Further adventures in Germany

Hello again!

Still having a wonderful time here.

Yesterday we traveled down the rest of the Romantische Strasse, through a
selection of picturesque German towns with Medieval walls and gorgeous green
countryside to arrive at Fussen.

We are in the alps here - and thanks to the unseasonably warm weather, it is
a cozy -5. we are so lucky, because we have just the perfect amount of snow.
The countryside is coated with a light white blanket and the trees are
picturesquely frosted - but there is no snow on the roads to act as a
driving hazard.

Today we went to see the castles - Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein. These
are fairytale castles built by Bavarian kings towards the end of the 19th
centrury because they wanted castles, rather than the drab, practical
medieval kind. And they knew their stuff - especially poor old Ludwig II. He
built Neuschwanstein, but never got to finish it (or the other 4 castles he
had in the works) because they declared him insane, possibly to stop him
from totally bankrupting the family. But the castle, finished or not, makes
a fantastic picture postcard.

I think the other thing which may have got poor old Ludwig committed is that
one of the rooms he had built in the house was a cave - even the backs of
the doors have false cave bits - complete with some stalactites...

The country around the castles is beautiful too - mountains, real mountains
rather than those over-rated hills we have in Australia. And at this time
of year they are covered in forests of Christmas trees - complete with
sparkly snow decoration.

Tomorrow we are off to Heidelberg, with a possible stop in Stuttgart to
please John and Christopher who want to see the Porsche factory, then on
from there to Belgium. Glenyce and John are already planning all the Belgian
food they want to sample during our visit.

Tschuss for now and Frohes Weihnachtsen

Leonie