I earnestly believe that I earned myself this trip. My recent trip
to Schloss Neuschwanstein felt like I went into a beautiful fairytale dream
where I was allowed to click photos to bring back to the real world. Seeing
myself in some of those is the only way I reassure myself that I was indeed
there!
There's something so dreamy about train journeys, that I crave for
them desperately when there's been a gap; especially the ones in Germany.
Doesn't matter where the train is headed to, sitting by the window and watching
nature unfold, makes me feel like I'm in love. I haven't been to many countries
yet, but I'm sure Germany offers some of the best train/road journeys.
So, after battling out the academic onslaught of the first
semester and wrapping up the horrors of Economics and Game Theory, it was
finally time for a train journey. I headed off with four friends who have only
strengthened my belief that Latinos are a fine-tuned people. Exhausted and
stretched to our limits both physically and mentally, we started our journey
towards Munich, Bavaria. I kept alternating between taking pictures through the
window and falling asleep.
We reached Munich late in the afternoon and headed towards our
hostel. The two guys in our group had sworn loyalties to different 'teams':
Team Munich and Team Berlin; both vying to establish their superiority, and of
course Team Munich had an upper hand on home-turf! We walked around the
city-centre and stopped for a while to watch a band of musicians going
amusingly enthusiastic while playing some of their songs from their latest
collection. Team Munich earned some more points when we headed to
the Hofbräuhaus for dinner. The ambience spoke loudly of their
Oktober Fest prowess. The night was interspersed with a lot of emotions. We returned
to our hostel room to be welcomed by a disturbingly unpleasant whiff that
refused to leave. We blamed the sixth 'stranger', who hadn't arrived yet; and
when he did, he realized we were a bunch of crazy people and decided to return
only when we were quieter and tucked into our beds. The unpleasant aroma
inspired a "smelly room" song too! In short, the five of us found a
lot of reasons to laugh about and bond well with each other.
The next morning we took the train to Füssen, where the
Neuschwanstein Castle is. My heart skipped a beat every time I would look
at the spotless white idyllic scenery studded with a few houses and churches
here and there. Frozen trees and the untouched snow made everything look like
it came straight out of one's imagination. Having done a quick research about
the castle before leaving Erfurt, I was filled with anticipation at being so
close to seeing the castle that was shrouded in rich history and mysterious
legends - the castle that had inspired the Disney logo. We had to climb our way
up for quite a long while to the foot of the castle, from where our guided tour
would begin.
When I saw the castle for the first time, it seemed like a distant
mystery so irresistible. Seems like King Ludwig II was The King. The modern architectural
techniques holding together firmly a Romanesque Revival facade, extravagant paintings donning the
tall walls, intricate embroideries on the curtains, the rich colours, the symbolic
swans, the fascinating mosaics on the floor, all set within an enchanting
landscape, could have only been desired by a King who truly believed in his aristocracy.
It is disappointing to know that the King lived in the castle for just about
six months...leaving all the gorgeous extravagance to be looked at and
sighed at by overwhelmed tourists. The castle is one of the most visited
monuments in Germany. Despite this, there is something so untouched about it.
Despite being such a frequented site, it has so successfully managed to keep
itself aloof off the 21st century's tourists. After the tour inside the castle,
we headed towards the Marien Brücke (Marien Bridge) to have a better look
at the castle. I knew it would be beautiful, because I had checked out some
images on Google before. I shut my eyes for a few seconds when we got to the
bridge, to derive some cheap thrill by keeping myself from seeing it for a
while. When my eyes fought back, I gasped and found myself at a major loss of
adjectives.
We started discussing with each other about which word to use, each
dismissing the other's suggestion. The grandeur of the castle complimented by
the snowy white perfection and fortified by snow covered mountains left us
dazed. We stood on the bridge enraptured and still, soaking in the view and
convincing ourselves that such beauty did exist and we had managed to be a part
of it for a while. I kept turning around to take in the last few glimpses of
the castle as we made our way to the lake behind the castle, The Alpsee.
The Alpsee got us spellbound once more. The vast lake, the clear
blue sky, the mountains at the backdrop and the snow, all dazzled in agreement so
brightly under the sun that we lost our words again. This time no one really
tried. I was convinced of all of it being a grand dream (only this time, I
lived it). I asked my friends if we were in a hurry. That was the last thing I
wanted to hear, and being told that no, there was no hurry, made me happy like
a child.
We volunteered for free-falls into thick snow, and what an amazing
feeling it was! Never for once did our gloves and boots that had stopped
working deter us. We made snow-angels, threw balls of snow on the frozen lake,
picked up sheets of ice from the lake, threw ourselves into the snow again,
tried making a snow-man with a camera lens cover for a nose, got enraptured by
the majestic layout in front of us, called it Heaven and sang ‘Somewhere over
the Rainbow’.
When we finally decided to leave, I remember walking backwards for
a small stretch until the lake disappeared at a bend. I knew I was walking away
from something incredible and unrivalled, but my entire being felt so buoyant,
that my heart refused to sink.
