Schloss Neuschwanstein - The Goldbergs in Munich Day 4

Day 4 started much like Day 3, beautiful weather forecast, a quick walk to the Hauptbahnhof, a Starbucks, and a bratwurst mit semmel.  We then hopped a train to arguably the most beautiful tourist trap known to man....on earth....in the universe....ever.  Schloss Neuschwanstein is another beautifully ornate castle built by the crazy, eclectic King Ludwig II.  It amazes me how one person be so beloved by millions of Germans during his life and after his apparent suicidal drowning when he spent all of the taxpayer money building castles that had no use or significance aside from honoring Richard Wagner?  All that aside, they are some pretty amazing places to visit...at least he gave us all nice places to spend the day.

We took the train 2 hours south to the town of Fussen where we hopped off for our trek to the castle.  If Hannah was writing this blog she would describe her total astonishment and annoyance that I didn't pack as much as a book, magazine, iPad, or game for the 2 hour trip (each way).  Shame on me for wanting to spend quality time staring at each other on a slow train that stopped every town between Munich and The Alps.  I will likely never live that one down.

We decided that even though Hannah still had a cold that wasn't yet getting any better that we should rent bikes and ride them to the castle.  How hard could it be, there were tourists everywhere walking to it, right?  It wasn't hard, it was vertical.

We were actually forbidden from taking the bikes up to the top, but this is where signs and warnings of ticket takers fell on the deaf ears of American tourists.  I felt terrible for the wife and her cold, but she made it.
 

Along the way we stopped for some great views of the Alpensee at the foot of the massive hill we were about to climb.

As we ascended to the summit of tourism we couldn't help but feel like we deserved more sausage.

We took a tour of the castle, led by Marcus, who reminded us of a character from the Princess Bride.  It appeared to the first day he had given the tour or spoken English.  He made it through it though, we were proud of Marcus.

Sometimes I just want to see things through Hannah's eyes.

After the nonsense we headed back into town on the bikes.  The 30 minute ride up took 30 seconds to get down.  We then made sure to nourish ourselves before hopping back on the train for the ride home.



When we returned to Munich, we had 2 choices....sit in the apartment or make something of our evening and hit the town.  After much online searching we hit the road and took the subway back to my old hood and sat at the buzzing News Cafe and had a nice glass, myself the California Cabernet and Hannah the Sauvignon Blanc, of course.  The News Cafe is a hip spot for a drink or dinner and is riddled with students and young professionals enjoying the Munich night life.

After walking by Terrine where we had our original reservation we decided to call an audible and hit up a Thai place we saw along the way.  The restaurant, Kon Tuk, was one of the best meals we have had in a very long time.  The fresh ingredients, the lack of hormones in the meats, and the attention to authenticity make the food in Germany surprise, no matter what the cuisine.  What made the meal even better was that we got the pleasure of wondering who dressed this fellow and why neither of us could ever pull off this outfit.