Neuschwanstein!

A.K.A. Model for the Disney castle:

I recently visited the castle of Neuschwanstein. It is located about two hours from Munich on a hill above the small town of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest Bavaria. It is a beautiful drive and makes a lovely day trip.

The castle was built by King Ludwig II. Construction began in 1869, but he castle was never completed. The construction was stopped in 1886 when King Ludwig II mysteriously died. His death is still a mystery today.

If the king had not died and the castle had been completed it would have had around 200 rooms.

You can go up to the castle for free, but if you want to take a tour of it you have to buy a ticket at the bottom for 11 euro which equal about 15 dollars. On a nice day you can walk to the castle or take a bus. However, if the road is too icy and it is a cold day you can ride up to the castle on one of the many carriages for 6 euros or about 9 dollars per person.

Take as many pictures as you want outside the castle, but don’t try to take any inside because it is not allowed and they have video cameras everywhere that are watching you.  :D

I would highly recommend a tour of the inside. The rooms that are finished are beautifully decorated in gold, jewels and gems of all shapes and sizes.

Until next time!

Here is a link to a video that Peter made about our trip to Innsbruck and out New Year's Eve. I hope you enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=VQHzSvXSP0Y

Innsbruck, Austria, also known as der Hauptstadt der Alpen, is the main city of the Alps and an amazing place to visit. The city of Innsbruck is completely surrounded by mountains, which at the moment are covered in beautiful crisp white snow. Innsbruck is situated in the heart of the North Tyrolean Alps.

 It has many attractions such as cafes, museums and das Goldenes Dachl, the Golden roof, which was originally made for Emperor Maxamillian I as a balcony from which he could watch tournaments in the square below. However, the main attraction in Innsbruck is the large snowy mountain range. I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to stay in Innsbruck and celebrate New Year’s Eve on top of one of the large snowy mountains.

I went with my boyfriend Peter and stayed with one of his friends in Innsbruck. During the day of the 31^st we walked around and did some sightseeing and took pictures of the beautiful landscape. That evening we went to Cloud 9, which is and Igloo club located on top of Innsbruck’s Nordkette Mountain. Here is a YouTube link so you can get a glimpse of the stunning view from Nordkette and the Cloud 9 igloo bar.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlTtmSe0Ahk

It was an amazing night. We danced in the Igloo until midnight and then went outside to watch all of the fireworks down below in the city and then we lit off some of our own. It was an amazing experience and I don’t think I will ever have a better New Year’s Eve celebration.

Hello!

I hope you all had a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

This year I celebrated Christmas the traditional German way with my boyfriend and his family. It was an entirely new Christmas experience. In the US my family and I usually have a large dinner on the 24th, open stockings and presents on the morning of the 25^th, have brunch and then later have another big dinner. Our dinner on the 24th is usually anything from cheese fondue to homemade wonton soup and eggrolls, but we always have ham on the 25th. Here in Germany the normal traditions would be to have sauerkraut and bratwursts on the 24th, however Peter's family has their own tradition just like many other families in the US and Germany.

On the 24th they get all dressed up in tuxes (or a smoking as they call it) and nice dresses. After the family members and other guests have arrived they begin the evening with a glass of champagne and a toast to good health, great company and delicious food. Then they have a large dinner of meat fondue with all types of sauces to dip the meat in and a large variety of salads, wines and breads.

After dinner they go into the living room to open presents and enjoy the glowing light from the real candles that are on the large Christmas tree.  When everyone is done opening presents they end the evening with tiramisu.

The two things I found to be most different about out Christmases were the time and day when we open presents and the fact that they had really candles on their Christmas tree. I love the look of a tree with real candles on it and what is even more wonderful is the relaxing and romantic atmosphere it gives off.

It was a wonderful experience and I had an amazing time getting to know the family more and learning about their holiday traditions.

Here are two pictures from our dinner on the 25th. They traditionally eat goose or duck. This year we had duck with knodel (a kind of dumplings), gravy, blaukraut (red sweet cabbage), and roasted chestnuts. It was delicious!

All in all I had a great time, and even though I was missing my family I really felt at home at the Bilderling’s house for Christmas.

Until next time!

-Sasha-