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This was to be the loooonnnnggggest drive of the trip. And boy was it – about 6 hours, and half of that through the most unpleasant, industrial, diesel fume-y-est stretch of Italy (from Florence to Verona). Fortunately it was on the lightening-fast autostrad for that part of the drive. When we finally got off the autostrad after gross, ugly Verona (sorry Romeo & Juliette, your town has clearly changed), and started the climb up through the Tyrolean foothills, we were happy to see the villas slowly becoming mountain lodges again. Much like the Dolomites on the eastern stretch of the Alps bordering Italy (around Cortina), the Tyrolean range is made up of similarly striking granite cliffs rising nearly straight up from the valley roads. We crossed the Austrian and then German borders late in the day and made it into Mittenwald a little after 6 pm. We chose the very pretty Post Gastoff, where we got a nice room at the top with a balcony overlooking the town (picture-postcard quaint) and the mountains beyond. Germans have an affinity for bell towers, and Mittenwald was no exception, with a large church & tower just a small stretch outside our window. That crazy thing rang out at frequent intervals ALL NIGHT LONG (charming at sundown, a little insane at 4 am). The fairytale air of Mittenwald was also broken slightly around 1 a.m., with a loud bar fight in the square below – bar fights in the German language sound extra guttural / almost comical. All kidding aside, I absolutely loved this town, it was one of my favourites. A market square that was not crowded at all, interesting shops that were not too touristy, lots of locals actually wearing German dress, and a fantastic authentic dinner with those locals at Jurgen’s, where I enjoyed some of the best spatzle and fresh red sauerkraut (with apples!) ever.
Ettal
On the way to mad King Ludwig’s famous “Disney” castle (Neuschwanstein is said to have been the model that the theme park used for theirs), we stopped to visit the Benedictine monastery in Ettal. The church itself (1330’s) is rococo style and full of frescos and gold baroque ornamentation that to some would seem really over-the-top tacky, but I honestly did respect it as typical of the time and kind of beautiful despite itself. To this day the grounds remain a monastery, with it’s own brewery and cheese shop.
Schwangau
We did not have time to take the guided tours to both Castle Hohenschwangau (built by Ludwig for his parents), and Neuschwanstein (which he subsequently had built for himself), so naturally choose the more famous & spectacular later. It was really unfortunate that the castle had a strict “no photographs” policy, because such a grandiose spectacle of gilding, jewels, and ornate carvings I have seldom seen. King Ludwig apparently enjoyed dressing up & play acting, keenly loved the classical composer Wagner and decorating with swans. Hmm. Our excellent tour guide was a Thom Yorke style character (we never did figure out if it was a girl or a boy), and his/her wispy voice telling the story of how Ludwig only lived in the castle for 170 days before being found dead under “mysssterrriousss circumstances” made every tale a cliff-hanger! We debated staying either in the town immediately below the castle (Hohenschwangau – which seemed to be solely for tourists visiting the castles) or in Schwangau a few kilometers down the road (tiny roadside town where cows stop traffic to cross the road). Of course that debate didn’t last very long. Onward to Schwangau for a sound night’s sleep and early start to our final city.
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