THE LUGE

June 29, 2008

The Luge

After the Neuschwanstein Castle visit, we headed for the "luge." I did not have any idea what a luge was until we got there and Ragen told us what we were going to do.

A luge is a winter sport. In fact, it is one of the Olympic sliding sports. It is one of the most dangerous sports in the Olympic Games. Athletes who participate in this sport are supposed to be of a special breed. The participant sleds down an icy tract at up to 90 mph.

Now, you probably are envisioning me doing this and you'd exclaim: how and why in the world would Marianas (at 62) do this? Well, this is the safer and doable version of it: We drove to the next bus stop after the castle and here was the Tegerberg Summer luge. This luge is a mini version of the real one. Only one person can ride the sled. You ride downhill on a twisty stainless steel track. You control your speed with a brake stick between your legs. You push it to increase your speed; you pull it to slow down or stop. Ragen bought us tickets. I took one sled and Ron took one behind me. We sled down the slope of about a mile and a half. The ride was exhilarating and I nervously controlled the speed. Ron kept telling me to go faster. We made it down without a scratch and with a nervous smile but then we said: Let's do it again!

We did it again. The kids loved it. The adults even had a contest to see who could ride it the fastest.

NEUSCHWANSTEIN CASTLE

June 29, 2008

Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany

We drove south to Austria towards the Alps and Reutte. Reutte is in Tyrol, Austria and was our home base while we went back to Germany to visit Neuschwanstein Castle, the castle of "Mad King" Ludwig. On our way to the castle, we passed by beautiful meadows, hills, and tall mountains enveloped by clouds. We checked into our hotel, Ernberg, a family- owned hotel. Herman was the owner, who also helped cook. Our room had a balcony where we could view the granite mountain that looked pinkish-orange against the sunlight.

The walk up to the castle would take thirty minutes from downtown and from the castle of the king's childhood castle, for those who had enough oxygen in their lungs to carry on the hike. Ron and I took the easy way. We decided to take the bus to reserve our oxygen for the stairs of the castle. Remember, there was not such a thing as an elevator in the olden times. We reached the castle in no time. From a bridge, we viewed the castle. It sat on a rugged hill. The view was breathtaking. Then, we hiked down to it. 

King Ludwig built this castle at the age of eighteen. He wanted another castle aside from the one he grew up in, to serve as his retreat. According to the tour guide, the castle's foundation stone was laid on September 5, 1869. He did not allow any visitors. Only after his death in 1886, were visitors allowed to see the inside. Since his death, the castle has received millions of visitors and has appeared in several movies.

King Ludwig, the king of Bavaria was born on August 25, 1845. He ruled Bavaria from March 10, 1864, until shortly before his death. He died in June 13, 1868, a day after a state commission declared him as insane, arrested and confined him.

After our tour of the castle, we returned to downtown and had picnic lunch by the lake, near the cliff where the childhood castle stood. After lunch, we headed for the "luge."

DACHAU CONCENTRATION CAMP

DACHAU CONCENTRATION CAMP

We headed for Bavaria the next day but before lunch, we stopped at Dachau Concentration Camp on the outskirts of Munich. As we entered through the portals of the camp, I felt goose bumps, thinking that this was the place, the very ground where hundreds of Jews were camped and readied to be transported to another camp either to be detained or gassed.

I read the information on posters in what used to be the administrative building and what I read was so overwhelming that I cannot bring myself to tell you or write about it. You will have to do the research yourself.

BAROQUE AT ST. BONIFACE

BAROQUE AT ST. BONIFACE

We had lunch on our own at St. Boniface monastery in Andechs, where Ron and I met a local female psychologist. She spoke English, so we were able to communicate with each other. The first few conversations were awkward but we soon warmed up to each other. I found out that her husband is also a psychologist. She said she lives in the nearby town by the lake but sometimes she would come to this place for lunch. When she saw what we ordered, a main dish of chicken and a side dish of baked potato, she commented that the locals usually do not order both dishes: it’s one or the other. I noticed that she only had half of a baked chicken and a beer.

After lunch, we went inside St. Boniface church and we marveled at the Baroque design, known to the locals as Rococo. It was very beautiful. It is said that Baroque is not just a style but also an era as Renaissance is.

It encompasses painting, sculpture, architecture, theater, literature, philosophy, music, design, and woodcarving. When one mentions “baroque,” one would immediately think of a design that is excessively ornamented or complex. Thus, when one says something complex or confusing in meaning, one would say, "it is so baroque."

I was so impressed by the breathtaking, ostentatious design of St. Boniface church's interior.

THE NIGHT WATCHMAN OF ROTHENBURG

At eight in the evening, we went on a walking tour with the Night Watchman. During tourist season, the Night Watchman conducted tours, twice a day, seven nights a week, relating the amazing history of the town.

One of the things he pointed out was the duty of the Night Watchman. People considered his job as the third to the lowest job in town—the other two being that of the executioner and the undertaker—yet, it was a very important job because he was responsible not only for the safety of the people but also of the town itself. Although he made sure that no intruder made it inside after midnight, his first duty was to prevent the occurrence of fire. Fire was the number one fear of the people because the houses within the walls were right next to each other and a single fire could raze the whole town.

Another interesting thing he mentioned was that every house had to have a good storage space on the top floor to store the main staple, wheat. Each house would also need to have a good store of salt to cure meat. Any house owner who failed to keep a good store of wheat would have to pay a stiff fine. The people believed that in a siege, the easiest way to capture a walled city is to starve the people. The enemy needed not attack the city; it just had to surround it, making sure, nobody escaped until the people starved. (This could take a while). Therefore, to protect the city, there had to be rules and regulations and severe punishment given to violators.

Impressive?

WHY THERE ARE SO MANY CASTLES

From Bacharach we rode the tour bus to St. Goar to explore the ruins of Rheinfels Castle, said to have been built in 1245 and was once the biggest castle on the Rhine. It housed 300 – 600 people during peacetime and accommodated up to 4,000 during a siege, until the French Revolution in 1797 destroyed it. It also was said to be self-sufficient, even having a pharmacy within the walls. According to Rick Steves, it is the single best Rhineland ruin.

We reached the top of the hill and there lay before us was the massive and mighty Rheinfels Castle. There the local tour guide met us and gave us interesting information about it. The castle's original owner was a count. He supported his family and maintained the castle from the ships' toll on the Rhine River and from the products of the surrounding fields, which he owned. The peasants supplied the labor during the construction of the castle in exchange for protection when a siege would occur. During those times, they would all be taken in and protected within the castle walls.

All ships passing through the river had to pay a toll to the count. Those who refused were seized and taken to the castle's dungeon where they were fed with bread and water twice a day. The count kept them there until they paid the toll. Some died before being able to pay the toll due to illness or starvation.

Ron and the other tour members, including six-feet-plus tall Jason, dared to go into the dungeon and the place where ammunitions and food used to be stored. To get there they had to almost crawl or walk while squatting. Can you imagine Jason doing this through the tunnel-like passage?

Across the river Rhine and the Rheinfels Castle was another castle built by the count's cousin. After he realized his cousin's ingenuity, he decided to have his own tolling place and from the money, he built his own castle. Now the ships passing through had to pay twice. Although not all of the castles along the Rhine were built and maintained the way the cousins did, I now have an idea of why and how castles were built and how some of them were financed.

Going back to Bacharach, we took the ferry and in a relaxed way viewed the breathtaking scenery of the string of ruined and restored castles, the stone churches, the vineyards on the hills that rose from the shoreline, and the huge ancient houses along the river. Any romantic soul will never forget this awe-inspiring panorama.

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