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October 18 Wednesday sunny Bicycle touring Germany In the morning, riding our bikes on the way to Neuschwanstein Castle we passed a long line of Japanese tourists. As we pedaled past they enthusiastically greeted us, "Good morning! Good morning!" After Sherry and Sharon toured the castle we walked a trail above the castle to a bridge. There was a beautiful side view of the castle with its multitude of turrets and towers. We cycled over to the yellow Hohenschwangau Castle where the mad Bavarian King Ludwig II grew up. Sharon and Sherry took another castle tour while I checked out the garden. It felt good to sit in the sun and do nothing. Renata got her bike and took us cross-country alongside the Alpsee Lake on a cycling path and over into Austria for lunch. We stopped at a few spots to overlook the scenic area. At one location, high above the lake, it is fabled that the enchanting King Ludwig used to dive from this spot. It is pretty high up and it would be more difficult now as one would have to jump past the trees that have grown up. When we crossed the border into Austria there were two unmanned guard huts, one straddling each side of the border. Since Germany and Austria joined the European Union they have vacated most passport check points. After a wonderful lunch, we returned to Fussen by a different route which was just as spectacularly scenic. Is there anywhere to ride a bicycle in the Alps that isn't lovely? We spent a few hours exploring the town of Fussen which was celebrating its 700th year anniversary. A splendid church had beautiful murals painted on it. We returned to Bruno and Renata's just in time for tea and more cake. Bruno and Renata left us alone to relax and enjoy ourselves -- they were stepping out to go dancing in a nearby village. |
