So today was my hiking day. Whew, I’m exhausted! (And I apologize in advance for this long email!). I now know how the Germans work off all those Bratwursts and potato dumplings! I also realize why Ludwig built two of his castles here. The scenery around this place is gorgeous on a sunny day. If you knew the weather was going to be nice and you enjoyed walking/hiking/biking, you could spend a week or more here.
So I started out early and it was still a little foggy but it quickly burned off. I found a new walking route into town that goes along the river bank and is really pretty. As I’m walking along I saw there was a baseball field and there were both young German boys and girls practicing. So I thought I have to get a picture of that since it’s good to see some wholesome American values being exported overseas. Well this male coach must have thought I was some stalker because he walked over to me and started yelling something in German (pic). Lol. So I high tailed it out of there. I’ll probably be on the evening news tonight!
I kept walking along the river to reach my first hike which was called the Kalvarienberg (Calvary). This was a very steep walk up this mountain and was built to represent the path Jesus walked while carrying his cross to his crucifixion at Calvary. Actually Jesus was crucified at a spot outside Jerusalem called Golgotha, which in Aramaic means “place of the skull.” The Latin word for skull is calvaria, and in English many Christians refer to the site of the crucifixion as Calvary. So I’m huffing and puffing up this steep hill and all of a sudden I hear this beautiful music and a voice coming thru the woods. Well I’m thinking maybe I’m having a heart attack and this is the end I’m hearing the blaring of the trumpets from heaven. Nope, I walk a little father and reach this clearing in the woods with this cute little chapel and a group of people having a church service! (pic). What a beautiful thing to just stumble upon. They also had a German brass band playing the music and they were all dressed up in their lederhosen. And for you video people, I have a video of the band and music so just let me know if you want to see it.
And you know me who never met a stranger, I spot 3 people I kinda knew from yesterday. It was this couple and their daughter and the dad sat me at the St Nikolas classical music concert yesterday, the mom was the coordinator and the daughter played in the group! So I went up and introduced myself (and thanked them for the free concert) and they told me this special mass only happens twice a year in spring and fall. And they also said all these people hiked up this steep hill for church. Amazing. Again how lucky to find it. Funny thing, after the service they were serving these huge Bratwursts, but I passed! Lol. I kept trekking up the hill to get to “Calvary”. WOW, what a beautiful view from up there (pic) as well as the depiction of the three crosses symbolizing the crucifixion.
Well after all that hiking I needed a break and also was feeling mighty Holy (Lol) so I decided to take the bus a few towns over to see this UNESCO World Heritage site church called Weiskirche (Church in the Meadow). The story behind this is in 1738 a man carved a statue of Christ showing him being scourged/whipped but it was too graphic for the local people to put in their church so he kept it in his barn. Well miraculously the statue began literally weeping and the news spread and it became a pilgrimage site for many Christians to come see. So many people came they built a beautiful church sitting in a meadow to house it. (pic)The inside is also very beautiful and as luck would have it, when I got there they were having a choral concert (pic). The music was beautiful.
So then I left there feeling all blessed and since the weather was so nice (and I wasn’t sure what it was going to be like tomorrow) I had the bus drop me off at Ludwig’s castles so I could get a nice clear shot of Neuschwanstein Castle (the most famous one and the one Walt Disney patterned Cinderella’s castle after). It really is breathtaking especially given the surroundings. (and I mean the pic of just the castle not the one with me in it! Lol) Of course this entailed another hike up the mountain to reach the castle overlook (called Mary’s Bridge named after Ludwig’s mother). But the views were well worth it. By then I was all hiked out!
Tomorrow I will go and actually tour the insides of both castles but I hear they don’t let you take pictures (Bummer!) so if you all want to see it, you’ll need to travel over here!
Hope everyone had a nice weekend and my Carolina crew is safe, dry and has electricity!
Jeff
The Wandering Italian 