Last night’s fly-infested camping farm left us no choice but to leave in the early morning, and by about 7.30 am we had packed up and we’re ready to leave. We brought with us a swarm of flies well over a hundred strong. These little fuckers were terrible to eradicate. I think we finally got the last one out around 3 pm, but it had taken us a lot of shooing them out, and driving with windows open. This place? Never again.
An early start meant a full day ahead. And first on my list was a tiny lake surrounded by a nature conservation area. I knew nothing about it except for that it was there on Google Maps (this last minute style is generally how we prepare for trips). We arrived there after about 30 minutes across tiny back roads.
The parking lot was big, paid, and much fancier than you’d expect for a small lake in a bog. We quickly grabbed breakfast on the parking lot, and then set kut to figure out what was this place. It turned out to be a pretty huge church, which was also a UNESCO heritage sites. I don’t like churches. I used to wait outside, but I have mellowed a bit. Live and let live. I go inside to appreciate them as a form of art and architecture that often is indeed quite impressive. This particular place had a pretty huge fresco (?) roof. I mean, it wasn’t the Vatican, but hey, we’re not in Rome. We’re in the middle of nowhere in Bavaria. It must have been a shit ton of work, and I’m happy I stepped inside the building for three minutes.
We had a coffee at one of the typical Bavarian restaurants (every restaurant is exactly the same here), and before 10.30 am we were on the road again.
Our next stop, we decided, were the Königsschlößer. One of them, Schloß Neuschwanstein, is pretty famous, and well-known as Germany’s Disney castle. I had never been there. Today was about visiting tourist traps in our ‘home’ country. It turned out to be pretty warm, and the castle was located on a hill. Still weak from my recovering gastroenteritis, I struggled hard to push the stroller up the hill. Once there, sweaty and overheated, we found out that the typical views and pictures known of this castle are probably taken from a paraglider. To be honest, the best picture of it, I took somewhere from a distance. The place looks as if it was finished ten years ago. Maybe it was. The idyllic surroundings and all make the place quite spectacular. I’m quite happy we went there today, and would recommend it to those that have never been.
An early drive home ensured that we beat the crowds and traffic jams, and we had dinner at home at 6 pm.
It was a nice getaway weekend.
Robin Heinen 