On Thursday morning, while almost the whole group departed for the airport to head back to the states, Eric, Jared, and myself stayed behind. We all decided to stay after the program ended, so we were afforded the luxury of sleeping in while everyone else had to depart before 5 am.
After we woke up, the three of us sat on the porch while overlooking the Alps, and we slowly realized we were now completely on our own. We headed down to the train station to make our way to Munich, where we will be staying until we officially depart. I leave Monday, Jared leaves Sunday, and Eric is going to stay with family after we leave. Once we arrived at our hostel, we were absolutely exhausted; so, we all partook in a 3-hour power nap before our adventure really began.
After our nap, we headed downstairs to the lobby area where we met people from all over the world. We met a group of British guys, a group of Australian girls, a dive instructor from the Bahamas, a Canadian, and more. It was really incredible to sit around and share our stories with them while they shared what they had experienced on their travels. By far the most interesting story we heard was from the dive instructor when he told us how we ran with the bulls in Spain. We didn’t stay out too late, because the next day we had a big day planned.
The next morning we woke up early and headed to the border of Austria and Germany to see Neuschwanstein Castle. This is the castle that Walt Disney modeled Cinderella’s Castle after that is currently in Disney World. It was about a two-hour train ride to the location but well worth the time and energy. We actually saw another castle as well, Hohenschwangau Castle, which wasn’t as magnificent but still amazing to see. There was also a beautiful lake that we sat by and just relaxed, enjoying one of our last days in Germany.
After our nap, we headed downstairs to the lobby area where we met people from all over the world. We met a group of British guys, a group of Australian girls, a dive instructor from the Bahamas, a Canadian, and more. It was really incredible to sit around and share our stories with them while they shared what they had experienced on their travels. By far the most interesting story we heard was from the dive instructor when he told us how we ran with the bulls in Spain. We didn’t stay out too late, because the next day we had a big day planned.
The next morning we woke up early and headed to the border of Austria and Germany to see Neuschwanstein Castle. This is the castle that Walt Disney modeled Cinderella’s Castle after that is currently in Disney World. It was about a two-hour train ride to the location but well worth the time and energy. We actually saw another castle as well, Hohenschwangau Castle, which wasn’t as magnificent but still amazing to see. There was also a beautiful lake that we sat by and just relaxed, enjoying one of our last days in Germany.
Eventually, after waiting for about three hours, we headed into Neuschwanstein Castle. We weren’t allowed to take any pictures but it was absolutely amazing. Every single room had a beautiful piece of artwork and everything was incredibly ornate. Gigantic chandeliers hung in every room filled with all sorts of colorful jewels. To complete just the woodcarvings in the King’s Bedroom, it took fourteen carpenters and four years of work to do everything the King wanted. However, the castle was never finished because the King, days after he was told he would lose his throne as a result of being declared mentally ill, drowned in knee-deep water. Nothing else is known about his death, but I have a feeling he didn’t just “drown.”
After the short but amazing tour, we headed back to the train station and headed back to our Hostel in Munich. We have one more day and who knows what tomorrow will bring….
-Nathan
-Nathan