Day Nine: Today was a Fairytale

Early this morning, we took a bus to Neuschwanstein, a beautiful castle (surprisingly modern). It was a semi-long drive so as soon as we got there, a bunch of use had to use the restroom. Very often in Germany, you have to pay to use public restrooms, so there was a gate that would unlock if you paid 50 euro cents. By the time our group got up to the front of the line, the machine somehow broke... So we ended up hopping over the barrier (for the record, it was Dr. Feick's idea :) ).

Even before we started our way to the castle, there was a beautiful photo opp of water and the Alps (and for duck selfies):

We then walked up a huge hill to the castle. It was very cold out, but we were moving so quickly that I got super overheated and ended up being in short sleeves by the top. We learned how long the walk was in terms of kilometers, which I disregarded... Last year, Dr. Feick said the group made it to the top in about a half hour, but we made it in 20ish minutes, which means we were really going quickly. People even took cars and horses/buggies to get to the top, but we trooped right on through.

There was a break in the hill right before the castle's pathway, where we stopped to take lots of pictures with the outside of the castle and of the neighboring areas. This part just seemed so unreal. There was also a bridge that is usually used for photos of the castle, but it was under construction (I think I would've risked falling through the bridge for a good photo, right?)

It was below 30 degrees and I was in short sleeves...

Entering the castle for a tour, there were tons of signs that said no pictures... So we took one final selfie in the hallway:

The castle was extravagent! It was clear that the king who designed it was pretty crazy and had way too much money. We learned that he wanted to be known as the Nocturnal King, so yes, he made himself nocturnal (what a weirdo). That explains the lack of windows in the castle! There was no need for him to have them since it was rarely bright outside. He was also known as the Swan king because of his obsession with swans. They were all over the gift shop. The castle was so intricate, as well, with everything, even the ceilings, hand painted. It was no surprise when I find out that it took 17 years to complete. One of my favorite parts was the cave-like room. You walked in and the ceiling was immediately higher and rocky, much like in a cave. The lighting was blueish and there were wooden chairs on the sides. It felt like we were in Laurel Caverns (if you were a Girl Scout around Pittsburgh, you'll know what I mean). I also thought it was really cool, but I think I'm the only one who even noticed, that every doorway had different door handles. Some of the door handles were swans, others were just cool shapes in the metal. My favorite one was one that looked like a log with ivy wrapped around it. There was so much to look at in so little time! I wish it wasn't a guided tour because I would have much rather taken my time to look at the things that caught my interest and skipped those that didn't.

On the way out, like any good museum would, we were led through not one, but two giftshops, where I went a little crazy. Let's just say I didn't have a lot of money left for food. But that didn't stop me from doing what I did next.

While we were beginning our walk down the hill, Sydney pointed out a "special offer" at one of the tourist stands. It was for a mug with a picture of the castle, hot chocolate and cake for only 5€! How could I say no to that? We waited in line while the rest of the group hustled down the hill, and when we got our hot chocolate (which we didn't think would be in the mug) and cake, we started speed walking after them.  We were worried we were too behind, so the next logical thing we thought to do was chug the hot chocolate and run the rest of the way. So that's what we did. We were on a path with a 90 degree hill on one side of us, which Sydney almost fell down, and we were getting a lot of weird looks from fellow tourists. We were yelling about our hot chocolate regrets the entire time. Running downhill is really hard on your knees, and mine were screaming in pain by the time we met up with the group. We caught up with them just as they reached the bottom of the hill, which seemed almost pointless that we ran, since we had at least another minute or two. By the time we got to the bottom, both of our knees were shaking and I almost fell over when climbing onto the bus...

For lunch, the whole group went to another hipster restaurant where there was a little boy in a chef outfit helping his parents serve food and drinks. I took a selfie with him... I ordered something that I had no idea what to expect, going along with the whole trying new things thing. It ended up being hashbrown like things with chicken/mushrooms on the side. It was delicious. I sat with Alex S., Sophia and Lucie, and for some reason, some of the chairs at the tables were squishy recliners, which Sophia and I were sitting in.

We then went to Füssen, which I think is my favorite town yet! If I lived someplace in Germany, I think this would be where. We had time to walk around on our own, so we went to a few shops, then Lucie, Sophia, Alex, Katie and I went to this really cute little cafe. We sat outdoors, and they gave us blankets to stay warm. We all ordered hot chocolate, then we shared chocolate covered carrot cake, rhubarb pie and a Nutella crepe. I think it might have been the best "meal" I've ever had.

As a group, on the way home we stopped at church with lots of souvenir and tourist stuff (weird) right next to a beer festival. We didn't go in the festival but we saw a lot of people in traditional outfits and cute kids skipping going into it. When we went into the church, we were all pretty tired, so we sat down in the pews, which were ridiculously uncomfortable. They had a piece coming out the top of it that stuck in your back for no reason! So we sat in the uncomfortable pews and looked at the pretty ceiling.

Needless to say, after that run down the hill, I slept the entire bus ride to the hotel...

When we got back to the hotel, everyone napped and just hung around the hotel. A few of us went to a restaurant called Sausilitos for dinner because it is 50% off food on Mondays (where's that kind of thing in the US?). It was kind of like Mad Mex. After we finished dinner, we couldn't find our waitress to ask for the bill. About a half hour later, we decided to find her, and when we did, she was sitting at a table texting. I asked her for the bill and she said "I'm done working" and I just didn't know what to do. I think it's great that the tip is automatically incorporated into he bill at restaurants just because it makes it easier on the customer. However, I think waiters and waitresses take advantage of it and just blow off their tables. Something I've noticed everywhere we've gone is that waiters and waitresses don't introduce themselves or wear nametags! Being served is a very impersonal experience (especially if you don't speak the same language).

So that was frustrating but at least my caesar salad and garlic bread was good!

Veronica's Struggle of the Day:
On the run down the hill, right when we decided to chug the hot chocolate, I dumped most of it all over my face and sweatshirt accidentally. Rough life.