At the foot of the German Alps

We took the slow train from Regensburg to Füßen, stopping for a lunch (Käsespätzle, of course!) in München. From there, as we went south, the mountains came out of the clouds. The land became more rolling, swiss cows replacing wheat fields, hay sheds dotting green fields. The alps grew taller with every mile, without as much of the hilly preamble that those of us who live near the North Cascades are accustomed to. They are green shouldered and stone toothed, and standing on the top of the nearest shows nothing but spines running east-west as far as the eye can see. We went as far south as we could by train, and stepped off the platform in Füßen, at the foot of the mountains.

Palace Neuschwanstein, Hohenschwangau (knight's castle turned palace), Füßen to the far west

Füßen lies where the Lech river comes out of the mountains. I had promised Jon glacier-blue streams, but rainfall had created runoff, turning it the same colour as the surrounding stone peaks. Still, between thunderstorms the sky was brilliant blue! We had dinner at a Medieval-themed restaurant, where Jon went for the Käsespätzle. It's hard to beat German comfort food!

 

The view from our hostel window

One of our evenings in Füßen, I went out for a solo walk around the only real castle in the area (Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau are palaces... at least since Napoleon destroyed Hohenschwangau). The Hohes Schloss (High Castle) is lovely, restored with painted-on Gothic detailing. A little bit of the castle wall protects a lovely herb garden on the South side. I made it back through the castle garden to our hostel in the old town just before the clouds burst and we were treated to another mountain thunderstorm.