What's all the fuss about Fussen?

(Put the two little dots over the u, will ya?) So we've established the Fussen (Put the two little dots over the u, will ya?) is kinda chic. Pricey boutiques and the kind of stuff the folks who can afford to come to Fussen (Put the two little dots over the u, will ya?) to ski will want to buy. But, of course, this place is open in summer as well but instead of skiing the visitors come for the scenery, the castles, the fall colors AND they still go to the ski mountain because some of those people who like to strap strips of wood and/or fiberglass to their feet in the winter and slide down mountains also like to strap strips of nylon to their backs and jump off these same mountains! Yep, the ski area next to Fussen (Put the two little dots over the u, will ya?) is also a hang-glider and para-glider launching site. The day I was there it was very, very beautiful weather and the pilots were lined up about 14 deep to run off this particular site. I've been with my brother to a couple of launch sites but even the fly-in at Owen's Valley didn't have the activity here. I don't know how regulated the sport is in the states these days but here it's watched very carefully. They have air traffic controllers! Seriously. Two guys at the top were watching and inspecting every person who stepped up to launch. There were far more para-gliders than hang-gliders. I rode the gondola up to watch a few take-offs then rode back down to watch some of the flights and landings. I never did find out where the hang-gliders landed but the para-gliders landed about 100 yards from the gondola. As soon as they landed they'd pack up and ride back up to the top.

Before I went to see all that activity, I visited the two castles nearby. Neither are castles in the fortification sense but in more of a palace sense. The first one 'Hohenschwangau' was the family hunting lodge of the royal family of Bavaria when the area was a kingdom. Nice digs. One entire floor for him and one entire floor for her and the rest for the kids (2 boys) and maybe entertaining. They always hoped Richard Wagner would stop by especially one of the sons, Ludwig, because his place, Neuschwanstein, the other castle just across the valley was decorated with Wagner composition inspired works-Swans, murals telling the story of Tristram (or is it Tristan?) and Isolde. I forget how many rooms in the castle but waaaay more than a bachelor needed but that didn't stop him from building other castles though. He did live in Newschwanstein even though he never saw it finished. The people made out like he was wacko nutso, had him committed and he died a mysterious death. His debt made the recent mortgage fiascos look like an IOU to the paperboy. It was while I was waiting my turn to tour Ludwig's digs that I saw the flying things.

And now I'm in Munich. Big city. Yesterday was the citybus tour, a ride by viewing of what's worth viewing. I saw the outside of a lot of places I didn't get to go into. Then it was a bit of strolling around and getting lost, getting found and then back to the hostel. Today, I did a walking tour of the city with a real live guide. It touched on some of the same places as the bus tour but A) we went into some of them and 2) we got a bit more detail/history of what we were looking at and last) the walking tour is FREE. Besides all of that, the walking tour actually talks a a bit about WW II. (The bus tour makes mention of once in a one hour tour of the city that is the birthplace of the Nazi party.) The guide pointed out three memorials that have been placed in either very inconspicuous places or in very inconspicious ways in the city. No guide books mention these memorials. There are more than those three but to find these kind of reminders in Munich, you have to really want to find them. This walking tour was free but the same tour company also takes groups out to Dachau. I chose not to do that particular tour. I don't deal well with those kind of exhibits (I can't even look at a coffee table book of the Vietnam Memorial Wall without getting distraught.)

After the tour, I went to lunch with the tour group to enjoy a real Bavarian stew. The real draw for this lunch was the 1/2 liter of beer included. I tried the non beer fizzy apple drink. The stew was filling. I left most of the fizzy apple drink in the bottle. I then went letterboxing and scored 1 for 1! I tried to get to the Olympic Village/Museum but sans a guide, I didn't get there. Next trip, I guess. The Olympic Village is very close to the BMW museum as well!

Next time from Austria where the hills are alive. . .!