to visit the thoroughly modern castle. The castle was built in the mid-19th century when castles had essentially lost their military value but were symbols of wealth and power. Ludwig II, the then king of Bavaria, commissioned the construction of the castle as his personal residence and was inspired (in part) by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc's restoration of le Château de Pierrefonds. In any case, with my time in Germany coming to an end, this was one big-ticket item that I was keen to see. It would turn out to be quite a mission for just a weekend trip, but ultimately a worthwhile mission.
I found myself sitting on a busy train to Augsburg, likely one of the busiest trains of the week. Being a Friday night, people are making their way home (or away) and all ICE lines are rammed. This is especially true for trains heading to Munich. As the bulk of my train travels were on Friday and Sunday nights, I was pretty used to the crowds. That being siad, living in France I have become accustomed to the forced reservation system of the TGV network and find it vastly superior to "whatever goes" system of the ICE. The trip from Mainz to Augsburg HBF is roughly 3 to 4 hours, and I was one of the few people that alighted at the ancient town. Being mid-October, the night had a bit of bite and my accommodation (Hotel Augsburg Goldener Falke) was a trek from the HBF, but conveniently close to to Augsburg-Oberhausen. The wait for a local train was not long and the journey is only a few minutes, but upon arriving I felt slightly uncomfortable. Germany is a clean, safe and generally easy-to-navigate country, but there are locations where one's spidey senses can begin to tingle. The is usually in the proximity of main stations, but this was different. The whole area had a bad vibe making we a bit weary. It would seem that any concern was unfounded, as I reached my hotel without issue and it was quite pleasant, other than being rather oddly arranged.
Like clockwork
Going from what a friend and colleague of mine had said about Augsburg, it, like everywhere else in Bavaria was un-believable. If you have spent any time in Germany or with Germans, you will know that this is equivalent to saying that he from Bavaria. Despite this, he hold the city as one of the oldest in Germany (the third oldest, apparently) and was founded in 15 BCE. Like many old towns, they are now university towns, but for me, it was a convenient stop over on my was to Neuschwanstein. I had planned on briefly seeing the sights of Augsburg in the morning before getting on a train to be in the Alps around lunchtime. There had been rumours all week of a planned train strike on the weekend, which I could do little about, so I set about being a tourist and just playing it by ear.
In the light of day, the area in which I was staying came off a little grungy but not at all commensurate with the level of my discomfort. It was clear that the "locals" were the dominant force behind my unease, but in my mind the environment had clearly been tarred with the brush of unpleasantness. Thus it was a pleasant experience to get out on the street, under clear skies and walk the 2.5 kilometres to the old town along immaculately maintained streets with plenty of greenery.
Standing along in the Rathausplatz I enjoyed the sights of the Rathaus and St. Peter am Perlach. The town centre is modern, owing to the bombing of the city during world war two. A both interesting and distressing note about the bombing campaign was that given it was conducted during mid-winter and the recorded temperature was approximately -20 C, the hydrants had frozen over making firefighting rather difficult. Consequently, the city was badly damaged. Now it is much like any other city with various shopping alleys and hints of personality, but only hints. Perhaps the most character came from the region around Moritzplatz and also along Maximilianstraße. To me, that area encapsulated what real Germany looks: well maintained cobbled streets, colourful façades with the occasional embellishments mixed in with practicalities such as trams, trolley busses and cycling infrastructure. The skyline is dominated by a cathedral and often there is an outrageous baroque style fountain glistening under the sun, but the combination of everything makes for a great place to live.
Beyond aimlessly wandering the streets, my main aim was to see the Goldener Saal in the Rathaus. This is a ceremonial room which was completed in 1643, completely destroyed in the war and meticulously restored in the 1980s. The room is lavish, with detailed frescos adorning the walls and ceiling and every spare surface having been gilded. The hall opens at 1000 and has a price tag of 2,50 € and for my visit, there was a complementary guided tour; however, my German was not good enough to get much from it. It was after the tour that I made my way to the station to make my way to the Alps that I realised that the DB strike could cause some problems. The departure boards were littered with cancellation notices and the hourly train that go towards Neuschwanstein was not running. I had a chat with someone who suggested I get the next train to Buchloe and wait for a connecting train to Füssen, which is the stop for Neuschwanstein. The only caveat was there was no guarantee that there would be a connecting train, and if there were, there was no way of knowing when it would be. As someone that like things planned out, this was unsatisfying, but there was little I could do about it. There was also the matter of the next train to Buchloe not leaving for another 90 minutes. Armed with some extra time I decided that I would go and visit the town's cathedral Dom Mariä Heimsuchung which is located just to the north of the old town. Given the age of Augsburg, the cathedral was rather unassuming, and consequently there were few people there. But great things can come from low expectations, and I would put this visit in that category. The interior was bright, colourful and it is always a joy to be inside a large structure, such a testament to our engineering and construction skills in addition to our artistic expression, but the joy is amplified when you have it all to yourself.
It normally takes 30 minutes on the train between Augsburg and Buchloe, and then about 40 minutes on to Füssen. Needless to say when strikes are happening, trains are slower and there is a general malaise amongst travellers as no one is sure whether the train will go to its ultimate destination. It provided ample time to list to podcasts, with RISK! and the minefield getting a good go. Apart from waiting on a platform in a tiny town for a train will hopefully turn up in the absence of announcements, my main memory of the experience is joy of lookout out the large windows, over the fields with the towering Alps approaching when a train did arrive with the destination Füssen. So overall a trip that normally takes between 1h30 to 2h00 took roughly double that, but I did arrive, although a bit later than I had planned.
Füssen was gorgeous, a quintessential low-lying alpine town which, when the sun is out showcases a near-impossible beauty. The intense greens from the surrounding fields, the deep blue/cyan of an alpine river, the complete colour palette provided by the flowers overflowing from balconies, and all of this mixed with the joy of people soaking up the sun. Given I arrived in the mid afternoon, I wouldn't have any time to look around town as I wanted to get over to Neuschwanstein, which is some 5 kilometres from town. I started my walk and was genuinely surprised by the lack of infrastructure past Füssen. I was walking on shoulder of the main road as there was no path - which is not a common occurrence in Germany. It was 2.5 kilometres to the hamlet of Alterschrofen and my accommodation which was much more reasonably priced than anything in either Füssen or Hohenschwangau, the town 1.5 kilometres away that is actually home to the castle. This saving came at the cost of a bit of walking, but that is definitely my kind of deal.
Schloss Neuschwanstein from the middle of a field
The area is rather strange, with busloads of tourists but also small groups of what appeared to be fairly affluent Germans. I say affluent as they were well dressed and drove fancy cars and seemed to have little care for anything else going on, but it makes for an odd environment. I say that as after I had ditched my gear at the hotel and was on my way to Hohenschwangau, I found some fields from where I could get a nice view. I was just cruising around there by myself, but was certainly attracting attention from passers by. But this was no issue for me as the view of the castle and the surrounding mountain, notably Hoher Straußberg which towers over the castle, was quite something.
With the day getting on, I was climbing the surrounding mountains as groups of hikers in the German hiking uniform - just imagine very committed - were coming down. I obviously looked under prepared, as I was in casual attire and without a large pack; I did not regret not having a large pack, but the path was very rocky and my 10 € decathlon shoes were not really cutting the mustard. But this was not limiting; my desire was simply to have a nice view over Neuschwanstein for sunset. I had no interest in visiting the castle, but rather seeing the castle in its surroundings. There is a large park complex when one climbs up from Hohenschwangau to Neuschwanstein. From here you get some pretty spectacular views over the Alpsee and the lesser known Schloss Hohenschwangau, the other castle in the area. Indeed, it is the older and original castle, but doesn't quite have the spark of its neighbour. Behind Schloss Neuschwanstein is perhaps the best-known view of the castle which comes from the impressive Marienbrücke, which spans over the vertigo inducing Pöllatfall and associated gorge of the Pöllat river. It is certainly the postcard picture location with the commensurate crowd, so I just hightailed it up the path which continued up the hill on the other side of the canyon. I did not really have a destination in mind, but rather once I had got some height and found a place with a good view I could settle in for the sunset. I ended up at a spot about 1500 metres along the track, which had an altitude gain of 200 or so metres and therefore had a good view over the surrounding area. By the time I got up there I did not have long before the sunset, but it was very seceded, with woodpeckers the only others enjoying the view.
With the sun set, there were only a few keen beans left on the Marienbrücke on my second pass: some photographer-looking people and the all-too-common sight of drunken women doing a hens day/night celebration. I was taking a few photos of my own and somehow became embroiled in firstly taking photos for them and then having my photo taken with them - apparently my being Australian was enough of a novelty for them. Descending back into Hohenschwangau I was on the lookout for a dinner, but given the Disneyland vibe of the town I did not want to be suckered into paying a lot for tourist food. I actually really wanted to find a place for a beer, but nothing looked remotely appropriate, so I ended up with a currywurst from a tiny stall. It was properly dark for my walk back to my accommodation which actually prompted me to try some astrophotography out in the fields, but the castles are lit up brightly, which combined with how fresh it was, made the exercise rather difficult and ultimately not worth it.
Strike 2!
Ensconced in the dingy yet warm hotel restaurant, I load up on the surprisingly good breakfast buffet. There is something about German-style hotel breakfasts which are just like a big hug, which was welcome given how icy the morning was. As crazy as it might sound, I could have left that morning without seeing anything more as I had done what I had set out to do, namely watch the sunset over Schloss Neuschwanstein. But given that I did not need to leave, I would fit whatever I could into the day.
I had little interest in taking a tour of Neuschwanstein, but the nearby Schloss Hohenschwangau held more of an appeal, given that it has a longer and richer history. Indeed, the first fortress on the site dates from the 12th Century, although the current castle is mentioned for the first time in 1397. There is much history leading from then until now, but the modern incantation exists thanks to Maximillian II, who started its restoration in 1833. It was his son Ludwig II who would go on to build Neuschwanstein, forever rendering Hohenschwangau as the ugly duckling. To call it the ugly ducking may be a stretch, but it serves as a useful literary device as schwangau translates as swan district (and hohen meaning high).
Entrance to the castle is by way of tour and tickets can only be purchased on the day. This is a crazy system - even by German standards - but given I am a morning person, but more importantly it was a Sunday which meant nobody was doing anything. At the ticket office I was basically by myself and booked in for the first tour at 0930. Before the tour, I had the joy of wandering around the Alpsee with no other people. In only the way an alpine landscapes can do, I felt minuscule, inconsequential and utterly content. I was genuinely sad when I realised that I had to go to the castle for the tour. The tour itself was interesting, but as it is a privately owned residence the interior is subject to copyright and therefore one cannot take photos. It is not so much that I wanted to take photos, but the whole idea that one cannot take photos of a building I have paid to access strikes me as distinctly old world. Moreover, given the proliferation of cameras in the form of smartphones, to believe you can "protect" your copyrighted material is delusional. I did however get a photo with which I was pretty happy when the guide said - very much in jest - that we could take a photo out the window "as the views were not subject to copyright".
At the conclusion of the tour and after having seen the gardens, a entered into the maze of trails that connect Hohenschwangau and Füssen surrounding the Schwansee. The lake is clearly the place to be on a nice day, which it very much was, although perhaps a bit fresh for swimming. But just walking slightly off the tourist trail is such a relief; common courtesy is restored along with my faith in humanity. And with that, climbing Kalvarienberg I treated to much faith in the form of a calvary. Whilst that is not really my thing, the views back towards Neuschwanstein were top shelf, and the morning sun really accentuated the colour in the trees and highlighted that autumn was arriving, something that I had not consciously noticed until that point. Keeping with the faith theme, descending the expectantly steep path down to Füssen there was a stations of the cross, which practically translates to 12 "sights", mainly small chapels and the like. Overall, the 5 kilometre walk from Hohenschwangau to Füssen via Kalvarienberg was a way to make my walk back to the train station different but turned out being one of the highlights of my visit.
In Füssen, I was in a pretty odd state of mind: I wanted to have a look around town, but I also wanted to catch not just my train, but any train, as the strike was still running. Coming into town from the south, one cannot help but pass through the old town, and particularly striking was Benediktinerkloster St. Mang, an old abbey which now serves as the city's town hall and a museum. At the nearby Eiscafe Dolomiti I also procured a biscuit ball-type treat, the so-called Schneeballen, which looked too good to pass up. It would turn out that it is very difficult to eat and is much less satisfying than eating the equivalent biscuit mass in planar form, but boy does it look neat! Beyond, this I picked up some bakery supplies and prepared for the long trek back to Mainz. In the best case, the trip would take between 5 and 6 hours with at least 3 changes. As it would turn out, despite the strike, the trajectory that was predicted to actually get me back to Mainz did indeed do so and without serious delay, although the trains were extremely full. It was a long 6 hours and by then end of it, to the point I allowed myself to get some takeaway dinner from the station, which would bring the total number of times I have done that to one.