Füssen & Seeg

Sara in front of a Bavarian lake...the Alps make a decent backdrop.
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We decided to take a night train out of Venice, which started our whirlwind tour of Europa. Luckily at this point we had not heard the various nightrain robbery stories that we came across later in our trip. We bunked in a six bed car, no larger than a pantry. Luckily there were only two other people in the car and they were kind enough to teach us a little bit of German, and we didn´t get robbed! We pulled into Munich, grabbed some coffee and jumped on a train through southern Germany (Bavaria). We headed towards what we thought was Fussen. Turns out we were actually staying just outside of Fussen in a little town called Seeg. The town consisted of maybe 30 people, 1 restaurant, and about 800 cows and cowbells. Our room was great. Bavaria as a whole was great, all the hills were incredibly green and had the Alps as a backdrop. We went out our first afternoon, in search of some local cuisine. Sara had been craving some sauerkraut, and we were both wanting some brauts and beer. Luckily, the restaurant we went to served all of it. We ended up back at that restaurant after spending a day walking through the town and relaxing by the lake.

The definition of roughing it.
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The following day we caught a train to Fussen. We skipped the bus, and walked a few miles through the countryside to the two Castles in town. The two castles are known as Neushweintstein and Hohenschwangau Castles. The Neushweintstein Castle is known for its beauty and because it was the inspiration for the castle at Disneyland. The Castles were unreal and worth the trip. We rested up that evening to get ready for Oktoberfest!

The morning we were leaving for Oktoberfest we experienced first hand how the Germans drive. We had a train out of Seeg at 9:30 am. The front desk didn´t open until 9, but it was only a 10 minute drive to the train station, so we thought we would be ok. 9:05...still no sign of anyone. 9:10...nobody (so much for German efficiency). 9:15...the owner peeked his head out and said it would be just a minute and before we had a chance to tell him our situtation, he was gone. 9:20...the owner finally appears to check us out. There were about 3 other couples that needed to check out as well, but once we told him our situation, he blew them off. Like that he throws us the keys to his car, tells us to jump in the backseat, puts his 3 year old son inbetween us (so we act as cushions for him) and speeds off towards the train station. We take off down a two lane road at easily over 100 mph. His son, who is seatbeltless, is chewing on a giant yellow balloon and yelling "Opa." The owner turns around, while driving, to explain to us that Opa means Grandpa and that his son´s Grandfather happens to be a hot air balloon pilot. The whole situation was so surreal especially because the owner had a calm about him as though this type of event was a frequent experience. He rounded the corner towards the station and drove under that guard rails as they started to lower. The train pulled to a complete stop just as the owner screeches into the lot. We grab our bags out the back and run towards the train. The conductor blew his whistle and we were off to Munich.