We made our way up the steep, winding footpath to the castle-- surrounded by a throng of Japanese tourists (who knew?). Horses hauling carriages full of more than a dozen people clopped slowly past us on our way up-- a real fairy tale experience-- if you think animal cruelty is a fairy tale! I told Jana about the pain I felt for those poor beasts, so I had the bright idea to pull her up the hill, at which point she grabbed onto the back of my coat and gave me dead weight. I struggled to take a few steps, and as I leaned forward, snorting and shaking my head, feeling my flanks burn with the effort, I really got a taste of what those horses have to go through on a daily basis!
Anyway, we stopped to grab a bite to eat about 3/4 the way there (the horses stopped here too, so it was OK). We sat in the shadow of the grand palace and ate Kaiserschmarren. Kaiserschmarren is a traditional Austrian and Bavarian meal made of a type of fluffy pancake with plum sauce-- mmmh the plum sauce had whole plums mixed in, with a dollop of creme on top. It was amazing! And an appropriate choice, being so close to Austria and in Bavaria. After lunch, we climbed the rest of the way to the castle, and took a tour in English.
I could tell you all the history of Neuschwanstein, if you'd like: for instance, Neuschwanstein literally means New Swan Stone-- King Ludwig II's family crest was the swan, so naturally the whole interior was filled with swan door handles, swan paintings, glass swans, swan carvings, swan swan swan! What is really cool, is that Ludwig was also obsessed with Richard Wagner's operas, so he seamlessly blended swan architecture with lavish paintings that tell the stories of the operas, including a whole room dedicated to scenes from Tristan and Isolde.
Ludwig decorated his castle with enormous paintings of enchanted forests (I'm sure the artist just had to look out the window for inspiration), and he even has a realistic-looking cave situated in a passageway between two rooms.
Ludwig II was a dreamer, not a fighter-- his army often lost badly in fights. The townspeople loved him because he built so many castles and villas that employed hundreds of local workers and boosted the economy-- the government sought to overthrow him, and made him out to be insane so that they could steal the throne that was rightly his. Not long after he was taken away for being "mentally ill", he was found floating in a lake, shot in the back. The fantastic life and tragic death of Ludwig II is visually exemplified in Neuchwanstein Castle-- the architectural embodiment of his spirit!
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Okay, I'm really pissed now because this covered about half the post I actually wrote, before my computer crapped out in the middle of the entry. I'll hurry through the next bit because I don't feel like typing out 2 pages again--
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Christmas Eve: went to Cham, the childhood town of Sonja's father. Picturesque-- historical-- did some last minute Christmas shopping before all the shops closed at 1PM-- beautiful facades and a famous bridge features in a WWII movie so appropriately named The Bridge. There was a winding path by the river that led to an enormous chathedral with votive candles lit in a charming alcove with a tannenbaum. There was an ornate fountain in the market square that depicts a group of men struggling with a rather frightening-looking witch. Folk tales are an integral part of history there.
That night, we went to Christmas mass. It couldn't have been a more beautiful evening with the snow glittering in the air. Sonja, her parents, and Jana and I walked together up to the castle, where warm pews awaited us. We sat before a brilliantly lit Christmas tree. Everyone spoke in German, but we knew the story. We sang German songs and listened to people recite parts of the Bible, and the kids even put on an adorable advent play.
There were angels and Mary and Joseph, and there was even a little star that had to be coaxed forward by a woman in the wings, who occassionally stage-whispered lines the kids forgot. At one point, they all sang a song together, got off the beat, and started singing different parts of the song all at once-- this made me laugh so hard I had to hold my hands in front of my face so I didn't make any noise, but I quickly got a hold of myself and made it through the rest of the service OK. The last song was Silent Night, which I sung in English, but Jana wanted to try the German. The woman sitting next to her let her borrow the songbook. Later, Sonja's dad told us the woman had asked him why Jana didn't know the words, as every German child knows this song by heart! She didn't know we were the ignorant Americans!
After mass, we had a special fondue-esque dinner where we had to cover various yummy things in cheese and stick them in an open kind of George Foreman grill to melt. And after dinner, we went downstairs for sparkling wine and Christmas presents-- Jana and I got a pleasant surprise when the family gave us a few presents of our own! Large bars of chocolate and some German souvenirs! We had a great time, sipping wine and looking at pictures from Sonja's sister's Nordic holiday.
The next few days were a blur of food and fun! Christkindlmarkts, we visited Regensberg, where Sonja, her boyfriend, and her parents all went to university.
--Half meter sizzling sausages, punsch, kinderpunsch--
One day, Jana and I made the family American pancakes with maple syrup and various fruit and jams, which they enjoyed very much--
The day before we left, Sonja's dad took us to the Czech Republic, which was quickly deemed too cold for us to leave the car, so we made it a scenic drive. Some of the architecture reflected a time of Communism-- boring, gray stone apartments all the same-- and some pre-war buildings were pretty enough to have come straight from a storybook. Sonja's dad got lost on the way back but didn't tell us until he was back on track. Until then, we weaved through farmland on a one-lane road covered in snow, and met the local wildlife-- swift red foxes, wintery grey deer, and even a Czech hawk.
All too soon, it was time to say good bye-- and we waited until the last minute, too! Jana and I almost missed our flight, waiting in a long line at passport control. We got onto our plane with five minutes to spare, and arrived back in England on Monday evening.
You may think that's the end, but it's only the beginning of our holiday adventures! We still have about 20 days until next term starts, and before that Jana and I will celebrate New Years-- with Chex mix, perhaps some fudge, and sparkling wine- and, on the 9th we're leaving for Disneyland Paris! And on the 16th, the day before school starts, Jana and I will see the Moscow Ballet perform The Nutcracker at De Montfort Hall-- only then will the Christmas season be officially over!
OK- sorry for the rushed second half of this post but you know how annoying it is to rewrite EVERYTHING--
Happy New Year everyone! Although I'm sure I'll write something before then!
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