Life as I know it.: Allgäu Alps, Fairytale Castles & Kloster Breweries

We've just arrived back from our second weekend adventure - the Allgäu Alps in Obsterdorf, our B&B in Füssen, King Ludwig's Neuschwanstein Castle, WiesKirche and the monk-brewed beer at the Ettal Abbey.

Let's start with Friday. Derek got off work a bit early - it appears everyone in Germany, or atleast at his office, takes off around 3:30 or 4 on Fridays. So we headed to Oberstenfeld to trade in our rental car and pick up our new 1991 BMW. After we made the swap, we typed in the B&B address into our GPS and hit the road. No big news from the drive. One interesting thing I did notice at the gas station was pre-packaged wursts - similar to a bag of chips, but with a hot dog inside. Strange, but I'm sure some people like them.

We arrived at our destination - the Dreimaederlhaus. It was a quaint bed and breakfast overlooking Lake Weissensee and backed up by the Allgäu Alps. The reception was closed when we arrived late in the evening, but they left our key in the welcome box. Here's a peak:

They served the normal German Breakfast: cheeses, breads, meats, eggs, jams, butters. It was gut!

Quaint decor

Smelled like cinnamon when we entered

After a great breakfast, we suited up for a day of skiing. Too bad I didn't fully explain to Derek how terrible I was at skiing. It'd been six years since I learned to ski in Colorado. And I wasn't so good then. Anyways, we drove about 45 minutes to Obsterdorf to Fellhorn Mountain. One of the largest, if not the largest in the Allgäu Alps. We bought our passes, suited up in our rental gear and headed to the top of the mountain. The VERY top.

It was one of the most beautiful views I've ever seen. It was almost eerie in it's own spectacular way. And then I started "skiing" down the mountain. Needless to say, it was a beautiful day, gorgeous place, and an interesting challenge for Derek and I to tackle together. I know that seems a bit dramatic, but I was scared! Anyway, here are some photos of our day:

On Sunday we woke up, had a great breakfast at the B&B and then headed to the Disney-inspired castle of King Ludwig - Neuschwanstein Castle. It sits high on a hill overlooking the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen. This castle took about 20 years to build in the late 1800's- and was never actually finished. King Ludwig was taken from the castle after only living in it for about 150 days. You can read more about it here. We were not allowed to photograph the inside of the castle, but it was straight out of a fairy-tale. In fact, Disney used this castle as a model for the Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disney World.

The throne room- which had no throne- had a gigantic chandelier hanging in the middle and a tiled floor that told a story. The king's bedroom had a flushable throne and and wood-carved bed that took 14 wood carvers four years to create. We walked through a "artificial" cave with a green house and the Singer's Hall had paintings and artwork that looked like the animal scene from Snow White. The castle was unbelievable- and everything is the original. I was a bit disappointed that we didn't get to visit "Mary's bridge" - a bridge that gives great views of the castle from afar- due to snow.

After the castle, we headed to the Ettal Abbey and stopped at Wies Church along the way. Wies Church is a rococo style church that is considered a Pilgrammage church due to its crucifix apparently shedding tears in the 1700's. We did not stay for long, but the artwork and designs were breathtaking.

We arrived at Ettal Abbey, a Benedictine Monastery, about 15 minutes after the church and started exploring. It was beautiful as well - the mountains painted the perfect backdrop on the snowy day. We looked around at the interior of the church- a Baroque style from the 1700's. And then we began the hunt for the beer. I had read online that the monastery brews its own Hefeweizen - Derek's now favorite beer. So we found the stockpile of kegs and bottles, but the actual distillery was closed. It was Sunday, after all. We ate lunch at a nearby restaurant while Derek enjoyed the local brew, then headed home to see Simba after taking a detour through the Austrian Alps.