Füssen/Bavaria - Castles!

Castles.  Palaces.  Alpine Lakes.

This past weekend was devoted to castles and palaces in Bavaria.  We road-tripped it to Füssen, which took 4 hours since we ran into summer traffic.  The drive was really pretty though, taking us through cute little lakeside towns and mountains.  We were even in Austria for a bit.  Our first stop was Schwangau on the "Romantic Road", home to the Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles.  Unfortunately, the weather turned a bit rainy with thunderstorms in the afternoon for a bit.  The region was experiencing its hottest stretch in over a decade so the cooler temperature was a nice reprieve (gray skies are not so great for photos though)!

Hohenschwangau (High Swan County Palace) is where "Mad King Ludwig" grew up.  It was built as a summer residence, with a bright and airy interior and amazing views of the lakes.  His mother was very outdoorsy and stayed here until her death in 1889.  Neither castle allowed photographs inside.

In contrast to  Hohenschwangau, the fairytale-like Neuschwanstein has a darker interior, with intricate wood carvings  and rich velvet curtains.  Most of the castle is actually unfinished and King Ludwig lived here for only 6 months or so, before he was arrested (and then found dead 2 days later under "mysterious" circumstances).

The original Disneyland!

We stayed overnight in Füssen, a short drive from the castles.  The town is very charming, and boasts its own castle as well.  We explored the old town while looking for a place to eat - given the warm summer evening and peak travel season, most of the outdoor tables were unsurprisingly full.  We eventually found an Indian restaurant with available outdoor seating - and we were glad we found it, it was some of the best Indian we have had in a very long time!  As such, we ate a little too much and walked around town and down to the river after dinner to work off the last few bites.

 

On Sunday we went further into the Bavarian Alps to the Linderhof palace, a Versailles-inspired palace King Ludwig built prior to beginning construction of Neuschwanstein.  The drive required us to loop through Austria on what was essentially a one lane road that wound through the hills and along an alpine lake.  The palace itself is set on beautifully manicured grounds, complete with fountains and flower beds.  In yet a different interior style, this one was covered in gold.  I kept thinking we'd run into Liberace around the next corner!

 

 

The final destination was kloster Ettal, an active Benedictine monastery. 

On the way home we decided to stop along the alpine lake (along with everyone else in the region) for a quick photo op and admire the clear lake.  Easier said than done given all the free space along the road was already full of cars!

Just before entering back into Switzerland we stopped in Bergenz, Germany for lunch.  The city is situated on lake Constance, central Europe's third largest lake.  It was nice to break up the drive and enjoy lounging by the lake in the (relatively) cool shade.

Mallorca

Happy. Birthday. Kate.

From Mallorca Way SF to Mallorca Spain, we celebrated Kate's birthday island style.  The weather was great and the hotel was nice - we spent most of the weekend laying by the pool enjoying the sun.  Our room had a beautiful view of the beach and pool below - we were jealous of all the nice, big boats (yachts) anchored in the water.

For Kate's birthday the hotel left her a nice treat - brownies... yum.  And for dinner Matt booked a seaside restaurant with a patio overlooking the Mediterranean.  A wonderful celebration and stellar views!

On Sunday afternoon we ventured into the "big city" of Palma.  There is a beautiful cathedral and a quaint old town with twisty, windy streets.  Pretty architecture.  We visited an old Arab bath house, ate some gelato, and enjoyed tapas for dinner... a nice afternoon (and a nice weekend).

Gaulihütte

Walk. Hike. Scramble.

There is something about hiking in the Alps that feels a bit more civilized than hiking in the US.  Maybe it is because, after a long day of hiking up mountain peaks, across streams and patches of snow, you can encounter a remote mountain hut, sit on the porch and have an ice cold drink while gazing on the beautiful scenery.  There are hundreds of alpine huts spread across the Swiss Alps that seem to be popular hiking destinations.  Not wanting to miss out on all the fun, we did a bit of research and found a hut in the Bernese Oberland section of the Alps that looked like a suitable weekend adventure.

The hike started at the opening of the Urbach valley (altitude 838m / 2750ft) and steadily climbed towards the Gauli glacier at the opposite end.  The Gauli hut is located by the base of the glacier (altitude 2205m / 7250ft).  Some quick subtraction identifies the biggest obstacle - 1367m / 4500ft of elevation gain in ~12km / ~7.5mi.  Although the distance wasn't that long, it was 90% up hill, and not always on a nice wandering trail (yes, it was hard).  There were times when we were literally scrambling up rocks, with only the white/red/white trail markings painted on rocks indicating we were heading in the right direction (Kate did not enjoy this scrambling bit - to scary!).  Needless to say once we arrived we were exhausted and thankful for the cold beverages, warm food and decently comfortable beds.  The place had solar power as well as a separate toilet hut (best view from a toilet so far, I might add!)  The views were spectacular.

The hut was built in the late 1800s and is literally in the middle of nowhere.  We ate dinner with the ~30 other guests that were spending the night then headed to bed in the dormitory (tight quarters).  They also provided a nice breakfast before heading out the next morning.  Very rustic but cute accommodations, and after a long day of hiking in the hot sun it felt rather "luxurious".

 

 

 

The hike down took just as long as the hike up, but worked a completely different set of muscles.  Now we can see why hiking poles are so popular.  Kate was feeling very fatigued overall and slipped 2x (not on any scary bits, thankfully).  There was one bit where we walked along a ridge and there was a cable rope to provide extra security, which Kate gladly used.  Kate did not like this part either!  It was a rather difficult hike.

As with any Swiss hike, the obligatory mountain cows were also present on this trip... only this time we got up close and personal.  Make way, hikers coming through!