As we drove along, leaving the Black Forest behind us, we soon could see the Alps. Snow was on the top and as we got closer, they got bigger! Some of the sights we saw along the way were absolutely breath-taking! Picturesque villages nestled in green valleys. Fields of lush green pastures filled with brown and white dairy cows wearing cow bells on their necks grazed everywhere. We drove past many, many vineyards with the vines heavy with purple and green fruit ready to be picked. Some were harvesting today and we saw large tubs of grapes loaded onto the wagons. Some were not quite ready and were covered with huge nets to keep the birds from eating the fruit. There were many apple orchards too along the way, that were sagging under the weight of their produce. Many of the trees are very small yet are producing many, many apples and I wondered how they didn't break under the weight!
Lunch was pretty special. We ate veal, and pumpkin soup, and apple struedel at a lovely restaurant looking up at Neuschwanstein Castle which was said to be the model for the castle at Disney. It was sitting high on the hill and we enjoyed looking at it while dining. We will not be visiting this castle because it is so touristy but wanted the opportunity for photos. We saw several hang gliders soaring down the mountainside with colorful sails. That is something I hope I can muster up the courage to do some day!
After lunch we had some time to roam around the village and Sandy and I ran into a man fixing his fence. He was an older gentleman and wore a Bavarian style hat complete with feather, short pants with knee socks, and cute shoes also with a small feather. This was apparently his normal working attire as he was going about his daily chores. Very cute and he reminded me of Grandpa Wilfred a little, complete with a scab on his nose from some minor injury. His goat was very interested in befriending me and I talked sweetly to it but there was a fence preventing him from getting to me. Probably just as well because I know I would have petted him and you know how goats have a very pungent aroma about them! I asked the farmer if I could take his photo and he quickly struck a jaunty pose for me, happy to oblige. What a nice memory!
Back on the road again, we traveled south and east heading for the Austrian border and our hotel for the next three nights. The views were stunning of the mountains and our eyes could not get enough! Sometimes there was a beautiful lake on the left and the mountains on the right. Awesome views everywhere! I am continually amazed at the beauty of this place with their flowers everywhere! I think Dan is going to have to build me a few more windowboxes for next year! As we crossed the Austrian/German border there was a toll area. Driving slowly, looking for a place to pay the toll we did not find one. Pretty quickly we were back on the road without paying our toll. What to do? You can't exactly turn around and go back. So we continued on. We laughed at Jens comment, that we were "Living on the edge!" This was followed by jokes about the tv show "Locked up Abroad." But we wondered if the van rental company might receive a ticket in the mail! Hey, we tried to stop and pay!
Supper together at a beer hall down the street from our hotel completed our day. I had a delicious plate of cheese dumplings with salad. Off to bed for me...tomorrow is the Sound of Music Tour and our bus arrives at 9 am. Bye for now!
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| Apple harvest is not far away. |
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| Farmer fixing his fence with castle in the background. |
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| The beautiful castle |
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