Castles, fast cars and freedom

Day 17: 

Well I hated to see beautiful Austria go. I may have shed a few tears. There was just something so warm about that place, despite the cold weather.
Our first stop in Germany would be Neuschwanstein Castle.This castle is unique because it is incomplete; only two floors are completely finished. King Ludwig II had the castle built for himself. A shy guy, known for being a bit on the looney side, and died before the castle was completed. Rumor around the castle is that he was murdered.
Ludwig wanted the castle built so he could have privacy from the public. Construction began in 1868, but once Ludwig died, they ceased to finish the palace. The castle was opened to the public, in incomplete form, in 1886, seven weeks after Ludwig's death (possible murder).
Today Neuschwanstein Castle receives 1.4 million visitors each year. 
Because the castle wasn't finished I wasn't blown away by it. Don't get me wrong, from the outside, this place is utterly breathtaking. I just expected more drawbridges, knights and dragons is all. Also, the castle was constructed in the 19th Century so it is far more modern than I expected. It is by no means simple or dull, I just envisioned something different and more ancient. If you're ever in the area it is definitely something to see, but i the future I would like to see a more ancient, and complete, castle.
When we first arrived to Neuschwanstein, we were at the bottom of the map. The castle sits very high in the mountains so there was a fun mile-long (plus) walk up to the castle. We stopped for lunch along the way at a burger stand. This town is like a German Disney World minus the rides. 

First castle we saw; wait 'til you see the real deal

Waiting for the tour

Not even half of it.

Entrance

View from inside castle walls

b&w

View from inside the castle

Playing :)

Notice at the beginning of my pictures the sun is shining brightly, but once we were inside the castle the clouds came out and rain was near. I love how the rain comes to fit the mood of wherever we are touring. The place is depressing because the once ruling King here was most likely murdered. I couldn't stop snapping pictures. Finally time to leave the castle and journey on toward Munich. 

Finally in Munich, and of course there is no a/c and the windows don't crack so let hotel endurance number 15 commence! This was a business hotel and WiFi cost money per hour or some ridiculousness, however, this hotel made up for snubbing their noses at us with the breakfast. This place had a buffet for Kings, y'all. It was like a casino buffet but only breakfast foods. There was a fresh orange juice maker sitting on a counter; by fresh I mean you could watch the oranges being squeezed into your glass. Talk about classy.
There was a bar filled strictly with fruit, another bar with sausage, eggs, bacon and more, and a wall of breads, muffins and bagels. I love breakfast so halfway through the trip this was the best thing that could have happened to me. 
Back on track...
To me, Munich was the most like America. Probably because we were in East Germany where the U.S. Army remained post World War II. There is a lot of American influence on the architecture design of Munich. However, Germany is still very much its own when it comes to everything else. The food is mouth watering. 
Germany is known for beer steins and beer. And lots of it! We ate dinner at Hofbrauhaus, a huge restaurant chain. Three-stories huge. With our liter of beer and heart meat and potato meals, we were satisfied. So much so, we ate Hofbrauhaus twice more in our three-day stay in Munich, ha. Between our gourmet breakfast at the hotel and dinner there, we didn't go hungry in Munich. 

When in Germany; do as the Germans do :)

 

 

 

Ana and I shared the most scrumptious dinner!

After our delicious dinner, and liter of beer we felt great. Unfortunately we got lost, and I'm not ashamed to say I peed in some bushes along the way. Who else can say they've squatted in bushes in Munich? It's one for the books, folks. No time to be a lady after one liter of beer. I laid low for the remainder of the night and finished reading "The Mortal Instruments." Bad choice to start reading while I was there because I was instantly addicted and had to wait three weeks to read the next in the series. 

I am going to skip day 18 because Dachau deserves it's own blog. That day was really special to me. 
I am going to incorporate day 19 here though because it was an adventurous free, and last, day in Munich. 
Went to town square with the others who stayed behind and skipped the bike tour of Munich. Anna, Kim, Brittney, Tim and I became great pals by the end of this day. I am so happy for the way the trip turned out and how well everyone got along and the friendships that formed. 
We went to the English gardens and grabbed a drink and hot pretzel from another Hofbrauhaus there. The gardens are beautiful. A river flows through where hundreds of people can be seen sunbathing, reading or playing Frisbee. Had we been in swimsuits, I think we all would've jumped in. Although nudity is OK there, none of us were ready to jump on board yet. 
From the gardens, Anna (subway Queen from NY) navigated us to BMW Weld (world). That girl has a mad sense of direction so I tried to stick close to her. Thank God for her New York raising. 
I'm not a car person, but BMW World was cool to see. I can check it off my tourist attractions to-do-list. The Rolls Royce was probably the highlight of that museum. 

BMW Weld.

From BMW World we headed to Olympic Village just up the hill. Olympic Village is where they housed people during the 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich.Also, there is a tiny theme park. We never did find the housing. On the way back to the hotel we stopped and ate dinner at the Hofbrauhaus one final time. We found the club strip that night and found a few bars to hang out at. We cut a rug or two and finally retired to the hotel. Prague tomorrow!

Last day/night in Munich