Zugspitze

We left Fussen but had another swim in the cold lake then we drove into Austria and spent the night in a narrow mountain valley with a busy train track. After breakfast the next day we drove back into Germany and into the Valley of the Zugspitze, Germany’s tallest mountain. We went to a camperplaatsen at the bottom of Mt Wank and then after lunch decided to go for a hike and maybe even reach the summit. It was a really nice day and the path was really good so we got midway in about 2 hours. There was a herd of cows there grazing a meadow with a shepherd in a log cabin looking after the herd. The view of the mountains was spectacular and we could see cable cars and the grass lines of ski runs through the trees. We could even see a big ski jump built for the winter Olympics. We decided to go back down from there because it was getting late. The walk down was very steep but we got down quickly. On the way even got to pet some very friendly cows.




The next day we went to an aquatic centre next to the Ice skating and curling centre for a previous winter Olympics. The owner of the campground was really kind and after paying a local tax we got a free swim at the pool. There was a wave pool and slides and really awesome diving boards which were the most fun. We were very exhausted at the end of the day. It didn’t help that we spent the night parked on an uncomfortable lean.



In the morning it was raining and there was a light dusting of snow on the mountains. We drove back through another Austrian valley to Fussen again. The valley was beautiful with the Autumn colours highlighting the green of the pines. The clouds and mist also looked pretty clinging to the sides of the mountains.

The end of the Romantic road

After leaving Munich we drove to Schongau, another walled town back on the romantic road. We didn’t explore this town but while William was running he found an ice-hockey stadium and so dad and him enjoyed watching a awesome game. This made everyone else jealous especially because they thought it was an ordinary hockey game.




The next morning we drove through different scenery, with large rocky mountains, pine covered slopes, green grassy meadows and turquoise blue lakes. We had breakfast at a picnic area next to a beautiful Italian style church with a beautiful painted ceiling, golden detailing and colourful marble pillars. It looked like it was built by royals and hidden in an simple white church.



Then we moved on heading to Fussen. On the way we stopped at a German A&P show. There were lots of stalls and a cattle show competition. But the biggest tent and the centre of the show was the Beer tent which was jammed with people with having very large lunches and listening to a Pipeband. We wandered around and were very interested in the stall advertising solar roofs (we could use it for our goat shed). We also brought a bell for our head goat. We saw lots of bells of all different sizes and styles, all the cows had them.



At Fussen we found a campground and the next day we went for a long hike to one of Germany’s famous castles, Neuschwanstein . First we went to the supermarket and got our lunch then we went to the tourist information and got maps. The walk was really nice we went about 5km through forest and meadows to the Castle. It was built up on the mountain slope and looked like a Disney Fairytale castle. We walked up to a bridge over a gorge with a great view of the castle and the lakes in the valley below. We had lunch on the trail by the bridge. Then walked back and had a swim in Schwansee lake in the forest.

Oktoberfest, Munich

We weren’t planning on spending anytime in Munich because cities are very tiring, stressful and usually expensive. But we were very lucky and just happened to be passing by the city for the beginning of its’ annual 2 week long Oktoberfest (Beerfest). It is the 200th year of the ’Oktoberfest’and it attracted lots of tourists and beer drinkers from around the world.


We spent our first day in Munich walking around finding a tourist office for information. We drove in to the city and parked on a quiet street about 3km away from the centre of town. Then we walked in the last of the way, it took us along time to find our way to the information office but once we found it we got a map and a timetable of all the major events of the festival. With our information we found the special area set up for the festival, another 2km walk. At the site we found a massive carnival, it was as big as Disneyland, with even bigger rides and roller coasters. The size of the rides was very impressive and it was hard to believe that they were only temporary and were designed to be transported around. Among the main roller coasters they had even set up a flume and a huge Ferris wheel. The Ferris wheel was built on top of the containers it had been transported in. Half of the rides were too ‘dangerous’ and banned in the USA.

Among the rides and shops were lots of beer halls, tents and gardens, tomorrow they would be packed with people drinking from large 2 litre steins and eating sausage and other German foods. Most of the tents were actually temporary buildings two stories high with wooden walls and windows all bolted together.

After walking through the area we continued on the a park and had some pretzels while mum and dad checked out a car park we could camp in. They were gone awhile and when they came back the said it was full of beer drinkers and was really expensive so we walked back to the camper and just stayed the night there on the street.



The next morning we got up, packed a picnic and walked towards the centre of town to watch the opening parade. There were lots more people in town and nearly everyone was dressed up in traditional Bavarian outfits, men in their leather shorts and women wore traditional folk dresses. On our way we passed the train station which was packed with people all arriving. We followed the crowds and they led us to the parade. It was very busy but we found a nice spot next to a group of already having lots of fun and beer! They were very loud but they attracted all the people it the parade to look our way, so that was helpful. We climbed up and sat on a wall for a better view. Mum really liked it because there was shade and we didn’t have to stand up the whole time. The parade was made up of lots of horses towing carts and trailers and brass bands. All of the beer companies had a part in the parade, they each had a cart towing barrels of beer and a cart for the family of the company. There were also lots of carts carrying the waitresses. The horses were very beautiful. They were huge and there harnesses were decorated with lots of metal and colour. They were also covered in lots of bells. We joined the huge crowd that followed the parade to the grounds of the festival. The festival was officially opened with the firing of some load Canons. All the rides were lit up and going. They looked extremely scary and dangerous, we were satisfied with the time we spent in England with the Merlin pass so we didn’t go on any. The massive Halls were packed shoulder to shoulder with dressed up families, waiters carrying five steins in each hand and the ‘Oom Papapa’ band on a terrace. We just looked through the window because the line to get in went out the door. Little stalls were selling giant pretzels, spiced roasted nuts, chocolate dipped fruit and gingerbread hearts decorated with icing to hang around your neck. We had lunch on the hill next to the Statue if Bavaria. We liked watching drunk men try and hit a………………We walked back to our camper and drove to a campervan dealer on the A8 where we stayed the other night.

We were intending on driving towards Fussen and Austria today but we went back into Munich for another parade. Today’s parade was about the history and people of Barvaria. We walked the 3km or so back down Arnulfstrasse and found a grassy spot to watch. We had moved around when some rude people came and sat in the middle of us and blocked our wonderful view. The parade started with old steam powered and the newest vehicles in Germany. Some horse carts and carriages like the ones yesterday, threw out giant pretzels and iced gingerbread hearts which hit Thomas in the head, but we did get to try them. There were 56 parts to the parade and it took more than three hours. It was a great way to experience the culture of the area. There were lot’s of pipe and drumming bands and people holding flags and banners. There were lot’s of big horses dressed and bells and things. Everyone was in costume from 100-1000 years ago. A clown/joker came along a wiped black soot of the crowds noses, Maddy got some on her. There were whip crackers that sounded like fireworks. In the end big street cleaners came and washed up all the horse poo.

We walked to the Marienplaatz in the centre of the city. There were cafes and fountains and lots of performing street artists. We looked in the windows of a historic beer house and garden. Despite all the people in the temporary halls of the festival this was full as well. Munich was a nice city and not really hectic like NYC and London and we were glad and lucky to have been here at the time of ‘Oktoberfest’.

Dachau Concentration Camp

We detoured off the romantic road and headed towards Munich. We parked at a supermarket in the suburb of Munich, Dachau, where the concentration camp is. We walked to the information/bookstore and then into the camp. We passed the old railway tracks and station where they unloaded the Jews, Homosexuals, Political Prisoners and Soviet Prisoners of War. We walked through the gates under the ‘Jourhaus’ with the words ‘Arbeit macht frei’-Work for your freedom. We walked over the stones on roll call area it was a clod day and we didn’t have warm clothes. We then went in the big Maintenance building which used to be prisoner registration, the common wash room, the kitchen and partly a factory. Now it is the Museum not recommended for under the age of twelve. We spent most of our the day in the Museum and almost read everything in there from the third reich and Hitler to life in the concentration camp to when it was freed. We watched a short movie with disturbing images of dead bodies and life in the camp. Outside we walked down the ‘CampRoad’ lined with poplar trees and all the foundations of the barracks. Built to house 6,000 but ended up full with over 30,000 before the camp was liberated by the Americans in 1945. Two of the barracks were reconstructed in 1965 and we went inside and saw all the wooden bunks and lockers. The grounds are still surrounded by barbed wire fences and seven watch towers. At the opposite end of the Museum was a concrete chapel and it had no right angles in the design. There were a few other religious memorial as well as a Jewish one. The was also a sculptured memorial in front of the museum. Outside of the walls we visited the Crematorium and Gas camber. There were special rooms to store bodies before being burnt in the ovens. The gas chamber wasn’t used for mass extermination but it was still creepy walking inside it. We walked around a garden where there were mass graves and two execution ranges. We didn’t have enough time to go into the ‘Bunker’ where they kept the special prisoners, tortured people and did medical experiments. We left very shaken and sobered and had a really interesting time at Dachau.

The Romantic Road

At the start of the of the Romantic road we stayed in Wertheim a small town by the river. We explored the town which was full of small crafty shops and the odd busker. We found the tourist office to get information about the Romantic road and then climbed the hill above the town to a castle. We explored the old castle and climbed the tallest tower where we had a view over the river and spotted the camper. Along the Romantic Road were small medieval towns. The first one we stopped at was Rothenberg. It had a medieval wall around it which we followed for awhile then we went into the town square. The town was famous for its cute “Christmas/Fairytale” shops. We went in one and it was full of sourvineer like dolls and cuckoo clocks. There was German music playing and all the toys you could imagine. The ceiling was covered in leaves and branches like a Christmas tree. The town was also famous for its SchneeBall or snowball in English. It is a pastry cut up and tangled in a ball then deep-fried and covered in sugar, chocolate and numerous other mouth-watering flavours. We tasted a sugar and cinnamon one and decided we want to make them. The next town we went to was Dinkelsbuhl. We walked around the medieval town. The houses were all different pale colours and showed the frame between the plaster. We saw lot’s of kids going home for lunch down the little cobbled alleyways. The church in the centre was impressive. The interior was similar to Notre Dame. In the next town (Nordlingen) we walked along the medieval wall all the way around the town. The town was an exact circle because the town was built on an old meteor crater. From the wall we could always see the tall church bell tower in the centre. The houses colourful window boxes full of flowers. One night we parked opposite a gypsie fair being set up and we got stuck in the little streets of that village. We drove past two massive solar farms and lots of the orange tiled roofs are covered in solar panels. Our last night on the Romantic Road we stayed in a camperplaatsen by a lake with a automatic wakeboarding course on it and played in the rain.