Neuschwanstein Deja-vu

Almost exactly a year ago, I toured Neuschwanstein, the New Swan Castle (King Ludwig II really liked swans), for the first time. Today I got to go through it again! There's so much to notice in the few rooms that have been completed, so it's not boring to go again. This time I also noticed a lot more - the paragliders, the hike to Mary's Bridge and back, some great mosaics I missed last time, and Neuschwanstein's version of the Moon Door. I also got stracciatella ice cream, which was a nice treat after hiking partway up a mountain.

Kateri and Samantha take on the mountain

People tell me I don't include enough people in my photos, so here's me and a waterfall.

A side view of Neuschwanstein. If you look closely at the center just above the hill, there's a door that opens out into emptiness! I guess the guillotine was in the shop the day they installed that door (or it could be that the castle is only about 30% finished, whatever).

This region is ridiculously stunning.

Mary's Bridge, a.k.a. the scariest place to go for a really good picture

The aforementioned really good picture

You can't take pictures anywhere but the kitchens, which are original! They were only used for a very short time. There are also some really neat copper molds that they used a lot because Ludwig liked his desserts.

Everyone loves a good scale model!

Dexter Attacks: Hohenschwangau Castle Edition!
This is also a swan-based name, and yet again, I didn't get to tour it while we were there (it's right across the village from Neuschwanstein). Maybe someday...

Today involved a lot of travel, so I don't have a lot more to show. I have to say I'm very impressed with how Germans handle car accidents, though. On the highway, an accident happened right in front of us. Immediately everyone put on their hazards, pulled over to the sides of the roads, and got out of their cars to check on the injured passengers and call for emergency vehicles. When the medical and fire departments arrived, they had absolutely no trouble reaching the scene of the accident, cleaned everything up, took a couple people away in ambulances, and had us on our way about 25 minutes after they arrived. Talk about German efficiency in action! As far as we could tell, no one was injured very badly.

It looked like this all the way down the highway behind us.

A guardrail, just doing its job

We finally arrived in Salzburg, or the "salt fortress", so named because of the rich salt mines in the area. People used to be paid in salt, which is where you get the saying "worth his/her salt." Their patron saint is St. Rupert, patron saint of...you guessed it, salt! Well, salt miners, but you get the drift. The city has been around since around 500BC, but became more official when the Roman Empire got a hold of it. St. Rupert is credited with its rebirth after it almost fell into ruin, and it's been doing well ever since. The central city is one of the oldest, most well-preserved old cities north of the Alps.

Tonight was supposed to be fancy dinner night at the Fortress, but the highway accident ruled that out. Instead we went to a great local place where I actually ordered a beer! Me! It was a Radler, it tasted like a little bit of beer and a lot of really good lemonade, and it was delicious. More tomorrow as we tour the city and perform for the first time!