The fairy tale Neuschwanstein Castle is near the neighboring town of Fussen.Bavarian King Ludwig II put his heart and soul as well as much money into this gorgeous unfinished castle on this amazing site.We are seeing it from Mary’s bridge, mid morning just as the sun is rising over the mountain.We will enjoy viewing it from many angles as we walk to the front door.It looks a bit different from the front with the red brick wall.We met some tourists from Singapore doing the Alpine tour – it was fun to chat with them.The view from Neuschwanstein Castle looks down on his childhood home, nestled nicely on another hill overlooking the lake with the Austrian Alps as a backdrop.It is also a stately looking castle. Fussen area had many happy memories for Ludwig II. A related fact is that his cousin was Elizabeth, who grew up nearby, married Franz Joseph – a Hapsburg King – to become Empress ‘Sisi’ of Austria. Schloss Linderhof is where King Ludwig II actually lived. The family hunting lodge was on this location but he had another vision.His idol was the French Sun-King Louis XIV and he sought to recreate his favorite parts of Versailles here.A bit over the top in a wonderful Baroque way. We enjoyed an English tour of the inside to see the wonderful elaborate Rococo rooms. We couldn’t take photos but you can see some here.We could appreciate some of the gardens – can you imagine strolling in 1876?Very regal.
In some ways our tour through the Alps has followed the Via Claudia Augusta, an ancient Roman road, to Reutte, Austria.We are taking the elevator “Top Line” up to view the Ehrenberg-Schlosskopf Castles.The Ehrenberg is the lower castle which was good defense until the invention of cannon balls. Notice the new long suspension bridge, which we did not pay for the privilege to cross over, to the Roman remnants of Fort Claudia on the other side of the valley.The Ehrenberg Castle was all decorated for Halloween/Christmas with nighttime lighting and filled with families enjoying a glorious Fall day .Via Claudia was the way over the Alps from Rome – improved in 15 BC for military use primarily. It extended all the way to the Danube River, where basically the Romans drew the line in the sand and ended their advance Northward. We visited a roman museum in Vienna.The upper Schlosskopf Castle was the more interesting and a pleasure on such a gorgeous day, high in the Alps.The museum told us all about travel in the middle ages and dragon slayers – men becoming knights. That process was not easy and they did not always get the fair maiden.This was a type of treadwheel crane to lift the blocks to build the castle. This type of crane was used since Roman times, but this upper castle was built around 1700.It was almost incomprehensible to imagine bringing that much stone this far above the Lech river valley.Stop horsing around! I will pick you up in Reutte…We drove by Mount Zugspitze. Germany’s tallest point at 9,700 Feet. We lingered and watched the clouds play as this will be our last real mountain day in the Alps.
Oberammergau is known for their painted buildings and this one tells the story of Hansel and Gretel.Remember? The German Grimm Brother’s fairy tale where the abandoned siblings escape by pushing the wicked witch into the oven.Across the street is the Little Red Riding Hood house. “Where are you going little girl?” asks the hungry wolf.Is this the sickly grandmother or the wolf posing as her? “My what a deep voice you have…”Other buildings in Oberammergau tell of history like this one of life in 1775. Others have religious themes as the Passion Play is performed here every 10 years.This is across from our apartment in Unterammergau. It is the last Sunday in October and all are ready for a pilgrimage to a nearby chapel.Horses are the main focus this festival, who are blessed by Saint Leonhard, the patron saint of horses.The horses have braided mains and tails as well as ribbons and flowers. Blue and white are the colors of Bavaria.Of course there are marching bands – all are in traditional outfits with wonderful hats.The main square of Unterammergau is the final gathering point for all the bands to join together for a concert.This is one of four friendly llamas that live across from our apartment in Unterammergau.
We took a train car ferry through the Lotschbergtunnel, which cut through the Alps. Amazing. Just drive our car onto a flatbed train car and get whizzed through the tunnel while we stayed in the car.The capitol city of Bern was lovely!A pleasant day for strolling.This is the Archeology Museum which has an entire floor dedicated to a famous patent official’s life story……Einstein! We saw many of his original documents and learned more about his theory’s in the Museum.We also visited the Paul Klee Center to learn more about his Bauhaus years and art influence. We also appreciated the interesting architecture by Italian Renzo Piano.Oh, and there was some Swiss Chocolate!Another day trip was to Luzern with its historic old bridges.Beautifully maintained for over 1,000 years.The Town Hall Hotel des Balances on the main square was beautifully painted as were many other buildings.On the other side of the bay is the Swiss National Transport Museum. There were 5 buildings: Trains, Cars, Ships, Air, Space as well as a large exhibit on energy.This is similar to the Smithsonian Air and Space – we learned the history and how everything operated. It is a very hands on museum with many activities to keep children of all ages busy for hours.A Moon Rock and the flag that was taken to the moon on Apollo XVII in 1972. Very cool that this “was given as a symbol of unity of the human endeavor and carries with it the hope of the American people for a world at peace.”Special felt slippers were needed to walk on this “Livemap of Switzerland”. Pointing to where we are staying in Meiringen, near Interlaken (town between those two big lakes).
A beautiful day to visit Slovania’s capital city with its car free center.Architect Jože Plečnik shaped Ljubljana in the 1920’s, and it now recognized as a UNESCO, for his Human Centered Urban Design.This is a city designed for strolling and just enjoying the ambiance.We appreciated the details, like the lamps on the bridge. We imagine this would also be intriguing at night.Gorgeous buildings – this designed by another architect around 1907.A detail of the door at the Union Hotel.We are the first to sit for lunch at this outdoor cafe –Druga Violina – great local food that we thoroughly enjoyed!We also took in the City Museum to learn more about Slovenia. History from Neolithic Pile Houses in the nearby marshes, Celts, Romans, various dynasties, changing borders, to the vibrant country it is now.We walked around the town again, found some of the old Roman sites, and enjoyed people watching.Of course we needed to try some gelato! Raspberry and strawberry were both excellent.Ha – even a bit of rock ‘n roll. English is spoken by all we encountered – it is the common tourist language – right down to the music.
St Stephen’s Cathedral in the center of Vienna is filled with tourists. Notice the amazing roof tiles!The interior is just as dazzling!The world famous Opera House on Ringstrasse boulevard – an architectural gem, dates from the era of Emperor Francis Joseph I.There are many architectural delights!We enjoyed walking around and really appreciated the good weather!Henry Moore’s Arched Hills in this pleasant reflecting pond.Otto Wagner’s Pavilion – an early modernist architectural example. He was on the fore front of transitioning styles and had much influence in Vienna in the early 1900’s.His Postsparkasse was another treat to see and we were able to peak into the atrium.The MAK museum will inform us about the development of applied arts. We especially enjoyed learning about the different influences that lead to styles changing.Like Gustav Klint and the Secessionist collaboration with Otto Wagner.We enjoyed the elegant pieces and the fine craftsmanship.A feast for the eyes!An exterior clock that moves to graphically show the time.Across the street we went underground to the Roman excavations to learn about the military presence that started Vienna.Of course we could not leave Vienna without visiting a coffee house. At Cafe Neu Wien we had delicious soup lunch with apple strudel for desert – a great choice! We enjoyed our day trip to Vienna.
We are finishing our trip with 4 nights in Oslo without the car. The Opera House lit up at night shows off it’s structure.We are staying in an apartment in one of the new BarCode buildings. The city commissioned 12 architects to design 12 buildings that are all thin with space between so together resemble a barcode. A vibrant area with courtyards, balconies, restaurants, retail, offices, and apartments.From the nearby Munch Museum we got this view of the Opera House in the late afternoon. We enjoyed the wood cut exhibit of Edvard Munch’s and seeing that version of “The Scream”. We saw the famous oil version at the National Museum.It is very tactile to walk the roof of the Opera House! A fun experience. We did not kayak to it but enjoyed all the harbor activity.Please Wait For The Saunamaster….a title we never knew existed. Such great weather: people are using the sauna and then swimming in the fjord to cool off.From the castle on the hill you can see the entire harbor which we will explore. Watch out for the gulls! They are opportunists looking for your tasty treats.We stormed the gates of the Akershus Fortress, nicely protecting the harbor for many centuries.The great hall inside has a gorgeous ceiling and stained glass.This is designed by Emanual Vigeland who also did the stained glass in the cathedral. We saw a contemporary exhibit of a white unicorn in a blue room that seemed to be a play off of this classic piece.We walked to Astrup Fearnley Modern Art Museum, designed by Renzo Piano in 2012.I had never seen braided trees before! Interesting live sculpture.We took the ferry to Bygdoy, a peninsula across the harbor.To visit the Fram Ship Museum and also saw Roald Amundsen’s Gjoa, in which he used to complete the 1st transect of the Northwest Passage .Next we went to the Maritime Museum and saw a Viking Ship from the Gokstad discovery built around AD-890. This is possibly the one being recreated in Sandefjord as it was found near there.Bygdoy was a perfect Lunch Spot! What a great warm sunny dry day to enjoy Oslo Fjord.Near the Royal Palace we were excited to see Norway’s King and Queen – in a 1960’s Lincoln Continental. King Harald V, who has reigned since 17 January 1991 with Queen Sonja – and Crown Prince Haakon was in a car in front of them.A lovely day to enjoy the Vigeland Sculpture Park. The quantity of the sculptures adds to the quality of the bronze and marble. As well as the entertaining real people watching.Gustav Vigeland not only was the artist but also designed the park as well. Additionally he designed the Nobel Peace Prize medal.He studied in Paris and was influenced by Rodin. His knowledge of anatomy and the interest in all ages of human body is extraordinary.The nearby Vigeland Museum has the plaster works and studies done to create the bronze and marble sculptures.Really fun to experience both.Love the details.The sun has sets on our time in Norway as we enjoy the harbor lights. A great trip!
Heading south we went to Verens Ende at Faerder National Park. This is a picturesque old lighthouse on the west coast of the Oslo Fjord.Most of the Faerder NP is protected sea but we could walk along the shore. Gorgeous weather today made this a perfect outing.We even watched this jellyfish pulsate around the coast.This beach and marina looked like The Perfect Lunch Spot!The Vestfold County Museum in Tonsberg had an amazing recovered Viking ship as well as a replica seen through the window. It also told of the whaling history of this area.This is a Blue Whale – the largest animal ever known to live on earth. Massive!Tonsberg is Norway’s oldest town and we visited the remains of the Castle. This structure seems typically Norwegian – we have seen many similar ones in the countryside.A replica of the Viking Gokstad Ship is underway in downtown Sandefjord. It all begins with the perfect tree, aged to perfection before it is split to size with the same tools the Vikings would have used.You can see some planks slit in the foreground and the size of this operation to reconstruct a replica of the Gokstad Ship. Four Viking Ships have been found in this area of the West Olso Fjord (Vestfold) and they are proud of this sea heritage.Borre NP preserves Viking Burial Mounds and is overseen by this Rune Stone. The carvings have been painted to make them more visible.Midgard Viking Center is next to Borre NP. Besides an interesting museum they have recreated a Viking Long House area through these gates.This long house is based on archeology finds to similar dimensions and what is known about the construction.The details similar to the Stave churches which were built later.A staff person dressed as a Viking told us some history and kept the long house warm with an expertly built fire. The more important you were the closer to the fire you sat. A long house was for community, government, and religious activities.The columns all tell different stories. The Vikings as warriors with their shields that went on long voyages and conquests.And they all reported to The Red Maiden…
