i hate to be cliché, but i couldn't help it. its sound of music this, and sound of music that, all over this place.. i DIDN'T go on the sound of music tour however. i refuse. aaanywhoo.
i'll start back a day or two, as after i left george in frankfurt, it was 5 hours on the train for me towards the far southern border of germany, to a little town called füssen, to see castles! the train ride was, well, a train ride.. i was able to catch up on some sleep, i'm pretty sure i slept nearly the whole way. i then get there, its hotter than hell still, i walk all the way to the hostel to find that they have no room. fine. i then walk to the tourist info place, cause they supposedly find rooms, but just my luck, its sunday. they're closed. brilliant. i walk around some MORE and finally a place for €35, which included breakfast! one more goo all-you-can-eat breakfast wasn't gonna hurt i figured. however, after all the walking and struggle to find a room, it was getting late. booo. so much for my original plan of being able to see both castles that night, and then head out on an early train the next morning.. oh well.
you can't see anything from town, but i catch the bus, and in 5 minutes the bus is winding up this road, and out of both sides of the bus you can see these castles looming up on the mountain. it was UNBELIEVABLE. the famous one especially, neuschwanstein, which i had seen in more pictures than i could count, but to actually be seeing with mine own eyes.. WOW. i immediately began snapping pictures. i would walk 5 meters, and take another one. each one better than the last. each one postcard-worthy. soo incredible.
i book my tour for the lesser castle, as thats all i have time for, then tour it, and then hike up and around neuschwanstein. the most spectacular view of the day, and perhaps of the trip thus far: from a bridge on the back side of the castle, up in the mountain, looking down at the castle from above with the entire valley behind it. its breathtaking. if this internet didn't cost a small fortune and if it wasn't a crappy computer anyway, i'd upload the oh, 50 or so pictures i took of it for you to see. although, the pictures can't begin to do it justice. you had to be there. wow.
from there, i walk the 8km back to town, at which point i'm quite tired. so off to bed in my lonely single. stupid filled-with-families-and-school-groups hostel. every town should have a nice, BACKPACKER oriented hostel. none of this crap where there's old guys and 5 year olds all over the place. i guess i'm just bitter.
not wanting to deal with that whole mess again, the not having a place to stay and wasting hours trying to find somewhere, i decided to skip innsbruck, and head straight for salzburg, where i was able to make reservations at YoHo, a hostel that many people have recommended, and where i could hopefully have some human contact.
the next morning, i had my actual last buffet breakfast, hiked to the castle, toured the castle, snap more pictures, hiked BACK, and caught the noon train out of town, getting me into salzburg around 6pm. hurray for the YoHo, i sat down in the lounge, and 30 seconds later was chatting away with a big group of folks. mostly canadians and australians, but fun kids. good to be back in the backpacker circuit.
wondered around today, visiting mozart's birthplace and residence, and some fortress, and just general meandering. i enjoy that. and tomorrow, off to hallstatt to visit some ice caves and do some more hiking, in austria's lovely lake district. its beautiful here, in austria that is. its like a nice, cheapER, switzerland. i like that.