How to spend time in the outback of Bavaria
How to spend time in the outback of Bavaria
Day four and five of the Alpine Trio tour
We spent the night in Bad Kohlgrube at the Kurhotel Lauter, 90 km away. from Munich. This resort is located in the Bavarian Alps. And from it you can take a chair lift to the mountains. During Oktoberfest, our group is accommodated in this resort, and then taken by bus to Munich.
On this day, according to the program, we have a whole day allotted for Munich. I was already in Munich in 2010, so I had a plan for this day at home to explore Munich on my own. But my plans changed dramatically when I saw huge crowds of beer drinkers drunk to the point of stupor the day before, on an evening tour of Munich. I felt so uncomfortable in the city when I imagined that tomorrow I would have to push all day alone among this crowd. Just on this day will be the closing of the Oktoberfest festival and the whole city was preparing for the closing ceremony. I decided that the festival would be closed without my participation.
In the morning the group leaves for Munich without me, and I stay at the hotel that day. There were a few other people in the hotel besides me.
The Hotel Lauter belongs to family-type hotels, it has a calm, almost homely atmosphere. Here the Bavarians have a rest with their families. The hotel has its own small swimming pool with sauna. The restaurant offers both lunch and dinner.
I was very lucky in that my roommate didn't go to Munich either, because her Bavarian friends had come before her. But her knowledge of the German language was very helpful to me. With her help, I order lunch at the reception, and also book time to visit the sauna and pool.
After a very decent buffet breakfast, my neighbor and I part, she goes for a walk with friends, and I leave the hotel and start exploring the surrounding area.
In Bavaria, I used to be only passing through, but now I have the opportunity to get to know the outback of this region.
The hotel is located on the edge of the resort. Around it is a field and a birch grove. I walk through this grove, and our native birches immediately pop up in my memory, because birch is an international tree. Here is a meadow with green grass and Bavarian cows graze. I come back and go in the other direction, to the center of the resort. On both sides of the street are hotels, small and large, luxurious and modest.
Twenty minutes later I approach the chair lift to the mountains. In front of it is a parking lot full of cars. And quite a decent queue at the box office for tickets. A lift ticket costs 9 euros. But there are also daredevils who climb the mountains on foot along the path. I didn’t have such a goal, so after a short photo session I return back to the hotel.
I have lunch at our restaurant for 13 o'clock. Chicken breast in sauce with baked potatoes and stewed zucchini and a large plate of fresh vegetables cost me 12 euros. The breast was too big, and I took half with me to my room. Thus, solving the problem with dinner. In the hotel, in the living room, there are several coffee pots with tea and coffee, and there is also a jug of cream and sugar, so I went into the living room after dinner and drank coffee there with pleasure.
After a short rest, I go to the sauna with a swimming pool. The sauna there is tiny, designed for a family, a maximum of 4 people. That's why they schedule visits. But I was alone, so no one bothered me. From the sauna I go to the pool, there are warm floors and warm shelves for sitting around the pool. Automatic water heating, constant temperature 26 gr. After swimming and resting on a sun lounger, I again go to the sauna. And so I relaxed there for an hour and a half. If there would be a company, then you can hang out until the evening. With me, a German family came to the pool with a girl of school age. But they swam a little and left. And again I was left alone. After bathing, I again visit the living room with tea, and go to rest in the room.
But I didn’t sit in the room for a long time, I’m going to explore the area around the hotel again, but now down the path. I pass by the local church. From a very modest appearance, I assume that the church is Protestant. Next to it is the shepherd's house. Also very modest, all lined with wood for the fireplace. Obviously, it does not have gas heating. I go further and run into two paths, on one of them there is a sign with the inscription “Private”, and on the second there is a warning sign “Woman with a child”. I turn onto the second path and follow it. From the side there is a neighing and stomping, and a horse appears, looks at me, and what if I give her something. But I have nothing, and the horse turns away from me in disappointment and runs away.
Further, family-type boarding houses begin again, and near one of them there is a fence with goats. They also beg from passers-by. I don't have anything for them either. I would have walked further, but dusk is already beginning, and I turn back to the hotel. This Bavarian hinterland caused such emotion, like I visited in my childhood, where there were cows, horses, and goats. And for all the time I practically did not meet people. All of them are busy in their estates and do not wander idly along the street.
After the walk again visiting the living room with tea, and waiting for the return of the group from Munich. They returned at ten o'clock in the evening, tired but satisfied. And I was also satisfied with my vacation, because tomorrow we will visit the dream castle of King Ludwig - Neuschwanstein, and then move to Switzerland, to Zurich.
In the morning after breakfast, departure at 8 o'clock from the hotel. The weather has deteriorated slightly, overcast and a little rain dripping. It is closer to travel from Bad Kohlgrub to Neuschwanstein Castle than from Munich, so at 8-50 in the morning we are already at the parking lot at the family castle of King Ludwig Hohenschwangau. Our leader Vladimir buys tickets to the castle and the bus. We rented a ticket for 15 euros, for an additional 1.8 euros for a bus. Tickets to the Castle are bought for 10-50 am, and we still have almost two hours of free time. Therefore, after disembarking from the bus at the upper station, we go straight to Mary's Bridge. A little fog and drizzling rain slightly spoiled the picture of the Castle, which was revealed to us from this bridge. But everyone started a fast-paced photo session as we saw a group of Chinese tourists approaching. This group ruined our entire visit to the Castle.
After Mary's bridge we go to the souvenir shops near the Castle, where you can also drink and eat something hot. We still have a lot of time and the group is dispersing around the neighborhood. The rain then subsides, then again intensifies. But at the appointed time, everyone punctually gathers at the entrance to the Castle. The access system to the Castle is arranged like a turnstile at the entrance to the subway, you submit a ticket to the receiver, a green light comes on, the ticket goes further, and you can go through the turntable. They won't let you in before or after. The board near the turnstile displays the tour number and the time to enter with a ticket. The ticket also indicates the number of the tour, and the time to enter the Castle. Every five minutes a new group enters the Castle. The flow of tourists does not stop. Just like on the conveyor. Because of such a conveyor, there is no way to stop to get a better look at the Castle inside.
And we were also “lucky” to enter the Castle at the same time with a group of Chinese tourists. What does this mean, everyone will understand me. Because of them, I could not properly examine any of the halls of the Castle. And the time for each hall is given no more than 5 minutes, since the next group is following us. The entire tour of the Castle lasts about 30 minutes, then another 10 minutes to go out through the foothill tunnel. My general impression of the Castle was vague and indefinite. Only downstairs, near the bus stop, when I bought a book about the Castle with good photos, then later I saw in it what I could not see in the Castle. And I thought how good it was that we paid only for the entrance ticket, and if it was an elective for 60 euros, then it would be a complete disappointment from the excursion.
The organization of this tour by the owners of Neuschwanstein Castle is aimed only at obtaining the maximum benefit, and not at obtaining aesthetic pleasure from the Castle for tourists. According to the reviews, about 3 million tourists visit this Castle every year. Advertising is a big power!
After visiting the castle, we walk down to the bus stop on our own. Downstairs again there is an opportunity to have a bite to eat and buy souvenirs. At 12-15 boarding the bus and then a long drive to Zurich.
