Wanderings: July 2025

Neuschwanstein Castle

July 1, 2025

More excessive heat warnings, so we caught an early bus to Hohenschwangau (1), the jumping off point to visit the summer castles of the Bavarian kings. Construction of the Neuscwansteim Castle (atop an older castle) began in 1869, consciously trying to capture medieval chivalry and the romantic style of the composer Richard Wagner. In a letter to the composer. King Luwig II wrote to Wagner: "It is my intention to rebuild the old castle ruin of Hohenschwangau near the Pöllat Gorge in the authentic style of the old German knights' castles." Construction was conpleted in 1880.

The hike up to Neuschwanstein was quiet, most people opting for a shuttle bus up the hill. We enjoyed the exterior views, and proceeded further up to Marienbrucke (Mary's Bridge), the iconic (and crowded) Castle viewing point. The wood slats on the bridge bounced as the crowd positioned themselves for selfies, while a woman in an elaborate wedding dress spread out her trussle blocking the whole bridge for pictures.

Exiting the far side if the bridge, a nearly-empty trail appeared. A hiking app revealed another viewpoint a few switchbacks up. Much quieter here, with superb views to the Castle and Bavarian countryside beyond. A woman from Atlanta had a friend who flew his girlfriend here to propose. A man from Texas who was taking pictures of newlyweds turned out to be living in Munich working as a tour guide (2) (3).

(1) In addition to the town's name, the destination sign on the front of the bus featured the English word "Castles," but not the German "Schloss."

(2) There seemed to be a lot of American tourists here.

(3) Jay asked if we had visited the interior of the Castle. "No, I knew you had to book long in advance, but I forgot. It's not worth it," I suggested. "Oh, yes it is worth a visit." Taking the hint about my carelessness, he later said "You didn't miss much."

View from the trail

At Nueschwanstein Castle

View of the Alpsee

Wedding pictures on the bridge

The viewpoint beyond the bridge

The crowd on Marienbrucke

Alpsee, very refreshing swim

Konig Ludwig Bahn to Füssen

June 30, 2025

Two buses and four trains today from Malbun to Füssen, Germany in the Bavarian Alps. The bus descended to the Rhine Valley via a series of tight switchbacks, with a connection at Vaduz to the railway station at Schaan (1). Plenty of time for the connection on Feldkirche, Austria to Lindau-Reutin on the shores of the Bondensee.

A 15 minute connection at Lindau dwindled to 2 minutes due to the late arrival. Dashing off the Austrian train, then up the stairs to the overpass (2) through the slow-moving, meandering crowd. The German train crew yelled "schnell, schnell" to hurry us along. A personal record for me for the 100 meter dash, even with the stairs. The final connection to the branch line to Füssen was scheduled for 5 minutes. Arriving at the connecting station 8 minutes late, the Füssen train was also late, waiting almost 30 seconds for us to dash trough the underpass (3). I'm glad I only travel with a small bookbag; we never would have made either connection with a wheely bag. The branch line to Füssen is known as Konig Ludwig Bahn (King Ludwig's Railway), as the Bavarian King's summer palace is above Füssen.

At Füssen, a modest hike south ot town beckoned (460 foot vertical rise). Along the trail, there were small chapels representing the stations of the cross. The trail steepens near the summit, representing Golgotha and offering sweeping views to the town below and the Alps behind, surmounted by towering cumulo numbus clouds. Occasional puffs of wind provided minor relief on this hot, humid day.

Walking back to the hotel, lightning appeared to the west. We were safely back at the hotel before the storm front moved through, freshening the air coming through the windows of our (un-air-conditioned) hotel (4).

(1) The short railway line in Liechtenstein is part of the Austrian State Railways (OʻBB).

(2) Underpasses are better. Overpasses are high above the catenary overhead wires, requiring more up and downstairs.

(3) My daughter knows a lot of random things. She told us we were "Deutsche Bahned," a common occurrence on German Railways.

(4) The area is experiencing a heat wave.

Steinbok (Stone Bok), symbol of Liechtenstein at Malbun. Not the same as the South African Steinbok

Descending on the bus to the Rhine Valley

Liechtenstein Railway Station

Glimpses from the train in Bavaria

Hohe Schloss, Füssen

Strolling through Füssen

The trail starts at the chapel

Ascending via the stations of the crosd

The summit

View to Füssen

View to the Alps and the castles

Back in town

Thunderheads to the west

Covered Bridge over the Rhine

June 29, 2025

The train from Olten connected at Zurich and Sargans (1) and we alighted at Sevelen. The Rhine Valley here is flat for a mile or two on both sides, before abruptly ascending into the Alps. The river forms the border with Liechtenstein, crossed by a wooden covered bridge north of the modern highway bridge. Vaduz is only about a 2 mile walk from Sevelen.

The bus ascends from here up the steep narrow valley to a dead-end at the mountain village of Malbun. Nesting in a bowl, surrounded by the Alps, it was shoulder season in this ski resort town. After schnitzel for lunch at a crowded resaturant on this Sunday, we began a hike up to Sarais. The ascent was hot through Alpine meadows (but without tree cover) and one long switchback. The col offered views of Liechtenstein, Austria (a mile or two away) and through Liechtenstein to the Swiss Alps.

Lingering at the trail summit, parachuters were riding the thermals above the peaks on the descent to Malbun. A roar like a fighter jet drew our attention to the sky. None being visible, we looked across to see a landslide from an Alpine peak in Austria. It took a,while for the brown dust cloud to settle. Being a Sunday, the village was quieter upon our return, the weekend visitors having left. Total elevation gain of 1,350 feet on a 4 mile round trip hike.

(1) The 3 minute connection time was aggressive, but Swiss trains are typically punctual. Unfortunately, the connecting train was not across the platform, but down, under, then up. Good exercise.

Alte Rheinbrücke

Covered Bridge over the Rhine

Vaduz, Liechtenstein

Hiking up to Sarais

Landslide in Austria

View from the hotel at dusk

Within Temptation at Summerside Festival

June 28, 2025

Flight disruptions turned a 4 hour layover at Dublin into an 8 hour layover (1), enough time to go to the city center for a stroll around Trinity College before catching our late afternoon flight to Zurich.

My wife's favorite metal band, Within Temptation, was playing a metal festival in Grenchen, Switzerland. Before 5:00, there were no bands the caught our attention, so we sat in a shady spot under a tree on this hot day (2) (3).

Visions of Atlantis, our favorite Austrian band, came on at 5:00 for an hour. A band we did not know but liked was next: Eclipse. The headliner today was Within Temptation, playing a great blend of their old and new songs, including their haunting ballad Lost, rarely performed live.The next band was meh, so we hopped the train back to the hotel.

(1) It was fortuitous, our flight to Dublin via Chicago was delayed (a) so they put us on a direct flight from Boston to Dublin, saving lots of flying time.

(a) Much cheaper booking the long way there.

(2) A band from Sweden said "we think of skiing in Switzerland, but it feels like the tropics today."

(3) A sign at the handwashing station where everyone was filling their bottles to stay hydrated said "Keine trinkwasser" (not drinking water). Noticing my wife's hesitation, a woman next to her said "This is Switzerland, not Spain or Italy, of course the water is safe. They just want to sell you overpriced bottled water."