"I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is to move."
— Robert Louis Stevenson
Well folks, I have successfully and all in one piece, made it back to my new hometown of the Netherlands after one of the most lovely weekends I've ever had. I spent it in Germany. We traveled to Munich, Dachau Concentration Camp, and the Neuschwanstein Castle in the Bavarian countryside. Out of reverence to what I experienced, I'd like to take a separate post to document what I observed at Dachau. I won't do my traveling and experience justice if I included it in this hippity dippity recap. So that post will be coming shortly (but you know me.... shortly probs means in like a month.)
Well to start off our trip, I managed to book all our trains to Munich and we were very successful in this venture until we walked onto a THALYS train. For any of you locals back at home, THALYS is totally obviously duhhhhhh an international train that only takes reservations. How silly of me to have not known. Anyway, we explained to the conductor how very sorry we were and how we had no idea because the website didn't say anything about it (later i double checked that comment I had made and i was oh so right...) and he saw how remorseful we were as we batted our little eyelashes up at him and said.... "half price this time, girls." Good thing we are all extremely good-looking. I have a feeling we wouldn't be as lucky if we had been sassy American premadonnas.
Eventually we arrived in Munich and arrived at our hostel. I literally was imagining the most crummy facility with a big creepy toothless German speaking old geezer with rickety old beds that smelled like urine and me having to clutch my money pouch and belongings near and dear to me all night.
However, the above and below pictures are snapshots of our surprisingly lovely, safe, and clean hostel. It's called Wombats... run by Australian young'ins. They were super friendly, gave me baby directions to Dachau, the castles, the Marienplatz (centre square of Munich), and the times of the famous showing of Munich's famous "Glockenspiel." Anyway we got our own lockers in our rooms. I still clutched my money belt, phone, and camera when I went to bed like I was sleeping with a newborn because when you are raised by Holls and Dad-o, tips like these are engrained in your brain and it's the least you can do.
Free internet on computers for 50 cent euros. You heard me right...
We went to the famous Hauf Braus Haus which is widely acclaimed all over Europe for having the best beer in all of Europe. It was so worth it just for the experience. Us cute little American girls sunken into a little booth just wide eyed watching all the commotion. Old men in liederhosen with feathers in hat drinking out of enormous liter glass pitchers of beer... Men were on their third or fourth just having a jolly good time while we were still only halfway done with our meals. I got a famous German dish that I couldn't pronounce even if I wanted to. Basically it was sausage on sauerkraut. Oh hey full stomach for a week. But they had lockers at this restaurant just like our hostel. Except they were full of beer mugs and not special belongings (although I'm sure a few Germans would argue with me on that one.)
Couldn't resist taking a picture of 34. It has followed me even into the nooks and crannies of Europe.
This has a German name that I won't try and impress you with even though I have impeccable spelling.
The famed Glockenspiel. We arrived and waited for about 54 hours for it to perform.
Apparently a political riot/demonstration was congregating outside and they postponed the performance for later. Us 4 girls and all the Asian tourists in the world (who happened to be here too.. weird) didn't get the memo. We gawked up at it forever. It was still worth the view and I read in a sassy tourist guidebook that after you watch it perform you wonder why people come from near and far to actually watch it go off. So we drank hot chocolate and headed off to dinner... the real important thing on our list of things to do.
Saturday morning we got up at 6 am, got dressed, stripped our beds, checked out of our hostel, and ran across to the street to our other place of residence for the night.. a fabulous hotel Kristen found for us and we were able to sweet talk the front desk clerk (duh) and get in our room at 6:30 am instead of the 2 pm check in time to drop off our backpacks so we could catch the train to the castle to make it in time for our very own private tour in english of the castle (along with 40 other people, mind you.)
I was so cold that I refused to pull out my big honkin' camera at the castle because the girls were doing such a good job in taking photos literally every few steps for hours. Then I walked out on this ledge and pulled it out as fast as I would if I was about to take a snapshot of something I've only seen in storybooks... which has happened more than you would think lately.
I am not gonna try and sound all photo-savvy like some people I know in my life who have extreme photography skills and can name off special words for "zoom" and "lens" that I've never heard of in my life before.... but I am gonna brag for two seconds. The above picture is my favorite.... it's very artsy.... it's very thought out.... and I think it could go in a National Geographic magazine. I love it. So far its my favorite photo of the entire trip. It's very Disney-esque which was the theme of the day. All four of us basically pranced around this castle pretending like we owned the place and just lived in our heads all day about meeting prince charming. I, personally, (can't say for the rest of the girls), wore a dress to be very presentable at this castle. I thought it was the least I could do and especially if I ever do marry a prince one day, no one will ever hold my wardrobe choices in a castle against me. There were security cameras everywhere so that footage will be worth lots one day probs.
This the picture that represents me, the princess (of course), sitting at her breakfast table overlooking the Swiss alps and kingdom, sipping on tea and eating crumpets that all probably cost a bajillion dollars. But it's worth it.
In real life though, again, I was shoulder to shoulder with lots of Asian tourists taking turns shooting photos of each other's groups. I've got a certain code now with these people. We're getting to become besties. If ever I don't know if I should do something... I just watch what the Asian tourists are doing and follow by example. If I get in trouble, I'll just blame it on them.
Any inside photos of the castle are strictly prohibited. Aka: I will always make sure to snap some.
I won't go into much detail even though I could go on for ages because I am quite frankly obsessed with King Ludwig II, I'll briefly sum it up for you. Ludy (my nickname for him...) was 23 and obsessed with spending all his kingdom's money on castles. There's a castle down below in the village that you'll see in a minute that he lived in for about 17 years sitting at a window looking out of a telescope spying on all the building projects of this castle. He became obsessed with making this castle perfect and he was perfect too. (false but you understand my blind love for him.) My opinion is that the civilians, his trusted advisors, and his family got fed up with his creepy obsession with a building (but really its not creepy at all, I think it's beautiful) and he was diagnosed with being a lunatic and mysteriously died in a boat with his psychiatrist. Sounds a lot like a great soap opera/ CSI episode from the 1800's/ disney movie/ Agatha Christie novel. Anyway I'm pretty sure he became too wrapped up in his castle-building, lost sight of anything else in reality, and he was murdered by his physician. What a sad and beautiful story. Oh Ludy. I heart you and your grand master plans of this castle that I so adore.
Little kid in a candy store. Except a girl..... in a castle. Much, much better than candy. And being a kid. Kinda.
Long story short Kristen almost had a panic attack about falling over the edge to take a measly picture and Hannah and Carissa pep talked her for about 10 minutes. I just stood there and snapped 17 pictures of the whole ordeal.
Ludy probably looked out this window. He should have had a princess live here. It is such a shame.
The kitchen. They had this sweet lever that would pull up the hot food to Ludy's private dining room. He was brilliant.
This a model of the entire castle. It's actually enormous. The pictures taken from the town just simply don't do it justice.
Ok so lovely Ludy designed this castle right on top of a (magical) spring of water that was propelled up into the castle and produced fresh running water just by simply lifting the faucet. He was also creepily obsessed with swans and every single door handle and sink lever is in the shape of a swan's beak. Anyway, they said this water was the best from near and far and so I snuck in the bathroom and filled up my water bottle. I'm not gonna lie. It sounds gross. But this water was legit the best water I have ever had in my entire life. There is no possible way they have cut off this spring and put in new 21st century water. No way. Even if so, I wouldn't believe you. I had a water bottle of Ludy's water and that's what I'm sticking to. It's the little things.
I felt so itty bitty.
So although I was there in the morning, I did extensive editing to make this photo look like the sun was setting behind the castle because it makes it look better and who doesnt wanna see a sun set behind a castle. Exactly.
Bliss.
I'm not sure if anyone can see this but there is a church in the smack dab middle of this picture and that's why I took it.
Hannah and I basically twirling around and taking photos left and right of our future home (in another life.)
I'm not sure if I've mentioned this yet but the castle is called the "Neuschwanstein Castle." Try saying that 5 times in a row. After you walk down the 2 mile road to the village. Without breathing.
We saw a trickling waterfall. Bam. Picture. I basically was an Asian tourist that day.
This is the Hohenschwangau castle. Ludy sat in there for like 17 years watching the castle be built. It's not that pretty compared to Neuschwany. Yeah, I've already made up nicknames. Don't judge.
On our way back on the train, I saw a swan bathing in a little creek. I literally thought Ludy was there in spirit. Oh Ludes... you had me at.... castle.
taken from the train. Too pretty for words.
I was mainly just upset that no one approached me at the castle and asked me to be the stand-in princess. I wore a dress. I can fake a great accent. I drink hot tea. I have a head the perfect size for a crown. I just don't understand. It was weird to me their thought process. Nevertheless, I'm back "home" and updating my blog. Hello real world.
Back to reality.
Our hostel was great. We had two roomies.. One from Canada spending his deceased grandfather's inheritance money who said he was lonely (but I didn't really feel bad for him because come on.... he was spending his family's money. Rude.) Our other roomie all the girls thought was some young twenty something law student. I knew he was like 40. Turns out he was 38, taking law classes because his law firm wasn't going so well in Berlin. Duh. You're staying in a hostel dude.. and you're like 40. Oh well he was nice and his name was Maximilian. Note: I clutched my money bag and belongings at night for a reason. I trust no one. (Shout out to mom.)
After we left the castles we passed another group going from our program. They had their backpacks on. Bless. Their. Hearts. And I'm not even gonna compare their outfits to my dress. Totally underdressed though for a royal palace if you ask me. Little did they also know the grueling undertaking they were about to embark on with the weight of those backpacks. Just saying. Holla for being smart and convincing the front desk guy to let us drop our bags off 7 hours before check-in. I clearly go to Baylor. Sharp education I have here.
In all seriousness regarding Ludwig, I listened to a song on the train ride back to Maastricht that reminded me of him and his passion for building castles.
"...In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die, where you invest your love, you invest your life."
His building projects lasted for almost half his life. He was eventually declared crazy. He let something that should be considered beautiful and wonderful get to him. He became too obsessed with such a wordly object. I get it. I'm abroad and I'm seeing a lot of STUFF. But every time I keep seeing STUFF, I keep being reminded that true beauty, a true life lived, is one lived... shared with others. I've been thinking a lot about how I want to live my life when I get back to the States and how I want to live my life now. The people around you are more important than the stuff around you. And sometimes it takes traveling half way across the globe to figure that out. But never let this simple truth that we already know, ever escape what you know to be true and real. Because we get mundane. We get boring. We get agitated. We get comfortable. But we are called to invest in others, to invest our lives in something worth living. I just keep imagining what Ludy (if he went to heaven) was told by God at the pearly gates... "Well done good and faithful servant?" Heck no. He spent half his life building a building. Seriously? He spent all his kingdom's money. As much as I love him for all his fallacies and quirks, he was seriously a dumbo. If he got to heaven (which who am i to judge but um its not looking too much in his favor), how ashamed he must have felt for trying to attain a beauty that could never be fully attained. How misled, misguided, misinformed he felt. I hope to learn from Ludy. His castle was superb, magical, everything I've dreamed about since I was 6 years old. But I hope to apply to my life what he never did... I hope to embrace my relationships, invest in the lives of those I care about, and seek out conversations with people different from me. I've noticed the Lord is everywhere here. I hope to bring Him glory over here as I'm learning and continually growing in this foreign place.
So, I saw love everywhere in Germany. Maybe because it's so cold. But as I sat on the train at a stop, I noticed a girl outside on the platform blowing kisses to a man who had just entered our train car who sat two seats in front of me. I watched her playfully run after the train continually blowing him kisses. I was embarrassed I was on this train with him and not her. After we went faster and faster away, I saw him finally unglue his eyes from that window and we made eye contact. I gave a little smile and he gave a head nod. He looked like he missed her. I bet he did.
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