Wednesday 20 February 2008

1998 Guzzi Goes Home - Fairytale Castle & Rain

We awoke next morning to the gentle sound of rain. Not to be put off by this after breakfast we decided to go and visit Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles.

Neuschwanstein is the castle that Walt Disney based his logo on. It was also used for the film Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and can also be seen in the film The Great Escape when Hendley (James Garner) and Blythe (Donald Pleasence) are flying towards the Swiss Alps. Much of the film was shot in the area around Fussen.

Throughout the summer 6,000 visitors visit the castle a day and the guided tours are in English and German. Other languages are available as audio tours. Our guide did well as it was her first tour and quite nervous. On a couple of occasions she did revert back into German but on the whole gave a good detailed description of the castle’s builder, King Ludwig II, and the decour of the rooms. One visitor did grumble about the guide’s lapse into her native tongue, but my friends gave her a tip and told her it would get easier. I wonder if she is still working there?

Two days were spent in and around Fussen and we had nothing but rain. There is only so much looking around shops and churches that a bear and man can stand, even Guzzisue got tired of this! On the second evening Guzzisue asked the question of where to go next, to which Ian replied “Venice” .

“But that’s miles away”, replied Guzzisue.

“No its not. Look”, Ian showed her the map. “It’s just up and over Austria and on the top part of Italy”.

So next morning….

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