Day trip to Neuschwanstein Castle

Our second day trip while in Munich was to Neuschwanstein Castle, located in Schwangau, Bavaria. We took the train out there as a part of a guided tour, and it was money well spent.  The train takes about 2-2.5 hours during which time our guide gave us a run down on the history of the castle and King Ludwig.  We were very lucky with the weather this day, it was crystal clear and you could see for miles!  I will say I was just a small bit excited when the snow-capped mountains came in to view, which our guide and fellow tour group members thought was very amusing.

Once you reach the station, you get off the train and catch a bus to the town itself where the climb to the castle begins.  Once you reach the small township, you are standing in the shadow of some very impressive snow-capped mountains.  We grab a quick bite for lunch before we begin the long assent up the mountain to Neuschwanstein.

The climb up is not for the faint of heart. It’s not so much the distance, it’s the incline that kills you.  The assent takes about 40 mins, there is a bus in summer and a horse drawn cart (which stinks and is bloody cold!), but the views on the way up are pretty spectacular and on a clear day you can see for miles.    So the walk, while demanding, is definitely worth the effort and feels like an accomplishment.

Upon reaching the top of the mountain ledge there is a lookout point that is petty stunning, giving you a view of the bridge, waterfall and mountains behind the castle.  Once you enter the castle grounds you need to wait for your ticket to be called before you can enter the castle proper and begin your tour.

For those that don’t know, it was built in the 19^th century as the personal refuge for the reclusive King Ludwig II.  It was designed by Eduard Riedel, and was based on a number of Richard Wagner’s operas.  Alas, only about 6 rooms of the interior of the castle were ever completed before Ludwig’s death, so there is not a huge amount to see inside, but what is built is pretty amazing and include secret passages and even a “man cave”. You may also know the castle as the “Sleeping Beauty” castle, as Disney used the castle as the inspiration for its own.

After the relatively short tour of the internal castle (only 35mins), it’s time to head back down the path to the base of the mountain and back to Munich. This was a huge day and is defiantly one of the main highlights of the trip, so if you ever get the chance to visit, make sure you do!!

 Once back in Munich we were pretty tired, so it was back to the hotel and dinner across the road at Giuseppe’s Italian Restaurant for some yummy Italian food.

"Let the mind be enlarged to the grandeur of the mysteries, and not the mysteries contracted to the narrowness of the mind." - Francis Bacon

Sound of Salzburg

Day trip to Salzburg

The following day we got up early for a day trip out to Salzburg.  I had seen the amazing views of the Alps from the train on the way into Munich, so I was very excited to see the snow caped mountains on the way to Salzburg.  So I was a little disappointed when I woke up and found the city was covered in fog and overcast.  Alas, there was no view of the mountains.

Salzburg is a very pretty burg (town). Pulling into the station it looks like any normal modern urban town due to the fact that the station was bombed during the war and thus needed to be rebuilt, but the town itself survived mostly unscathed.  The real Salzburg comes into view across the river in the old town where it looks like a scene from the movie Amadeus. 

So we took a tour around the town and a few of its key attractions and places of interest.  It would have been nice to spend two full days here as our free time

was spent in a gallery viewing an inspiring collection of Robert Mapplethorpe’s photographic works.  It was a very serendipitous surprise to find one of my favourite photographers in Salzburg!  Due to the overcast and foggy weather we didn’t bother to climb up to the fortress, as there would not have been any view to speak of.  

We also had the VERY evil and decadent chocolate cake called a "Sacher-Torte." A teat not to be missed!!

Unfortunately, that was all the time we had in Salzburg, so it was time to head back on the train to Munich.  That night we have a very delicious dinner at the Lowenbrau Hofbrauhaus.

"Let the mind be enlarged to the grandeur of the mysteries, and not the mysteries contracted to the narrowness of the mind." - Francis Bacon

Munich

So I am WAY behind on the blog posts and there is so much to cover… so I have broken the stay in Munich up into 3 part to make it easier to read. :)

We arrived at our hotel (The Rivoli Ambiance) in Munich in the afternoon, dropped off our bags and headed into the city. Alas, no snow.

We headed straight to Marienplatz and the main city square, where the Ratthaus and the glockenspiel clock are located. This is one of the more impressive glockenspiel clocks in Europe and is quite lovely.  We wondered through the Christmas market and down to the university.  It’s a beautiful city, kind of akin to South Yarra on steroids and there are “labels” everywhere!

After enjoying the sunset, we make our way back into the city and start looking for somewhere for dinner.  We found a small place, but it was having a private party. However, the staff was happy to direct us to a place around the corner to the Augustine that served delicious Bavarian food. We both ended up ordering the house dish of “wild deer and wild boar” which were very good.  We then made our way back to the hotel for a good sleep.

Next day, we visited a couple of art museums, Alte Pinakatek and the Neue Pinakatek, which are the Old and the New museums respectively. 

It is one of the oldest galleries in the world and houses one of the most famous collections of Old Master’s paintings and covers art works from the 13^th to the 18^th centuries.  I will admit that I did not really find this museum of great interest, but there were some great pieces of art there.

The Neue Pinakatek was far more interesting for me. It houses a great collection of artists from the 18^th & 19^th centuries, with the highlight of the collection being four wonderful Van Gough pieces.  After a day filled with art and culture it was time for some dinner at the Christmas Market

"Let the mind be enlarged to the grandeur of the mysteries, and not the mysteries contracted to the narrowness of the mind." - Francis Bacon

Vienna - Plan B is no Consolation Prize

Up early and caught the train from Prague to Vienna. A very scenic ride with lots of deep, fresh snow glistening on the tracks and across the fields.  We met some women from New York who shared our compartment who were on a 2 week trip and trying to see as much of Europe as they could.

Arrived in Vienna on an overcast afternoon and caught the taxi to the Classic Austria Hotel. We were warmly greeted by Jorge the concierge who assisted us with getting to know Vienna. There is nothing else to really report here as we needed to do washing. The necessities of modern life still require some attention even when on holidays. Time for bed early on a Saturday for an early rise.

We did not receive our wake-up call so it was probably just as well that I was awake anyway. The morning began with an organised bus tour of the major sights of Vienna, then off to Schonbrunn Palace. We got a tour of the major rooms of the palace to observe the magnificent, if a little excessive, interiors and furnishings. 

We decided to depart from the tour group to walk the around the gardens. They still had a beauty to them despite the winter climate telling its tale on the bare trees. The sun came out which made the palace glow. It was now time to partake in the Christmas market out front of the Palace, the highlight being the light, fluffy freshly made doughnuts with warm, rich and soft chocolate sauce. Mmmmmmm, Schonbrunnlicious.

Back on the train to Karlsplatz and we casually meandered around the city turning each corner to admire another beautiful building. Highlights were the interior of St Stephans church, and the chance occurrence of hearing a concert with organ and a sextet of strings in St Peter’s, beautifully playing some pieces from Handel, Schubert and Mozart.

We ventured out for dinner at Cafe Ritter; one of the oldest coffee houses in Vienna, a simple, old style café, with locals sharing their days and thoughts over coffee and cigarettes. We fortunately got a seat in the non-smoking section and ordered a Wienna Schnitzel and Apple Strudel which were both delicious. It was then off to a couple of bars for a few “end of the day” drinks. On the way we were fortunate to stumble upon a street art piece by Roa which was grand in both its scale and detail.

The following day we ventured off in the rain and wind to the Kunsthistoriches Museum. Our plans were washed away as we found out the museum was closed on Monday. However, as we were in the museum quarter, it was easy to find an alternative. This turned out to be the Natural History Museum directly across the platz. This is one of Vienna’s special, little secrets as it was full of rocks (not so interesting), meteorites and interactive displays of the forming of the solar system, earth and the many different faces of our planet from 1,000s of satellite images. This included the earth across the different seasons and at night.

The dinosaur fossil exhibits were worth the visit in themselves including the giant turtle and the animatronic T-Rex. The museum was also a sobering reminder on human kind’s continual execution of species and our cruel, barbaric treatment of endangered species for the purpose of trophies and magic potions. As a species, we can achieve great things which seem to be outweighed by our careless and pointless drive to destroy everything in our paths.

[Whilst the message was an important one, I think it fails in being able to connect with the viewer due to the very graphic and confronting nature of the footage and exhibit. This meant that instead of me interacting and engaging with the message, I felt repulsed, disturbed, confronted and ultimately disconnected.  The display failed to draw the viewer in and provide a comfortable viewing space, therefore it was never going to be successful for me  - The Bear].

We grabbed a simple lunch of cakes in the beautifully decorated and designed café, and then meandered through the animal exhibits which included a display of a Tasmanian Tiger.

It was now time to rest our weary feet and after a couple of complimentary beers from the hotel, went across the road to Gasthause Hansy where we enjoyed another delicious Austrian meal before 

heading to bed for an early train to Munich in the morning.

Our take away from Vienna; come back and stay longer, there is just so much to do and see in this beautiful city.

   

"Let the mind be enlarged to the grandeur of the mysteries, and not the mysteries contracted to the narrowness of the mind." - Francis Bacon

Prague - A White Winter Wonderland

We arrived in Prague around 3.30 in the afternoon, so it was almost starting to get dark by the time we got off the train. After haggling down the price of the cab by 250 crown, we took our taxi to the hotel and checked in.  We stayed on the outskirts of the Old City in a quaint little Best Western hotel called Hotel Kampa which is where we stayed last time we were in Prague.

After checking in we walked across Charles Bridge into the Old City and the city square, which is where Prague’s main Christmas market is located. We stopped in at the Mirror Chapel and enjoyed a wonderful classical concert. I never realised that a pipe organ could have such a subtle sound, there were a couple of moments I might have shed a few tears.

After the concert it was time for some wine, or in this case some very yummy honey mead, so off to the market we went.  I have to say, the square was packed! I don't remember there being so many people in Prague last time, and we were there at the same time of the year.  This time it was full of young drunk teens and early twenties, obviously it’s the student destination of choice.

Side note… It’s taking forever to write this blog entry as the views into and out of Salzburg is just breath taking!  Back to Prague…

The winds were strong at night and the Old City Square has a massive Christmas tree in the center that is lit up with lights, but was in serious danger of blowing over!  In fact the very next night they had the whole tree area roped off so that you wouldn’t be crushed by a falling branch!

We walked back across the bridge and found a small restaurant Pod Vezi, where we had an incredibly delicious meal of lamb shank and pork knuckle. For a restaurant so close to the tourist area it was so good to find such a lovely place to eat. Thank you Trip Advisor. 

From there it was back to the hotel and an early night’s sleep.

We woke in the morning and had breakfast in the large dining hall lined with suits of armor.  We then walked to the funicular rail car to carry us up to the top of Petrie hill and the Petrin Tower where there is an observation deck to get a stunning 360 degree view of Prague.

We then walked down an unpaved woodlands track to the back street of Prague to reach Prague Castle.  Let me explain the deadly path for what it was… We could have died any number of ways, tripping on the invisible ice or frozen mud, eaten by wolves or stabbed by muggers, luckily none of these things happened, though there were a few almost moments when we could have broken bones on the ice mud.

And then it began to snow….

Snow, I’ve never seen snow in my life and this was just wonderfully magical.  I know it seems like a little thing, but I was like a giddy kid in a candy store who’s just been told he can have unlimited candy. It was a light delicate snow and I was in heaven, I got my white Christmas in Europe!

We finally wound our way through the back streets to Prague Castle in time to see the changing of the sexy guardsmen out front of the Castle. We spent of the day inside the various areas of the Castle, and left just as the military were conducting some sort of presentation, in which there were many more sexy guardsmen about. Happy times.

So we wandered our way back down the hill to the Old City, in the cold snow to a little café called Per Lei, which is a previous jewelry store, where we sat in the front window eating a yummy goulash soup in a bread bowl as the passes by looked on.  After warming up again it was time to head back to the Christmas market for some night shots. By this time the snow was starting to become more like rain and the wind was blowing a true gale, so it wasn't long before we headed back to the hotel for the night.

In the morning it’s off to Vienna…

"Let the mind be enlarged to the grandeur of the mysteries, and not the mysteries contracted to the narrowness of the mind." - Francis Bacon

Dresden - I'll have the Oxen...

I’m sitting on the train travelling at 226 kph from Vienna to Munich which is a 5 hour trip and I’m listening to Antony & the Johnsons.  Thank the gods for train travel, it really gives you a chance to just stop, relax and reflect….

We left Berlin very early in the morning, so we were up at 5am to catch the train to Dresden.  Upon arriving at Dresden we considered catching a taxi to the hotel, until we looked up and saw that it was only a five minute walk from the train station! Sometimes it pays to look up.

As we arrived at the hotel around 9.30am, it was too early to check in, so we dropped off our bags and took off into the city of Dresden.  We walked to the Alt Markt (Old Market) to Kreuzkirche, a church from the 13^th century. We then checked out the Christmas market in the Old Market square, which was a rather large market as such things go.

Now I know it might come as a surprise that we would visit another Christmas Market ;-P , but each of these markets are different in their own way and are really very beautiful.  For example, Berlin markets were very much about wurst, chocolate coated fruit, gluhwein, crapes and nuts; with the latter three items being pretty universal to any market. In Dresden, the food changed to include pasta, oxen and roasted meats and roasted apples. While in Prague, it was spiced potatoes, chicken skewers, roasted hams, Trdelník (a wood fired sweet pastry), honeyed wines and mead.  In Vienna, the markets are full of potato pastas, doughnuts, fruit wines (apple & cherry) and chocolates, but wurst is very rare to find.  Although I now understand where the American term “wiener” sausage comes from; it’s the Vienna sausage, a long, thin finely minced pork sausage like a hotdog (the difference being that the Vienna sausage has real meat in them).

Getting back to Dresden, we then walked to Frauenkirche, a stunning 18^th century church, then on to another market and the banks of the Elbe River where we checked out Katholische Hofkirche, a 17^th century church… There are a LOT of churches in Dresden!

We then wandered on to Alaustrasse which is a little like Brunswick St in Melbourne, but doesn’t really kick off until late arvo, as most things were closed when we were there. So we caught the tram back to the Alt Markt where we ate the spit roasted oxen in rolls. It was so good, we had seconds!!

We then checked into the hotel which was a very nice room, can highly recommend the Pullman chain of hotels, the shower is a very large glass cube in the middle of the room with an amazing shower head…so very good after an icy cold day! On the down side we have a very average dinner in the hotel, so I would suggest eating elsewhere in Dresden.

Next morning we only had a short time in Dresden before having to move on to Prague, so we ate a very good breakfast at the hotel, walked back through the old city, stopped at the spit roasted oxen again (it was that good!), back to the hotel and checked out. 

Then it was a train to Prague….. 

"Let the mind be enlarged to the grandeur of the mysteries, and not the mysteries contracted to the narrowness of the mind." - Francis Bacon

Have you ever seen a duck with two heads?

Last day in Berlin, so we need to make the most of it.

Our final breakfast at Berio and armed with coffees to take away, we catch bus 100 to the Tiergarten and climb the Siegusaulle.  This beautiful gold statue of the winged victory is set in the middle of one of Berlin’s major roads and is a pseudo-centre point to the city. It is set upon a giant column with a tiled mural at the first stage celebrating the victories of the Prussian state over the imperious Franco armies led by Napoleon.

A climb up the many many stairs of the spiral staircase, leads you to the top of the tower and out to a panoramic view of the grand expanse that is Berlin. Fortunately, it was sunny, though slightly hazy, but this allowed us to get an unimpeded view across this great metropolis, that was once divided by concrete and the ideologies of other nations.

We spiral back down the stairs, through the tunnel under the road with its interactive LED display and spill into the Tiergarten, for a casual stroll up the paths with their bare or burnt orange coverage. One can’t help but sing at moments like these, so we did. “Oh what a beautiful morning” came to mind and we sang it with gusto. 

Crossing bridges over the garden lakes and chasing ducks that appeared to have two heads, we walked through the park to Potsdammer Platz, grabbed some bratwurst and gluhwein and then headed to photography gallery recommended by a guest speaker at Jason’s college.

The gallery was a little disappointing as there were only a few pieces to see. Oh well. I got to go somewhere I hadn’t been before. Yay me.

We headed back to Potsdammer Platz Weinnacht Markt where we caught up with Kate and Raz to share the days experiences over gluhwein. Raz had been out to a dilapidated mental health institution that once had Hitler as a patient. The photos Raz showed of the institution were eerie, cold and haunting and to go there on your own must have made it even more disturbing, not only from its appearance, but also its history. It looked like a place of a lot of unsettled souls.

As a finale to the evening, Raz and Kate squealed their way down the man-made toboggan run set up in the market, riding on what appeared to be the inner tube of an old truck tyre with a rubber base.  Unfortunately it was time for Jason and I to head back to the apartment to pack and prepare for a whole new experience, as we would be leaving early in the morning to catch the train to Dresden.

A stencil cut out of Berlin

Small breakfast at Berio whilst listening and singing along to Dean Martin, this always reminds me of Philip Collyer, probably because I know he would appreciate the moment most. It’s a beautiful clear day, if a little cool, so we head off to KaDeWe before the crowds, to see if we can get a new apron for Jason. The truth is, we really wanted to grab a seat in the food department and have a hot chocolate, just because we can. Beautiful, rich and silky hot chocolate with cream on top is a grand way to kick off the day.

As we were travelling on the Underground to Alexanderplatz to begin our “Street Art of Berlin” walking tour, we saw Raz in standing out in his red pants, red hoodie and bright yellow high top sneakers. He’d had a big night with Kate at an old East Berlin bar, but was still sprightly enough for the tour.

We arrived at Alexanderplatz and are cordially greeted by our guide Rob, who grew up in Perth and asked if I was wearing a Hawthorn scarf or were the colours by coincidence. The latter I replied. He then proceeded to tell me, as we were catching the train to our first stop, that he also was a supporter, but had been out of the loop since moving to Berlin. “How did we go this season” he questioned to which I casually replied “We won the Grand Final and it was awesome”. All is good.

The first piece of street art was a 6 story high stencil of an astronaut by Victor Ash on the side of a building. At night the flags from a car dealership across the road would cast a shadow on the wall and give the appearance that our cosmic friend was holding one of them. Clever.

Rob was extremely knowledgeable and not only gave us a potted history of graffiti and street art in Berlin, but also across the world. Furthermore he covered the different types of graffiti including tagging, throw ups and the ‘piece (short for Masterpiece). Each is a development phase for the ‘writer’.

We walked, talked and caught trains and trams to get a broad perspective of the different pieces and artists in Berlin. Many artists were requested to post pieces as part of the ‘Back Jump festival’ including Roa, Au Cherium and Alias who is known for creating stencils of children in distressed or uncomfortable situations. All these are displayed at eye level  of children, to assist them and the viewer in questioning the kind of world we are creating and leaving for them.

After covering some of the amazing work, we were escorted to an old warehouse which was their new gallery and workshop, to create our own stencils and art. It provided me with the opportunity to share my perspective of tagging with Rob, in which we had a robust, but civil discussion around when does it just become meaningless noise and when does it add to the aesthetic of the area. It appears that we weren’t too far away from having common ground on this.

After creating our stencils, we then created our ‘pieces on a small canvas. This would not only test our own creativity, but also give us a little memento to remind us of this unique, but completely enjoyable alternative tour to Berlin. Thanks for organising the tour Raz.

Finally, our exhausted feet needed a rest and our grumbling stomachs needed satiating. We returned to Nollendorf Platz with Raz and Kate and had a wonderful schnitzel dinner at Ess Werks whilst we shared our favourite experiences of the day and set out our plans for tomorrow.

20,000+

That’s how many steps we are currently doing in the average day, no wonder my feet are so sore! But it’s been fun so far…

Thursday
We checked out the Picasso exhibition at the Gemaldegalerie, followed by a morning of art and culture in the painting gallery itself, featuring paintings from artists such as Rembrandt and Michelangelo. One of the stunning paintings is Michelangelo’s Love Conquers All (Amor Victorious), 1602. After quick lunch in the gallery café, it was off to Potsdamer platz.

It was time for something from the surreal, so we checked out the Berlin Salvador Dali exhibit. This was an odd exhibit to be honest and I walked away feeling a bit… meh. It should be pointed out that Dali is one of my favourite artists and I was really looking forward to seeing it after missing the exhibit in London. However, it was like the whole thing was built around a large collection of “B side” art pieces with only a few of his more major work added in to round it out. It featured very heavily his water colour and ink & pencil works, with a few sculptures thrown in and a lot of photographs that had no real context and were really just images of him at places and parties. There was not a single one of his more famous painting or any of his photographic works, but it did succeed in displaying just how any mediums Dali worked in. So all in all I was left feeling a bit underwhelmed.

It was time for some lifting of spirits, so it was off to the Kurfurstendamm Weihnachtsmarkt to visit the Kaiser Wilhelm. This is a church that was badly damaged during a bombing raid in 1943. The damaged spire of the old church has been retained as a memorial with the new church being built next door from over 21,000 stained glass inlays. Raz tried his first Glühwein, which he enjoyed greatly! :) and then it was back to the Nollendorf Platz.

Friday
We got up early this morning to visit the Reichstag building, which is where parliament convenes. Upon arriving we discovered that you need to first register for entry which meant we couldn’t go in until the next day. Oh well, best laid plans and all… So instead we took a walk through the Tiergarten and stumbled across the Gypsies memorial, a Monument to the Porajmos: Sinti and Roma Holocaust victims. We then travelled down to the Brandenburg Gate where David and I were nearly scammed by a young girl demanding donations after signing a partition for support for deaf teens.



We continued down Unter den Linden to Museum Island where we visited the Neues Museum, home of the bust of Nefertiti. This museum has a huge collection including the Egyptian, Greek, and Bronze Age artefacts and statues which were very impressive. After this we walked on to Alexander Platz to visit the Weihnachtsmarkt for a quick refresh of fresh baked melted cheese roll and Glühwein.

Saturday
It was time to visit an old friend, KaDeWe. This is a department store in Berlin and it is the second-largest department store in Europe, with the top two floors being entirely devoted to food, the 6th floor is called delicatessen and is famous for its wide variety of food and beverages.

It has around 110 cooks and 40 bakers and confectioners supplying more than 30 gourmet counters. The top floor houses a winter garden with a 1000-seat restaurant surrounded by an all windows offering a view over the Wittenbergplatz. I’m not one for hanging out in stores, but I could spend the entire day here without batting an eye.



This place is like David Jones on steroids!

After grabbing some lunch on the top floor it was time to meet up with Raz and visit the Reichstag. The reason for going to the Reichstag is the to walk up the new glass dome that was installed in 1999 giving a complete 360 degree view of the city. It’s a pretty stunning building in its own right and has been treated with care and respect in its redesign and refurbishment.

We left the Reichstag and walked over to the Holocaust Memorial, it consists of a 19,000 m2 site covered with 2,711 concrete slabs arranged in a grid pattern on a sloping field and the slabs vary in height. The slabs are designed to produce an uneasy, confusing atmosphere, and the whole sculpture aims to represent a supposedly ordered system that has lost touch with human reason. It’s a sobering site to visit, but also one that has not yet connected to the youth who were running and hiding and taking selfies throughout the memorial.

After exiting such a site, it was both entertaining and enriching to see a young woman riding a bicycle with a couple of massive speakers on a trailer pumping out old skool trance (Juno Reactor if I’m not mistaken) for her own private dance party!



It was time for more Glühwein, so we headed to Potsdamer Platz and the Weihnachtsmarkt. After grabbing something to eat and a glass or two of Glühwein we wondered over to the Sony Centre were we discovered an impromptu Christmas light & dance performance, a nice little surprise.

It had been a very long day, so it was back to the apartment for a disco nap before heading out to Woof Bar for a few beers with the locals.


Sunday
After a well-deserved sleep in it was back on the U-bahn and out the see the Charlottenburg Palace, which is the largest palace in Berlin and was built in the 17th century.

After walking through the palace and its gardens we partook of the very large Weihnachtsmarkt located directly outside the palace which was very busy. I really love just how festive the Germans get at Christmas time. So more Glühwein, more yummy food (including deliciously moist ginger bread), and much more walking…

We then headed over to the Kurfurstendamm Weihnachtsmarkt and listed to a very good trombone band playing inside the new church at the Kaiser Wilhelm.

As David’s now sitting on the coach falling asleep, it’s time I took him off to bed for an early night… and back at it again in the morning for our final two days in Berlin.

"Let the mind be enlarged to the grandeur of the mysteries, and not the mysteries contracted to the narrowness of the mind." - Francis Bacon