Today will be my last big adventure for the trip, so I’m up early at 0500. I plan to head south to Füssen ad then visit the famous Neuschwanstein Castle. But I have a dilemma. The website says to not bring rucksacks and that photography in the castle is not allowed. So I have two choices: 1) go on a tour of the castle and don’t take my good camera or 2) take my good camera and forgo the tour. I decide on that latter. To be honest, I’m more interested in the outside of the castle and the iPhone is not so good for distance photography.

At 0727 I catch the U3 from Marienplatz to the Hauptbahnhof, arriving at 0730.

At 0752 BRB62703 departs Munich calling at: München-Parsing, Geltendorf, Kaufering, Buchloe, Kaufbeuren, Biessenhofen, Ebenhofen, Martktoberdorf, Leuterschach, Lengenwang, Seeg and Weizern-Hopferau.

It’s a long trip. At 0955 we arrive in Füssen. The snow has been getting thicker on the ground as we have progressed. Füssen appears to have had fresh falls and looks magical.

Next I need to get to Hohenschwangau. There is a bus service that I guess normal people would take and I see most of the people from the train head there. But google tells me it’s only a 40 min walk so I decide to give that a go. I have no idea whether it will be suitable for walking though. I head out and find that there is a good walking/bike track connecting the two towns and it’s been cleared recently. The walk is easy and takes me right past massive white fields and forests of snow dusted pine. Good choice Ian!

I get to Hohenschwangau around 1115. It took me a bit longer than 40 min but there were frequent photo stops. On the approach I get a glimpse of grey Neuschwanstein Castle perched on one side and the slightly less glamorous ochre Hohenschwangau Castle perched on the other. The town is all about the castles and there are people buzzing around. I start the 30 min winding walk up to the castle. Interestingly, for me the castle becomes less enchanting the closer I get to it. It was built in the mid 19th century, so in some ways it’s not a “real” castle. This shows in the tidy ness of the block work. Plus, they are doing restoration on the entrance which is covered. This does spoil the fairytale a little. In the end, I prefer the distance images. There are some great views of the surrounding area from the castle though.

I descend and walk back to Füssen. It’s been a good workout; about 6 km round trip not including the walk up the mountain.

As I reach Füssen, I notice that it appears to have a pretty old town but I’m just too tired to explore. Then as I approach the station I glance down to see a glorious street scene and I just have to look a little.

We depart Füssen at 1412. I’m exhausted. I keep starting to doze off, only to be startled by the loud train announcements. I get back to the hotel at about 1640. It’s been a long but great day.

(Title translation: There are castles in the mountains) 

Hohenschwangau Castle. 

Neuschwanstein Castle. 

Back in Füssen. 

Today is a designated rest day. I’ve been doing something every day for the last week and I need to relax if I’m going to go home refreshed. Then I look out the window and the soft snow falling bewitches me. I decide to head out for a couple of hours.

I walk to the U-Bahn station. The city streets are sludgy and wet now. There are big piles of dirty melting snow.

At 0913 I catch the U6 from Marienplatz to Studentenstadt. I want to explore the northern end of the Englischer Garten. I arrive at Studentenstadt at 0922 and make my way to the park. The northern part is less open and more like woodland, at least under snow. There is light snow falling and a few people around, mainly walking dogs or jogging. I walk all the way down to the southern part where I was yesterday. It’s still white but the paths are clearly worn. They are quite sludgy too. It was lots of fun walking through the snow, but very hard work.

By 1200 I’m back in the hotel and spend the rest of the day relaxing and working on the jigsaw puzzle.

(Title translation: Still more white) 

We‘re melting! 

Here’s my modest contribution to slow TV. A short montage of video I took yesterday during my snow filled adventures. The Englischer Garten may not look very busy in the video, but I was trying to avoid filming people.

Play it in HD (720p) if you can. 

While publishing my blog post for Salzburg I notice it’s started to snow. I hurriedly get ready and at 0920 head to the Englischer Garten.

Wow! What an experience. The park is blanketed in snow. To begin with there are a few other people walking, but by the time I leave the park is buzzing with people walking, jogging, walking their dogs, pushing prams, skiing, dragging children in sleds, making snowmen, having snowball fights and playing a football match. Everything you’d imagine and very much a real winter wonderland.

Yesterday I noticed that the trees near a mound in the park had hay bales at their bases.  I wondered why. Now, with people riding down the mound on their sleds I assume they are to cushion the blow if a collision occurs.

I mainly use my iPhone for photos. The snow is wetter than the other day and I’m nervous about getting my camera wet. When I do get it out I use a plastic bag to protect it. It’s all a bit distracting though, and soon I put it away and cover up my rucksack to protect it from the snow.

At times the snow is heavy and blowing horizontally. It looks as deep as 8 cm in some places and at least 4 cm all over.

At 1210 I return to the hotel. It’s been a magical morning and just the kind of experience I had been hoping for. I feel very fortunate.

For the first time on this trip I slept more or less all through and for once I feel like staying in bed. I take it easy, even when I get up. By 0930 it’s starting to snow. I start thinking about travel plans. I may have left it too late to fit in everything I was planning. After looking at the weather forecast for the rest of my stay I decide I can’t afford to waste the day. I get myself ready in record time and make my way to the Hauptbahnhof; it only takes 15 min walking at my top speed.

I catch the 1021 ICE train to Ingolstadt. By now it’s snowing solidly and everything is white as we leave the station. I’m sitting next to a Dutch woman who is trying to get home from Austria. She’s already missed one connection due to bad weather at Garmisch. 20 min into the journey the train stops; problems with the overhead cables. We sit stationary for over ten minutes. I realise I will miss my next connection. My fellow passenger worries that she may miss her next one too, though she has a few hours left in the trip for the train to make up the time.

The train arrives at Ingolstadt at 1117. I have 50 min until the next train. Time for an early lunch at the station. At 1209 I depart to Neuberg am der Donau; my first destination for the day. We arrive st 1226.

I head for the old town. It’s not that well defined on my map, so it’s kind of hard to know when I’m there. It’s starting to snow more heavily. Different snow to the other day; less powdery.  I can see snowflakes. And it’s crunchier under foot.

There’s nobody about. They must be sitting somewhere warm. I make it to the river. This is the Danube. It’s a very wintery scene. I wander some more. There are plenty of beautiful buildings, but nothing that has got me overly excited. I check my phone and realise the next train is soon. If I scoot it I should make it. But then I take a wrong turn and decide it’s not worth it. I’ll hang around for another hour.

I’m so glad I do. While walking around more of the old town I stumble across a walking path that follows one side of the city walls.  I find a series of breathtaking snow bejeweled scenes that keep me and my camera very busy.

Eventually, it is time to make it make to the station and on to my next destination, Nördlingen.

It’s Thursday and it’s a toss up between going to Innsbruck or Salzburg. Both are just over the border in Austria. I decide on Salzburg because it‘s closer and I have left it a bit late for Innsbruck. But also, there is a big ski jump tournament happening in Innsbruck today and tomorrow; I expect the trains and the city would be busy.

I walk to Munich Hauptbahnhof. It looks like it snowed a little overnight, but not much. I get to the station at 0822 and buy my ticket. Although the Bayern-ticket does cover across the border into Salzburg, it’s not valid until 0900 and my train leaves at 0856. I don‘t want to risk it. As I‘m still early I buy a delicious Rosinschnecke (raisin snail shaped pastry).

The train departs on time at 0856, calling at München Ost, Rosenheim, Bad Endorf, Prien am Chiemsee, Burnau am Chiemsee, Übersee, Bergen, Traunstein, Teisendorf and Freilassing. From Rosenheim there is a lovely old lady sitting next to me who tells me about where to go in Salzburg.

The train arrives at Salzburg at 1042. I decide to make my way to the river. It’s been snowing and the footpaths and roads are icy. It‘s quite treacherous and I have to watch my step and slow down. I don’t have specific plans other than visiting the large fortress on a hill in the town. Everywhere is quite crowded with tourists so I decide to head straight for the fortress. There is a long queue for the funicular railway up the side of the hill, so I decide to walk. It only takes about 15 minutes.

I walk around the fortress. It‘s very interesting, but I‘m mainly there for the views. After a long wait, I get my turn to walk around the insides and up to the tower. The view is spectacular, but the wind is icy cold. I have left my gloves off to take photos and they are freezing. But it‘s worth it. I take my time taking in the panoramic views and taking quite a few photos.

After a bit more walking it’s time to head home. This time there isn‘t a queue for the funicular railway so I take the very quick ride down. I make my way back to the station through some more lovely streets. The train departs at 1415. I‘m feeling quite sleepy now and doze off for a couple of stations. As we get nearer to Munich the cloud cover is breaking a little and I get to see the snow dusted fields in better light

As the sun rises I can see it has been snowing. By 0830 it’s lightly snowing again. But I know from the weather report that this is all we’ll see in Munich today. I check the other weather reports and decide to head to Gamisch-Partenkirchen. They have solid snow fall forecast. At 0930, after a couple of false starts, I head out the door. I walk to the Hauptbahnhof so I can experience the soft, whispy snow still falling. I’m unexpectedly hit by a sudden emotional surge and feel quite teary. This is special. I guess experiencing snow was number one on my wish list for this trip, so it’s a bit of a relief.

When I get to the station, the train is waiting. It’s a double decker, so I head up stairs for a better view. The train is busy.

At 1032 RB 59449 leaves calling at Pasing, Tutzing, Weilheim, Murnau, Ohlstadt, Eschenlohe, Oberbau and Farshant. To start with, it’s the same route as Monday, but very different now with a dusting of snow.

We arrive at Garmisch-Partenkirchen at 1154. The town is very busy. I head off, walking through a park and then tracing a river for a while. At times the snow gets a little heavier. It’s so strange. It’s dry; neither me nor my camera are getting wet. And it’s so powdery and fluffy; like walking through really fine polystyrene. It’s a wonderful experience.

I head back into the town. I could catch the next train but decide to stay longer. I walk along the main streets and look in the shops. It’s snowing all the time and there are plenty of “pinch me” moments as I turn each corner to take in a new view.

I return to the station to catch the 1507 train back to Munich. As I settle in my warm seat I notice that the snow is falling more heavily. I consider getting out to spend another hour there but decide against it. As the train pulls out of town I see it’s seriously falling now; probably would not have been so good. I’m glad I decided to leave. It was a magical experience and the best part is I still have a week to go; so I should be able to get plenty more snow-time.

Yesterday the weather was a bit dreary, so I had a planned rest day where I didn’t get out of my PJs and just worked on a jigsaw puzzle I had bought the day before.

Today is still a bit dreary but I feel I need to make an effort to do something. Many museums and galleries are closed, so I decide on a train trip. I check the weather and everywhere is showing drizzle, but at least Oberammergau has had some recent snow. Maybe some will still be there if I’m lucky.

After researching my travel options and buying a ticket online, I head to the train station. I’ve purchased a Bayern-Ticket which gives me unlimited regional train trips for a day for 37.50€. It’s good value.

I get on the 0830 S7 from Marienplatz to München Hauptbahnhof. It only takes 5 minutes. I was only able to buy a ticket online, not seat reservations. On the web it says I can reserve seats using the machines in the station but I can’t work out how to do it without buying another ticket. I ask at the information desk and they tell me there is no need to reserve seats. As I’m early, I buy a delicious Nussschneke from a kiosk in the station. It’s only a simple verbal exchange but I manage to do it without resorting to any english or “sign language”. It turns out to be the only success of the day, but that’s OK. It’s not a competition.

At 0932 I catch the regional RB 5415 to Murnau, calling at München Pasing, Tutzing, Weilheim, Huglfing and Uffing. When I get to Murnau, the next train is waiting. Up until now it has been drizzling, but now it‘s raining a little more heavily. There is lots of rain on the train windows which means no decent photos on the train. At 1042 train RB 59563 departs to Oberammergau, calling at Murnau Ort, Seeleiten-Berggeist, Grafenaschau, Bad Kohlgrub, Bad Kohlgrub Kurhaus, Saulgrub, Altenau and Untergammerau. Until Murnau the scenery was flat, but now the alpine scenery kicks in, followed by some mist in the forests, followed by … snow! I‘m very excited to see it. The scenery brings back big memories of the very special train ride through the Swiss alps that Emily and I did back in 2010.

We arrive in Oberammergau at 1127. It has been snowing but now it‘s just a light drizzle of rain. The roads and footpaths are turning to ice and slush. I need to be very careful how I walk.

The village is beautiful with many painted buildings. It would look amazing in summer and spring. But even now it has a charm and there are many people around. I wander and look in shops. They are mainly selling wooden souvenirs or beer steins. There is one Christmas shop which has an amazing array of decorations and displays; it‘s Christmas on steroids. On the edge of the village I can see a chairlift going up the side of the mountain and skiers coming down another, wider slope. Fathers and children are walking back into town, presumably from playing on the edges.

I try taking photos with my good camera, but it is challenging. The constant drizzle makes it hard to keep the camera and lens dry. I give up after a while.

I catch the 1329 train back to Murnau and then another back to Munich. By this time, I have wet and cold toes. Next time I will take my better walking boots.

The Scandinavian leg of my holiday was inspired by a segment I saw on TV about the Oslo-Bergen rail line. Today I made that journey. Wow! 

There are a few things to share like the friendly Australians and Americans I met, or the excitement as the snow got deeper and deeper, or the packed train. But I think this is an occasion where I should just let the pictures tell the story. 

What more can I say?