Disaster and Dynasties

Our last night on the Lafayette featured another fine meal topped off with a baked Alaska set aflame by one of the chefs. 
Server who kissed both Jan and Julie (and at least one other woman) on the head during the cruise. 

Saying goodbye to those not continuing the journey, we gave our luggage to the crew to load on buses for the ride to Fussen. Mistake! On the way to Fussen we stopped in Ulm for lunch and did a quick tour of the church with the world's tallest steeple - 529 feet. 


We checked into the hotel in Fussen, went to our room, then returned to the registration area to retrieve our luggage. As we walked through the door, our fellow travelers expressed their condolences. There in the middle of the lobby sat my red backpack drowning in a lake of wine. The desk clerk gave us two plastic bags so we could get the backpack to the room without leaving a soggy trail, while another hotel staff person started mopping the mess. Turns out one of the four bottles I packed had broken. The good news - the bottle was in a carrier bag so the glass was contained there and the vinyl compartments pretty much spared everything else in the backpack. A quick wash in the tub and it was like nothing had happened. 

Despite that little hiccup we were set to go to King Ludwig II's Neuschwanstein Castle the next morning. What a spectacular sight. It's definitley a tourist magnet but the tours are so well organized you don't realize tens of thousands of other people are doing the same thing you are. The village below the castle hugs a pristine alpine lake and the streets are lined with souvenir sellers of every ilk. Before leaving for Salzburg we enjoyed walking the old walled city of Fussen and especially marvelled at the unique basilica there. We drove mostly the back roads to Salzburg taking the dairy farms and beautiful green fields that had just produced a crop of grass sileage. The sweet fragrance of the animals was enhanced by the manure being spread on the fields. Our first night in Salzburg featured a thunderstorm which we enjoyed while sipping beer on the hotel's rooftop bar only getting slightly wet. 

Castle view from the village. Long hike dodging
the fly infested poop mines left by the horses that carry visitors
in carts. 
The Lech River flows through Fussen. 
Mercedes garbage truck at work


 


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