The next morning (June 18), we set out to tour Munich. We decided to
leave our car safely tucked away in the hotel’s parking lot, and bought a
Munich Day Ticket for EUR 11.2, which would allow all of us to use public
transport to get around. (We were too
small a group to maximize its value – up to 5 adults (with 2 kids counted as an
adult) can use it).
We first headed out to central Munich and visited the
Residenz, which was the home of the ruling Wittelsbach dynasty from the 14th
century until after World War I. It was quite interesting to find the degree of
continuity in ruling families here – the Wittelsbachs ruled Bavaria from 1180
to 1918 – to put it in context, this from the time of Prithviraj Chauhan, until
just before the non-co-operation movement started. The Residenz had been built
in phases, but most of it was destroyed during the bombing of Munich during
World War II, though it has been restored in phases since then.
Some Pictures, in and around the Residenz
After seeing the Residenz, we walked over to the Deutsches
Museum, which is located on an island in the middle of the River Isar, and is
one of the best science museums in the world. There was a fantastic high
voltage exhibition, lots of stuff on the development of engines and power
trains, and a fantastic kids section, with models of hydroelectric turbines
etc. Unfortunately, all the communication was in German – and hence we had to
focus on the kids section alone. Avinash had a great time there – I don’t know
whether that was because it gave him an excuse to drench himself, or whether he
learnt something as well.
Next we took a tram down to the Englischer Garten, which is
touted as the Central Park of Munich. It was quite nice – except for the fact
that there were too many smokers around, and people somehow were not averse to
littering the park with beer cans. One of the nicest parts of the garden is a
set of rapids where people which people were attempting to surf across. It was
warm day, and the Germans were out in full force – riding down the river for fairly
long distances. The Garden has some nice touches like the Japanese Tea House
and the Chinese Tower.
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| Surfing in the Englischer Garten |
After spending a couple of hours there, we headed for the
Olympia Tower, which is located in the Olympic Park, and is the tallest
structure in Munich. By the time we got there, it was almost 8 PM, but it was
still quite bright, and we were able to take in views going out to the distant
hills (perhaps the Bavarian Alps). The tower however also gave us an
opportunity to look at the only ugly structures we saw during our entire trip,
a set of hideous buildings which had been built as the Olympic Games Village
during the 1972 Munich Olympics.
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| The Beautiful Olympia Park |
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| Munich - Our hotel was the tall building across the city |
While Day 6 had been reserved for us, Day 7 was for Avinash.
We had not planned to visit any amusement parks during this holiday – after all
Avinash has already been to Legoland Windsor in 2010, Disney World in 2011,
Universal Studios Singapore in 2012, and Sea World San Diego in 2013. But that
was not to be. While we were in Basel, Sagar told Avinash about his visit to
Legoland Deutschland, which is located in the town of Gunzburg near (120 km
from) Munich. And from that point on, it was clear that Avinash would be very
disappointed if we did not go there. Avinash very cutely made his point, “All
the other days of this holiday are for you – since we are driving about. One
day should be for me.”
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| Yes, it was Star Wars Day at Legoland |
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| Avinash, learning to drive... even if he drove Indian style rather than German |
We set out after grabbing breakfast at a nearby Café. The
120 km to Gunzburg took just about an hour and ten minutes to cover. We had
expected that the park would be relatively empty since it was a weekday, and as
far as we knew, schools were not yet closed for summer. However, to our
surprise, we found that the park was exceptionally crowded. It took us almost
an hour to just book the tickets and enter (it certainly made me regret not
having booked online). From my perspective, the attractions seemed relatively
boring. And I think if Avinash were honest, he would agree with that
assessment. At least revealed preference suggested that – Avinash did not go
for multiple rounds on any of the rides, was not very keen to run after the
next roller coaster, and seemed to enjoy the pirate castle style play areas
most of all. Nevertheless, thanks to the long queues everywhere, we were at the
park till closing time.
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| Yes, we went topless for the Pirate Ride |
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| Not the Allianz Stadium - but a remarkably lifelike Lego Model |
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| In front of San Marco Square - Venice next?? |
The drive back was easy as well. As is always the case
with amusement parks, the day had been quite tiring, and we were glad to turn
in early, knowing that the next day was going to be a long one as well.
Despite our desire to make an early start on Day 8, by the
time we grabbed breakfast and set out for Neuschwanstein, it was already past
1000 am. The GPS guided us initially down the same road we had taken while
going to Basel for about 70 km, before diverting onto a B road (the B17)
towards Schwangau.
Unlike the previous days, it was cold, damp and rainy almost
throughout. Further, we got caught behind some trucks and hence progress was
relatively slow. The net result was that it was already 1230 by the time we
reached Hohenschwangau, which is where the parking for Neuschwanstein Castle is
located.
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| Radhika and Avinash, in front of Hohenschwangau Castle |
The journey up to Neuschwanstein Castle from here can be continued by either bus or
through a hike – but first we needed to buy tickets for entering the castle.
There was a cold drizzle underway, and I stepped into a nearby shop to buy a touristy
but large umbrella. There was a long queue to buy the tickets, and Radhika and
Avinash decided to step into a nearby restaurant and order food while I stayed
on in the line. After about 10 minutes, the queue, which had been moving slowly
suddenly seemed to be moving much faster. But my joy was short lived, when I
heard that this was because tickets for Neuschwanstein itself were sold out for
the day. A few inquiries revealed that while we could not go inside the castle,
we could still take the bus up to Marien Brucke, which is the spot from where
some of the best views of the castle were to be had.
After lunch, we walked down to the bus stop, and found a
long queue here as well. It was
drizzling and the crowd was getting restless. Suddenly, two buses arrived at the
same time. We presumed the queue would move in an orderly German fashion, and
the two buses would be loaded in turn. But before we knew it, the queue
disintegrated, with people getting into both buses through both the front and
rear gates. We were taken aback, but quickly got into India mode and found
ourselves in one of the buses. And also learned a lesson – where resources are
constrained and there is no law enforcement, people act in the same way
everywhere. We would not have been shocked with such behaviour if the crowd had
been full of Desis, as is the case in some destinations in Switzerland. But we
were the only brown skinned folks here – almost everyone else was either
American or European.
The road to Marionbrucke twisted and turned through the
hills. General traffic is not permitted, and the bus drivers drove extremely
quickly. We got off the bus, and followed the huge crowd onto the bridge. The
view of Neuschwanstein from the bridge is amazing. When we reached the bridge,
there was a heavy fog, and we could see the castle peeping out from behind the
clouds. But shortly thereafter, the fog lifted, and we got to see an amazing
picture post card view of the castle. We spent quite a while on Marionbrucke –
letting the rest of the crowd head back, and enjoying the beautiful view.
After getting back to Hohenschwangau there, we took a slight detour to see a nearby lake.
While we were there, it started raining heavily. Even worse,
we got separated – fortunately, Radhika and Avinash had the umbrella, while I
had a decent windcheater on. The Reliance mobile connection we had taken did
not work very well – but eventually, we managed to find each other, and settled
down in the car for our journey to Innsbruck.
The route to Innsbruck took us through a beautiful Alpine
Pass, the Fernpass. This was one of those classic roads, with amazing twists
and beautiful sights around every bend, where ads for sports cars are shot.
Unfortunately, over large sections, we were stuck in relatively heavy traffic.
Further it was raining, and we were keen to get to Innsbruck as soon as we
could – and hence chose not to stop anywhere to photograph the amazing views.
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| Driving through the rainy Fernpass |
The drive through the hills lasted for about 65 kms and took us well over an
hour. But all too soon, we hit the A12 or the Inntal Autobahn, and were
cruising towards Innsbruck at 140 kmph. Innsbruck is a beautiful city, nestled in a valley and
surrounded on all sides by the Alps. Our room had a view of the hills, and the
Bergisel Ski Tower (where the Olympic ski jumping event had been held) in the distance. It had been a long day, and we were glad to get some rest.
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| The view from our Room |
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