Halblech

Day Five
We started the day by eating breakfast in the shadow of King Ludwig II's castle, Neuschwanstein. I could not take my eyes off it while eating scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, croissants, and American coffee.
I read a blog talking about the best places to take pictures of Neuschwanstein. They suggested that the best place to capture the castle was taking a gondola ride to the top of a peak that would give outstanding vista's and different viewing angles of the castle. So we set off and took the gondola to
Tegelbergbahn. $26 per person. The views were unbelievable. At one point you could see four different mountain ranges, the vast plain before the castle, numbers of beautiful lakes, and towns and villages. However, what we did not see was either castle. The blog said,
"After the ascent/ascent, you have already reached this wonderful vantage point!"

There could not be a bigger lie than this. A mountain shielded Neuschwanstein from view. We asked around and were told that we needed to take a trail that would give glimpses of the castle. Bruce and I walked, stepped, and slid down a hiking trail meant only for goats and mountain men. I turned back as we left Linda at the top. We would meet at the parking lot where cars and busses parked. This was breaking a "rule" that we made during the first trip. We do everything Noah style: two by two. As I left Bruce and started making my way back to the top, it seemed that the trail was straight up. At that altitude and being out of shape to climb mountain trails, I was gasping for breath and wondering how in the world I had gotten to this point. I finally made it back to Linda and we took the gondola to the bottom. We picked up Kim at the hotel to meet Bruce when he made his way to "Mary's Bridge" at the base of Neuschwanstein Castle. We finally caught up with Bruce, took some pictures and went to eat at the restaurant where we ate last night. Once again a good meal and desert. It didn't rain until we were at the restaurant.
We walked the 300 meters to the hotel in the rain. I felt like Gene Kelly in "Singing in the Rain." It was beautiful and magical all at the same time. When we got to the hotel, Kim wasn't ready to say goodbye to Neuschwanstein. So we decided to have hot cocoa and watch the sun set on the mountain and Neuschwanstein castle. We talked and laughed about our fortunes and misfortunes. It was another great day.Read more