I told my wife lets visit a farm today. “Why not see how the local people live here” said my wife. A few phone calls and yes a farmer was ready to host us and show how the Bavarians live and earn their livelihood. We crossed lake Titesse, took a few beautiful snaps and headed straight to a small farm nearby. A cosy house, a huge farm, more than hundreds cows, gigantic shed and a cheese storage, that’s all we could see from a distance.
Sitting on his porch, we were welcomed with some local wine and then a brief about his farm. Though it seemed to be a huge farm to us with more than 250 cows, the farmer is among the poor in Germany. “Well, come to India and see what poverty is” that’s what we thought.
We were then given a walk-through of the cheese making process and we could see the huge cheese cellar too.
Finally, we went to the barn where some cheese and smoked meat were waiting for us. My favorite was the local bread topped with pepper-chilli cheese and a slice of smoked ham.
Our next stop was Fussen a beautiful town about 300 kms away from lake Titesse. After a long drive, we reached our hotel at Fussen in the evening. A good dinner, glass of wine and it’s time for bed.
Early morning we were off to visit the “Neuschwanstein castle”. Also, known as the Fairy tale castle, this is the most visited tourist attraction in Bavaria. Built in the 19th century, this magnificent structure was built by King Ludwig II who was known to be the greatest admirer of art and architecture. The castle was never completed. The structure which we saw was just one third of the entire castle. Before the king could see the finished castle, he died under mysterious circumstances.
After buying the passes at the foothill, we decided to walk up the hill to the castle. One can also take the shuttle service up the hill. Always keep an eye on your watch. There are timings to enter the castle. If you miss the time of your entry as shown in your pass, you can’t get in. As we reached the hill top there was a perfect spot to take pic with the castle behind you. We were also amazed by the extremely beautiful landscape that surrounds the castle.
The castle looked so beautiful that it even inspired Walt Disney to create the Magic Kingdom. Once in, we were surprised by the technology used in the castle at that time. The automatic room heating system, the hot water system, the camouflaged door made me realize how advance were the people in those days. The Castle has a very beautiful inner garden surrounded by a walled courtyard. The two story throne room designed in Byzantine style, with wall paintings depicting angels, stunned us. Don’t forget to see the stunning view of the alps from the porch at the second floor.
Our next stop was Oberammergau, a small town famous for its Passion play and painted houses. As we strolled down town, we were amazed by the wood carved houses with beautiful fairy tales painted on their walls. Every house was unique in color and with a different story painted on it. Wood carvers from Oberammergau were renowned for their skill. During the harsh winter in olden days, the carvers would make brightly colored toys and other wooden products. And when the warm days come, the traders would travel all over Europe, even to Moscow to sell their goods. The statue of a trader with a bundle of toys on his back gave us a clear picture of how tough was trading in the past.
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