We’ve now arrived in countries where neither of us speaks the language, and we’ve continued to push out of our comfort zones in other ways too.

Switzerland

Lauterbrunnen, in the Berner Oberland region of Switzerland, is unbelievably gorgeous – exactly as I imagined Switzerland would be. There is a huge waterfall in town, an aqua blue river cutting through the valley, and the mountains are phenomenal. The architecture is quintessentially Swiss, and the cows roam in perfect green pastures. I am in love. Fun fact: this town was the inspiration for Lord of the Rings’ Rivendell.

Hiking around here typically involves taking a combination of busses, trains, gondolas and/or cable cars to get to the scenic areas (unless you want to get a killer thigh-master workout instead). Our hikes provided absolutely stunning views of the Eiger, Monch and Jungfrau peaks – perfect picnic spots. This has been one of my favorite parts of our adventure so far.

Germany

Bavaria

A long day of train travel took us to Fussen, Germany, a really sweet town complete with a castle overlooking it. In fact, this area is known for its high concentration of castles, most famously Neuschwanstein.

Part of its fame is that Neuschwanstein Castle inspired the Disney castles. We were warned that it might disappoint us in person. The 7,000 people visiting per day can’t be wrong, though, right? Unfortunately, they were – the tour of Neuschwanstein was short and dry. And the whole place is a bit odd – it’s not even a very old castle. In fact, “Mad” King Ludwig II tore down the medieval ruins on the grounds to construct his version of a medieval castle in an era when castles were long obsolete. It was built simply for his amusement, and its construction essentially bankrupted his kingdom. 

Ludwig II grew up at neighboring Hohenschwangau Castle (which honestly had a more interesting tour) and became the king of Bavaria at just 19-years-old. He was obsessed with the romantic genre and spent most of his time as ruler trying to create his perfect fairy tale. He’s a fascinating historical figure whose story would make a great Hollywood film. 

For example, Ludwig was a fanboy of composer Richard Wagner – Hohenschwangau had a special music room for Wagner to showcase his latest opera, and the only guest room here was exclusively for Wagner’s use (and has better views than Ludwig’s wife’s bedroom!). 

Ludwig essentially built Neuschwanstein Castle to honor Wagner. He commissioned the construction of a fake grotto inside the castle to provide a fun “outdoorsy” space for watching Wagner’s operas. The grotto had a waterfall, wave machine and lights that change colors. Why didn’t the tour guide cover more of these fun facts? I digress.

The day wasn’t entirely wasted, though. The throne room at Neuschwanstein is impressive, and the views of the exterior of the castle from a distance and the landscape as a whole are lovely.

Munich area

We then made our way north to the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial Site. I found the museum content here honestly disappointing. It was extremely text-heavy, redundant, and didn’t adequately provide a sense of the horrors that occurred here. The reconstructed barracks and crematorium were more powerful, but I still think the memorial is due for a major overhaul.

Changing gears, we spent a few days in Munich. This is a lovely city, with beautiful architecture and nice parks and shops. It is an extremely safe city and feels that way.

Our primary reason for venturing here, though, was to experience Oktoberfest (aka Wiesn). I’ve had this on my bucket list for years, though I started to question why and to grow increasingly concerned as I had an opportunity to do further research. I learned that opening day is completely nuts – 600,000 attendees. I get really anxious in crowds. It’s also extremely difficult to get a spot at a table in the beer tents unlesss you wait in line really early in the morning (with no guarantees). But we decided to go into it with an optimistic attitude, game for whatever the day threw our way. 

After the parade, we immediately went to the Armbrustschützenzelt beer tent…and got incredibly lucky and found seats! We made friends with the German guys sitting at our table. They kindly included us in the traditions, linking arms with us and swaying to the classic songs performed by the band. We shared toasts about 50 times, took pictures together and made conversation as best as we could with the language barrier. We had a blast! 

It was a bit shocking to discover that the tents only sell beer by the liter mug (called a mass). After walking around the carnival rides and enjoying the best people-watching so far on our trip (so many pairs of lederhosen! dirndls in beautiful patterns and color combinations!), we were exhausted but pleased that in challenging ourselves, we had a successful, memorable day.

Rhine River

We toured a few more towns along the Rhine. Rothenburg ob der Tauber made the biggest impression on us. Imagine the setting of Pinocchio – Rothenburg was the inspiration for the movie. It is a perfectly preserved medieval town, complete with fortress walls and turrets you can explore. 

We’ve had some minor glitches and unwelcome experiences on this leg of the journey. Dueling snorers: four at a time for a good part of the night. A bus that continually stalled out and started smoking by the time we disembarked. Misdirected instructions that added two hours to an already long train journey. But, we just keep reminding ourselves that these experiences challenge us and become our stories.

And now, we have detoured to another country as we eagerly await a reunion with Bryce and an opportunity to see him perform his music on Friday night. Guess where?