From the Eagles Nest we headed West along the Austrian border to Füssen. This is where the famous Neuschwanstein castle was built by Bavaria’s favourite king, Ludwig II. It is claimed that this was the inspiration for Walt Disney’s fairy castle and it’s easy to see why. Ludwig became king at 18 and died at 40. He was a monarch with little power as Bavaria was subsumed in to the German Reich and spent his time in a fantasy world where he indulged his passion for Wagner’s plays and operas. The Neuschwanstein castle is built high above the local town and is all spires and turrets, an impractical but stunning piece of architecture. It was unfinished as Ludwig died before its completion and his successor wasn’t interested in spending the money to complete it. The rooms that are finished are a display of over the top pomp and indulgence, in a baroque & rococo style - absolutely stunning. He themed the rooms to be representations of his favourite operas & even include a cave. We also visited Hohenstaufen castle where Ludwig II grew up, a somewhat smaller and less grand palace but lovely - just across the valley.

The town of Füssen is a tourist hot spot, full of restaurants, bars and souvenir shops, all with Japanese translations. It has a nice friendly feel to it despite its obvious commercialisation. Many of the buildings are painted to enhance their architecture, for example around the windows to make it look as though there are balconies, bays or balustrades. The castle sits above the town and the painted towers really seem ornately carved, until you get up close & realise that they are just very cleverly painted to make the detail look 3D. Other buildings have murals depicting local legends or events.

A short journey took us to another of Ludwig II palaces, Linderhof. This one was completed in his lifetime and is another homage to Wagner and also French King Louis XIV. There are masses of gold leaf, mirrors and statues all mimicking Versailles in France. There are no portraits of Ludwig’s family but plenty of French aristocracy. The gardens here are beautiful and there are several follys where Ludwig would pretend to be in a Wagner opera, even having his servants dress in character.

This area is the beginning of the tourist route called the Romantic Road, which wends its way north through beautiful medieval towns and walled cities. It’s easy to follow, apart from the amount of roadworks and it’s common for the whole road to be closed, and Sally satnav has to try & find a new route. It seems that every journey takes us 3 hours, whether it’s 50 miles, or 200 miles.

We particularly enjoyed Landsberg, Augsburg (though we didn’t stop as we couldn’t find any parking), Harburg, Nordlingen, Dinkelsbühl and Rothenburg. At most of these towns we could park at campervan parking areas or easily walk from campsites. We had intended to stop at Würzburg but it is surrounded by sprawling suburbs and motorways without any suitable parking. Most of the towns we did visit have been preserved much as they were in the 15th century, even where there are shops they haven’t changed the outside of the buildings. Several of the towns still have their complete defensive walls, gates and towers that are nice to walk round. Our favourite is probably Rothenburg Ob Der Tauber with its beautiful half timbered buildings, large square, city wall and many towers.

We have started to get into the German tradition of a cake and tea in the afternoon at the bakery. A local delicacy is a snowball, which is a ball of ribbons of pastry covered in sugar, chocolate, icing and/ or filled with marzipan.

The weather is changing to typical autumn, it’s cooler with overcast days and the nights are drawing in. But we have had very little rain and we are still using our summer duvet.

Connie rumbles on, we have covered over 10,000 miles and her computer says she is achieving 40 mpg. She’ll need a service when we get home.

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