A Day in and around Fussen

When we were planning this trip, we decided to make our first day here, after our long flights, an easy one.  We were only going to walk around Fussen and the surrounding area.  The weather certainly cooperated.  We woke up to a clear, albeit it cold, day and, for winter, it could not have been more perfect.  We started by strolling along some of Fussen's pedestrian streets before walking to the nearby village of Schwangau which is situated in the valley at the base of Neuschwanstein Castle.  That is the village where I stayed the last time I was here with Mena and Trevor.

View of one of the main streets from my balcony

The Luitpoldpark Hotel where we are staying

Fussen's main pedestrian street

Its famous Apoteke, a typical Bavarian painted building

One of Fussen's pretty churches

Schwangau is a typical Bavarian village.  We admired how neatly wood was stacked outside so many of its houses and inns.  On our way there, we passed the Kristall Therme Spa where, despite the sub-zero temperatures, many people had no issue with being in or wandering between the pools - and some of them naked (the people that is, not the pools!). Too much information?  Don't worry, there are no photos!  We also passed a little Christmas market and there is a photo of that.

 

 

 

We continued on to St. Coloman's Kirche.  I have visited this church before - or at least the outside of it as I have yet to find it unlocked - but I have always driven there.  It about 5 km from Fussen.  This church is featured in many calendars and posters for Germany because it is just so damn cute with the mountains as the background.  By then, we were getting pretty tired, so we walked back to Schwangau where we found a café for our light lunch.  I had another Bavarian favourite of mine, Kaiserschmarren, a sort of scrambled pancake served with apple sauce.  Delicious!  After lunch, we took the bus back to Fussen.  Our hotel had provided us with a card that lets us use the bus system for free and gives us discounted entries to the castles and museums around here.  Very good.  My feet were very happy that I had that card, believe me, as I think we had walked close to 8 km!

 

 

 

We finished the day by meeting Holgi Hoehne and Andy Kapp for dinner at the Hotel Hirsch.  I've known these guys since 1998 and have followed their curling exploits all over the world - such as being runners-up when the World's were in Victoria to their latest competition representing Germany in the mixed curling event in Kazan, Russia, in October.  Andy was the skip and Holgi a member of the German national team for many years and they went to several Olympics including Nagano, Torino and Vancouver.  It was great to see them again and we had a wonderful meal and caught up on lots of curling (and other) news.  Now both their daughters are competing as juniors for their country; how great is it that the curling legacy has been passed on.  We get to see them practice tomorrow evening as Holgi is the coach.  Watch for them in Sweden in early January.

 

 

 

Next up, tomorrow we head for Oberammergau - with the promise of another cold but sunny and clear day!