I’m not even sure how to describe today.  We spend all day traveling about the countryside.

Germany is much like the U.S. in ‘looks’, but very different too.  There are subtle differences in every aspect.  Road signs and  markings, architecture, roof lines, decorations and even the trees and grass.  Each difference, by itself, doesn’t amount to much.  But all together, it is a striking difference that keeps the eyes wandering at new wonders by the minute.

The small towns sprinkled along the byways and in the shadows of the Alp mountain range are a sight to see.  Site lines allow you to see over large vistas and you can see entire towns against the backdrop of hills, valleys and even mountains.  The closest I’ve seen in the U.S. is northern New Hampshire, but even that isn’t that close.  Remarkable countryside and views.

Today’s tour took us to the following.

King Ludwig II’s castle called Linderhof.  It was so ornate, it was ridiculous.  It was too much.  It felt like clutter to me.  But, this ‘clutter’ was carved wood covered in 22 karat gold or marble or gemstone or crystal…  Insane really.  This was a small castle and his primary home.  The most interesting part was the man-made cave.  The king had a cave created that depicted the first scene from his favorite opera.  It was huge and included a lake inside the cave.  Keep in mind, this was completely man made and if you didn’t know better,  you could be fooled that it was a real cave.

I told you I was surprised by the catholic heritage here, well it only deepened today.  We visited a monk monastery that housed a statue of Mary, holding the baby Jesus, from 1328.  It was brought here by Christians on a pilgrimage from Rome and remained here.  As a result, the monastery was built.  Keep in mind, this makes St. Patrick’s cathedral in NYC look like a barn.   It was truly unbelievable.  The other thing to remember is this: it is in the middle of nowhere, a small town in the foothills of the mountains in rural Germany.

We then saw a similar church that housed a statue of Jesus that reportedly wept around 1740 and is considered a real miracle by the Catholic church.  Since 1740 Christians around the world have made a pilgrimage to see this statue.  I guess I’m one of them now and it was quite by accident.  This church was as remarkable as the first and was even more remote.  As the pilgrimages have grown, so has the church building.

We had lunch at a cheese farm.  Fresh cheeses and meats/sausages with a glass of good beer.  Very nice lunch.  This was a little side of the road farm that served the food it produced.   Lots of fun.

Lastly, we saw the Neuschwanstein Castle.  This is the castle you have all seen on post cards and is the model for Disney’s fairy castle at Disney World.  We stood on a pedestrian bridge that had a mutlipe 100s foot drop to take pictures, then went inside.  You’ve seen pictures.  It is a big place that has no business being where it is.  This also belonged to King Ludwig (pronounced lood-vig).

We finished the day at the local beer garden having dinner of sausages/pretzels and some sort of yummy cinnamon thing to go with our beer.  They had large screens set up to watch the World Cup, so we did that with the locals for a while.

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We still haven’t had any real problems here.  I did have to play the role of ‘ugly American’ today.   Apparently, there is no such thing as a line in Germany and people just plow to the front.  After witnessing this for far too long and then seeing my wife fall victim to it, I stepped into action.  If people can cut in line, a very large American can create a wedge, with the aide of a wielded umbrella to thwart the aggressors.  I got ‘big’ and asked if there was anyone else who had plans to cut line.  No one obliged.  We took care of business and moved on.

They can think what they want, but it isn’t the Americans exhibiting bad behavior today.

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On the highways here ‘Exit’ signs read “Ausfart’.  Now, that is funny.  If you don’t get it, think like a middle school boy.  If you still don’t get it, well, sorry.

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Oh – saw a statue dated to the 12 century, unfortunately I don’t remember the details.  But it looked old.  12 century – think about that – 600 years before the United States existed…

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We spent most of the day with a family from Washington.  They were very nice, fun to spend time with.  Our tour guide was good and helped make the day perfect.

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We got some roadside strawberries – they were EXCELLENT.  Meaty, sweet, juicy and not a sign of ‘white’ on the inside.

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The cheese farm had a device that scrubbed/massaged the cows – I’ll have to post a picture later – it was bizarre.

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Visited the small town of Oberammegau.  This town had murals painted on every building and home.  It also was home to the Hansel and Gretel School – I kid you not.  Many, many, many fairy tales were depicted on the buildings in town.

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We spend all day on a train tomorrow that should have wi-fi.  If it does, I’ll post some pictures.

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Hope all is well with our followers.  We leave for Italy tomorrow.