Neuschwanstein Castle

Yesterday I lived a fairy tale.  My German friend Antonia and I took a train to a small town in the southernmost part of Bavaria where Neuschwanstein Castle is located.  I didn't know much about the castle except that it is one of Ludwig II's - the "Fairy Tale King" - most famous and most visited castles in Germany.  What I learned is that he grew up visiting his family's "vacation castle," Hohenschwangau, right across the valley.  Enchanted by the natural beauty, his last great endeavor before he mysteriously died at 40 in Lake Chiemsee was to build this perfect palace on a mountaintop in the region.  It was never finished inside, and he never even lived in it.  The castle was opened to the public just weeks after he died, and so it is more of a museum than a historical monument.  Walking through it, you can tell it hasn't been lived in.  It's absolutely perfect and nearly all the furniture, decorations, paintings and rooms are exactly as they were when it was built.  Pretty amazing!

When Antonia and I arrived, it was a beautiful sunny and humid day, which was so lucky because there have been multiple thunderstorms each week, and the weather has been anything but predictable.  We rented bikes (good thing, because we ended up traveling about 25 km on them and saw far more than we would have on foot), and headed to the small village at the foot of the mountain where Neuschwanstein (New Swan Stone) is, to buy tickets.  As our tour wouldn't be until five hours later, we hiked up to see the other castle, Hohenschwangau.  It is a gorgeous, Spanish-influenced palace, with tropical gardens and warm colors.  The contrast to the austere Alps and lakes is incredible.

Afterwards, we rode our bikes through the old town about 5 km away, and then headed down a road that was called "Three Castles Road," thinking we would see some other sights.  Instead, we accidentally biked into Austria.  Whoops!  We cycled through fields in a gorgeous valley, fed a horse an apple, had lunch, and then headed back towards the castles because our tour would soon start.

After racing about 2 km (on foot) up the mountain to reach Neuschwanstein, we arrived in line as our tour was heading into the castle, and breathless, saw the beautiful bedchambers, throne room and singing room.  Unfortunately, no photos were allowed, but I was so impressed with how different from other 19th century buildings the design of the rooms was.  For instance, the throne room was modeled after a Byzantine church - the mural behind the throne (which was nonexistent because Ludwig died before it was made) depicted the Apostles and Jesus, to represent the King of Kings above King Ludwig.  The "singing room," where concerts are still held to this day, had pine ceilings for the best sound quality, and there were huge paintings of the Holy Garden where the Holy Grail is hidden, replete with squirrels, fruit trees, and forest life.

We walked onto the balconies and there were sweeping views of the entire countryside - you could see for miles.  Then, we hiked up to a bridge that spans the deep valley and waterfall behind the castle.  From there, there are exquisitely magical views of Neuschwanstein.  It was unreal.

After a long day, we biked back into town and got gelato before getting back on the train, returning to Munich around midnight.  Such an incredible day!  For some amazing additional photos, see the album to the right.

A Day in Salzburg

Last weekend, my mother gave me the most amazing idea ever - to go to Salzburg for the day.  I hadn't realized how close the Austrian border is to Munich, but after a short two hour train ride I arrived in Salzburg last saturday morning, ready to hunt down every shooting location from The Sound of Music (I had watched it the night before in preparation - I like to think of myself as a method traveler).

From the moment I stepped into Austria, I could feel something amazing in the air, and even though the weather was rainy for most of the morning, everything I saw was magical.  Salzburg is the perfect city to visit in a day, because it is small enough to walk everywhere.  Although, I would have liked to stay forever if I had that choice.

I traversed the northern part of town from the train station, and the first incredible thing I saw was Schloss Mirabell and its gardens.  (Part of "Do Re Mi" was filmed there, fyi.)  The manicured hedges and beautifully colorful flowers were a wonderful contrast against the cloudy skies, and in the distance, the hills and Alps framed the picture.  There was what I at first thought to be a huge tour group of Chinese kids running around the garden.  But after hearing a hauntingly beautiful harmony of Do Re Mi (I actually thought I was going happily insane), I followed the sounds and it was the tour group!!  It turned out they were the Hong Kong Children's Choir, and they were adorable.  And taking millions of photos, of course.

I headed across the river to the Old Town, where I saw a lively food market, and sat out the rain at a cafe, reading the newspaper with a hot chocolate and some of my favorite "Mozart" brand marzipan chocolates.  Then I continued to explore the old churches, Mozart's Birthplace, and the beautiful squares.

One of the most exciting parts of the day was hiking up one of the city's hills to the Fortress - Festung Hohensalzburg - where I had a view of the entire city and the Alps in the distance.  It was breathtakingly beautiful.

Austria is a country I will want to return to soon - the people were so kind, and I eerily felt at home there, like I had been before.  I knew I had some Austrian in my blood but maybe there's more than I thought.  I love Salzburg!!!  For MANY more photos, check out the link to the album, on the right!

German Lumberjack Olympics and B2Run Company 6k!

My internship is not just about learning the corporate law ropes and interacting with German trainees and international clients ... it's about bonding with the firm as a whole.  To do that, we've had some pretty intense events in the past couple of weeks.  

The first was the "Lumberjack Olympics," a retreat about an hour outside of Munich where we participated in odd, traditional Bavarian games (e.g., milking fake cows, driving ATVs around obstacle courses, archery, kicking boots into a bucket, and more).  

We were treated to all the Bavarian specialties...

The second was a few days ago, and I am still having trouble walking because I am so sore - the "B2Run" Munich 6k, where hundreds of businesses and law firms participate in teams in a 6 kilometer run around the Olympia Park (the site of the 1972 Olympic Games).  There were about 30,000 participants, and my time ranked me at about 3,000th place, so I am fairly pleased with myself.  What I am not as pleased with is the fact that two days later, I am confined to my apartment because I literally cannot walk.  It seems that I will need to get back into shape one of these days ...

Weekend in Amsterdam

Amsterdam Museum, #9 on the map below

Never have I been to a city that reminded me so much of every other city I've ever been to.  Amsterdam is a kind of magical, time-stops-when-you're-there, grown-up Disneyland town - it's crooked and whimsical, grand and quaint, relaxed and vibrant all at once.  Amsterdam has a beautiful canal system (like a less confusing to navigate Venice), there are trees and green everywhere (like in Munich), the stretches of park next to the museums are laid out with gravel pathways (like Tuilleries in Paris), and the weather was wet and rainy when we were there (which reminded me of San Francisco and London).  Pockets of the city also reminded me of Athens, Cambridge, and Boston for their various quirks and demographics.

The Oldest Map of Amsterdam

Amsterdam is also the type of city where you can walk and walk and see everything in a matter of hours without realizing how much ground you've covered.  What was strangest to me (and most liberating as well) was that for the first time, I visited a city and didn't even look at a map - I let my friend Chip figure out where we were and direct us to our destinations, which made the experience all the more stress-free and fun.  I arrived on Friday evening at around 8 pm ... however, because Amsterdam is so far north, it was still very bright out and didn't feel later than 5.

Approximately where the #2 is on the drawn map

The area we walked around the most was the Old Town of Amsterdam, by Dam Plein, or Dam Square.  There is an incredible Royal Palace there, built during the Dutch Golden Age in the 17th century, which was considered to be the 8th Wonder of the World in its time.  There are also the Old and New Churches (Oude and Nieuwe Kerks) in that vicinity, built around 1300 and 1400 respectively.  The New Church was partially destroyed early on and rebuilt in a Gothic style - now, it is used for exhibitions because of its extraordinary space, no longer for services.

Dam Square

Royal Palace

Old Church

Inside the New Church

Along the central canal

On Saturday, we left our hotel in the morning and wandered around the nearby Museumplein for a while, a district with a high concentration of museums and more residential neighborhoods (see #9 on the map).  The ambiance was much less crowded and more peaceful than in the center of the city.  Throughout the day we walked probably 10 kilometers, people-watched, and ate delicious food and Dutch treats ... it was exhausting but so fun.  There was wind and rain nonstop and I was wearing a sundress because I had failed to pack weather-appropriately, but we remained tough and battled out the elements for most of the afternoon.

Yummy!

People enjoying the fresh air .... despite the lack of sunshine

A pee wee soccer match in Dam Plein

Last night, as it was still raining, we decided to go see Harry Potter - it had Dutch subtitles, so the experience was cultural, of course.  This morning, I had to leave for the airport early so we left the hotel and walked around, got breakfast, and I caught a tram to the train to the airport back to Munich.  It was one of those weekends that goes by far too quickly - there was not nearly enough time to do everything I would have liked to while there.  But, Amsterdam has touched a special place in my heart and I am so grateful to have visited.  Hopefully I will be able to return soon, and explore more!  It is such an eclectic and diverse city, and everyone there seems so alive ... I loved it.

More pictures are in the Amsterdam Album linked to the right!  And more on Munich soon.

Schloss Nymphenburg Palace and Gardens

Hello beautiful people!

My computer is back in action - hooray!

Last weekend, I spent Saturday at the Nymphenburg Palace and Gardens, which is a beautiful estate on the western edge of Munich.  It was built by the Elector Ferdinand Maria and his wife in 1664, but several annexes and new buildings have been added since then.  It reminded me of Versailles in that the layout of the building and the gardens are inspired by French castles, but the parks extending beyond the gardens reminded me very much of estates in England, such as Blenheim Palace (where Winston Churchill grew up). 

The day I went was beautiful - when I first arrived by tram and began the long walk up the gravel driveway, the clouds kind of exploded and rain started pouring for about five minutes, then stopped.  There were patches of blue sky everywhere so the effect was kind of mystical, and I couldn't help but feel like I had been transported to Narnia.  By the end of the day the sky was blue, so after walking through the palace I was really able to enjoy the park, and walked through it for hours.

The palace itself is gorgeous, and the highlight for me was the "Gallery of Beauties."  Ludwig I commissioned Joseph Stieler to paint various portraits of young women that caught his eye, and they have since been placed in Nymphenburg, in a wonderful collection.  This was a kind of pervert-move at the time, but it has contributed to a beautiful room with an interesting array of women - they range from princesses to blacksmiths' daughters.  

In the gardens, there are several different buildings and small palaces that were built for various purposes, such as hunting lodges, grottoes, and one of the most exciting, a huge carriage house.  The Marstallmuseum, where hundreds of carriages and sleighs are stored that once belonged to Bavarian leaders, is incredible.  

Overall, a wonderful day ... it was gorgeous out, and there were adorable geese and ducks and swans everywhere.  I decided to walk almost all the way home (across the whole city, practically), and I was struck (as I am every day) by how beautiful and safe this city is.  I love it here!  I just need to work on my German ...

For full albums of Athens, Crete, Munich, and Schloss Nymphenburg, check out my links to the right!!!