May 16, 2016 Day 10:
Today we went to Neuschwanstein castle and the little town of Fussen.  Going to the Alps on the bus was an adventure in itself, since everything there is just so scenic.  Once I saw the castle, I couldn't take my eyes off it.  We arrived at the base of the mountain and I could already tell the air was so clean and crisp.  There was a lake near us, so we went to look at it.  It seemed pretty shallow, but you could see the bottom of it like it was glass.  Once again, it was hard to believe it was real since it looked like a postcard picture.
We started our venture up the hill after a failed bathroom attempt (the money machine broke).  The hilll up wasn't too bad of a climb; climbing to Trees Hall every day for band conditioned my legs for the climb.  A horse and buggy passed us, and I felt bad for the horses.  It's a struggle to walk up the hill, let alone carry a bunch of people in a buggy.  We got to the top of the hill, and the walk was so incredibly worth it.
To the left was a balcony that overlooked the farmland and buildings at the base of the hill/mountain.  I stood there for a good 5 minutes just taking everything in.  To the right was a balcony that overlooked the ravine next to the castle.  It reminded me of the Sears Tower in Chicago and the glass boxes you can stand in.  The castle looked just as it does in the pictures, and I couldn't believe I was actually there.  We went up to the castle to start our tour, and walking in we could see the detail in the woodwork and paintings.  Our tour guide didn't really talk a lot, but she didn't really need to.  the artwork everywhere was enough to tell stories.  My favorite parts of the tour were the throne room and the King's bedroom.  The throne room was just so bright with gold and pictures, it really made me happy.  The mosaic tile was really cool too; it was the circle of like and it had a bunch of different exotic animals.  The chandelier was huge and brass with glass stones encrusting it.  I loved how the glass looked like precious gemstones.
The King's bedroom was large and elegant, with the Bavarian crest everywhere.  The bed was my favorite part.  The frame was wooden and at the top was the most intricate wood work I have ever seen.  I wish we were allowed to take pictures, because words can't do the bed justice.  Just the detail in every aspect of the castle blew me away, and I can now understand why the castle was never finished.
We left the castle and started our descent down the hill.  It seemed to take a shorter amount of time to walk down the hill than it did to go up.  It may be because I wasn't sure of how far the walk was.  Oh well, we got on the bus and headed to Fussen.  Fussen was a cute little town about 40 minutes away from the castle.  We at lunch in an Alpine restaurant .  It was very small, as our large group set it almost to capacity.  I had Spatzle again, and it was even better than the first time I had it.  After dinner we got to walk around to the different shops.  There was one sweets shop where they sold "snowballs".  These were little bits of flour dough wrapped in a ball and covered with chocolate.  They tasted like chocolate covered animal crackers and it was so good.  While looking around, a man came up to me and flashed his Pitt hoodie, which I thought was really cool.  It is a small world after all.
After Fussen, we went to this church an additional 45 minutes away.  Upon arrival, we could hear a German band playing and smell some kind of food.  We visited the church a bit to study the architecture and see the art.  Today was a great cultural day, and I'm looking forward to going to PPG tomorrow!