About 120 km southwest of Munich is a small village called Nesselwang. My friend's dad grew up there and claimed it was the most beautiful place. So I go.
I didn't really have a plan when I arrived. All I knew was that there was a mountain in the middle of town and I was gonna climb that sucker. I hadn't booked a place to sleep and my first plan of action was to ask the first pretty girl I saw if she knew a place I could sleep. In other news, I'm not nearly as handsome or charming as I thought I was. Seriously though, Nesselwang is a really small town, I found the information office after 5 minutes of walking. The lady working in there hooked me up with the cheapest digs she could find. A little bed and breakfast. I knocked on the door to a picturesque house and was greeted by a nice old lady who spoke as much English as I do German. We came to terms that I wanted 3 nights and agreed how much it would cost. Then we discovered that she speaks Spanish. Life became much easier speaking Spanish. It became even easier when her son who speaks English came home. Staying there cost me 18 euro a night. That's better than I've paid at some hostels that didn't include breakfast or have a balcony attached to my room that looked out into the alps (oh and speaking of my room, double bed! I slept starfish style just because I could). Now this breakfast was something else. It was about as much food as I usually eat in a day all wrapped up in one meal. Eggs, some sort of bacon-esque meat, tea, toast, a plethora of honey and jams to go with it, a sparkling juice, cucumbers, red peppers, tomatoes, 3 big rolls, and cheese and meat to put in the rolls. I left the table hurting every morning. It was awesome. Then she'd pack me a lunch to take with me. A usual lunch of a few giant rolls with more meat and cheese. On the last day she even did my laundry for me! I tried asking to wash it myself but she was having none of it. Bless her heart. When I asked her son where the recycling bin is he showed me, then gave me a couple more beers "to keep enjoying zee view". Awesome people. Now on to my time in Nesselwang.
Keeping in line with Murphy's Law, I go to a town that's draw is the amazing Bavarian Alps so therefore it's going to rain the entire time. It was raining when I got off the train, it was raining the next morning. I asked about climbing Alpspitz (the highest nearest mountain) after breakfast and Armando (her son, who she affectionately called "ARR-MEEE") told me that I would be better off taking the ski lift to the top because otherwise I'll be slipping and sliding down the whole way up on account of the rain. Instead Marianne (the nice old lady) suggested I go to Castle Neuschwanstein. If you've ever watched a Disney film. It was nearby and sort of indoors. So I take a day trip from weekend trip. The bus ride was like something out of a storybook itself. I felt like I was riding through Heidi. The castle itself was pretty neat and opulently decorated inside. There were no pictures allowed inside though. There was a mountain overlooking it so I climbed it and got some nice, if uninspiring due to the weather, shots. I also slipped in some mud going down a steep hill. There will always be a little piece of me in Germany now, my dignity.
The next day it's still raining. Surprise surprise. I wanna climb Alpspitz because that's half the reason I came here. I have difficulties taking advice and I have too much pride to take a ski lift to the top of a mountain. So equipped with my camera, rain jacket, and my not-made-for-climbing-mountains-in-steep-muddy-terrain-regular-shoes I head off for the mountain. I could have really used those boots from Scotland. At the base of the mountain there was a sign with a little picture of a church. It was only an extra half hour out of the way so I took that trail. Someone (the Catholics I presume) built Maria Trost 1100 meters up the mountain 350 years ago. Along the way you are greeted with 6 foot tall shrines(?) depicting the Crucifixion. Further up was a chapel. It was really peaceful up in the middle of a forest on a mountain with nothing around. The interior of the church itself was spectacular even if you couldn't go all the way up to the altar. I take advantage of the spring of free drinking water (nothing beats cool crisp Bavarian water from a fountain by a church on the side of a mountain) and head for the summit. I get to the top and it's still terrible weather. I'm not above the clouds. I'm not below the clouds. I'm in the clouds. And it's raining there too. I take what pictures I can and find my way to the ski lift. There is a sort of summer bobsled that I want to ride. I get there. It's closed for the day. Murphy's Law. I left Nesselwang this morning feeling like I was missing out on things I wanted to do (another mountain to climb still and the bobsled). The weather was what I expected my time on the West Highland Way to be like and my time on the WHW was what I expected Bavaria to be like. Oh well. Next time right?
I didn't really have a plan when I arrived. All I knew was that there was a mountain in the middle of town and I was gonna climb that sucker. I hadn't booked a place to sleep and my first plan of action was to ask the first pretty girl I saw if she knew a place I could sleep. In other news, I'm not nearly as handsome or charming as I thought I was. Seriously though, Nesselwang is a really small town, I found the information office after 5 minutes of walking. The lady working in there hooked me up with the cheapest digs she could find. A little bed and breakfast. I knocked on the door to a picturesque house and was greeted by a nice old lady who spoke as much English as I do German. We came to terms that I wanted 3 nights and agreed how much it would cost. Then we discovered that she speaks Spanish. Life became much easier speaking Spanish. It became even easier when her son who speaks English came home. Staying there cost me 18 euro a night. That's better than I've paid at some hostels that didn't include breakfast or have a balcony attached to my room that looked out into the alps (oh and speaking of my room, double bed! I slept starfish style just because I could). Now this breakfast was something else. It was about as much food as I usually eat in a day all wrapped up in one meal. Eggs, some sort of bacon-esque meat, tea, toast, a plethora of honey and jams to go with it, a sparkling juice, cucumbers, red peppers, tomatoes, 3 big rolls, and cheese and meat to put in the rolls. I left the table hurting every morning. It was awesome. Then she'd pack me a lunch to take with me. A usual lunch of a few giant rolls with more meat and cheese. On the last day she even did my laundry for me! I tried asking to wash it myself but she was having none of it. Bless her heart. When I asked her son where the recycling bin is he showed me, then gave me a couple more beers "to keep enjoying zee view". Awesome people. Now on to my time in Nesselwang.
Keeping in line with Murphy's Law, I go to a town that's draw is the amazing Bavarian Alps so therefore it's going to rain the entire time. It was raining when I got off the train, it was raining the next morning. I asked about climbing Alpspitz (the highest nearest mountain) after breakfast and Armando (her son, who she affectionately called "ARR-MEEE") told me that I would be better off taking the ski lift to the top because otherwise I'll be slipping and sliding down the whole way up on account of the rain. Instead Marianne (the nice old lady) suggested I go to Castle Neuschwanstein. If you've ever watched a Disney film. It was nearby and sort of indoors. So I take a day trip from weekend trip. The bus ride was like something out of a storybook itself. I felt like I was riding through Heidi. The castle itself was pretty neat and opulently decorated inside. There were no pictures allowed inside though. There was a mountain overlooking it so I climbed it and got some nice, if uninspiring due to the weather, shots. I also slipped in some mud going down a steep hill. There will always be a little piece of me in Germany now, my dignity.
The next day it's still raining. Surprise surprise. I wanna climb Alpspitz because that's half the reason I came here. I have difficulties taking advice and I have too much pride to take a ski lift to the top of a mountain. So equipped with my camera, rain jacket, and my not-made-for-climbing-mountains-in-steep-muddy-terrain-regular-shoes I head off for the mountain. I could have really used those boots from Scotland. At the base of the mountain there was a sign with a little picture of a church. It was only an extra half hour out of the way so I took that trail. Someone (the Catholics I presume) built Maria Trost 1100 meters up the mountain 350 years ago. Along the way you are greeted with 6 foot tall shrines(?) depicting the Crucifixion. Further up was a chapel. It was really peaceful up in the middle of a forest on a mountain with nothing around. The interior of the church itself was spectacular even if you couldn't go all the way up to the altar. I take advantage of the spring of free drinking water (nothing beats cool crisp Bavarian water from a fountain by a church on the side of a mountain) and head for the summit. I get to the top and it's still terrible weather. I'm not above the clouds. I'm not below the clouds. I'm in the clouds. And it's raining there too. I take what pictures I can and find my way to the ski lift. There is a sort of summer bobsled that I want to ride. I get there. It's closed for the day. Murphy's Law. I left Nesselwang this morning feeling like I was missing out on things I wanted to do (another mountain to climb still and the bobsled). The weather was what I expected my time on the West Highland Way to be like and my time on the WHW was what I expected Bavaria to be like. Oh well. Next time right?
View from my room and balcony
Hohenschwangau Castle
Neuschwanstein
From the mountain
Little fellers
It doesn't stop at the James.
Around Nesselwang
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