Today was a great day. My first thought when I woke up this morning at 7am was that this trip has really flown by. I cannot believe that we have our presentations tomorrow and then just one more day left. Moving back to today, we hopped on the bus for about an hour long ride to the castle. Once we were about 10 minutes away, I could see the castles in the distance and it was beautiful. I learned that the castles were built in the 19th century and I find it unbelievable that they were able to construct such buildings without any modern resources.
After getting off the bus, we had about a 40 minute hike to get to the top of the mountain where the castle is located. Dr. Feick kept us walking at a fast pace and we managed to get up the mountain in only 15 minutes. Before taking a tour of the castle, we walked to this bridge where we got an amazing view of a beautiful waterfall. There is no scenery that exists similar to this anywhere back home. The scenery in Germany is so much greener and more beautiful than at home and that is just one of many reasons I love Germany.
We took a tour of the castle and during this tour I learned that the construction of the castle started in 1869 directed by King Ludwig II. This castle was never completed because the king died in 1886 and the royal family decided to stop pouring money into construction. The castle is fully completed on the exterior, but not on the interior. This castle now acts as a tourist attraction as I saw hundreds of people at the castle even on a rainy day like today.
The tour of the castle was amazing. There was a lot of fog and rain but to be honest, the fog gave the castle a really cool effect as you will see in the photos. The inside of the castle was very intricate and beautifully decorated. Every detail was thought of and nothing was forgotten. There were huge swan statues in some of the rooms which were very interesting.
After leaving the castle, we tried these amazing doughnuts that melted in your mouth. Maybe the best I have ever had. After this we ate lunch in a Bavarian restaurant on the mountain. I got a schnitzel, which was delicious. Next, we headed to a beautiful cathedral. The design and paint on the ceiling and walls was very detailed. One difference I noticed between Germany and home is that the buildings in Germany are much older in general and more intricate in design.
Once we got back to Augsburg, I headed to dinner at Rice Bar, which is a Vietnamese place. I got a bowl with beef which was delicious, and had no problem finishing it. Now I am about to go out and play pool with some of the group and I am looking forward to presenting tomorrow.
