Friburg hat unusual gutters called Bächle. It is said that if you
accidentally step or fall into one, you will marry a Freiburger.
accidentally step or fall into one, you will marry a Freiburger.
The original reason for this trip was the farewell party of one of my good friends, Lena, whom I worked with in Hanover. Lena finished her studies in fashion design in Hanover about four years ago and came back to her home town Freiburg. Now she had made the decision to take off to Australia for a year. The party was to take place in the chic in-bar Coucou in the old town of Freiburg. Later in the evening we continued the party at the downtown club Karma, which was a small and stylish - and so full with people that it was hard to get through to the other side. What I didn't like about the club was that everyone was smoking in there. I think my clubbing days might be over, it's not as much fun anymore... I much rather go dancing!
The view from the tower of the Freiburg Minster.
Saturday morning before enjoying a nice breakfast with Lena, her boyfriend Carlo and his flat mate Dominic we took the chance to visit the cathedral Freiburger Münster, which is situtated in the centre of the old town. The building of the churhc started around 1200 and was officially finished in 1531 and it is a roman-catholic cathedral, which represents the religion of most people in south Germany. After breakfast we headed to what still was an unknown destination for me. Our first stop was the Rhine Falls (Rheinfalls), which is the largest plain waterfalls in Europe and it is situated near the town of Schaffhausen in northern Switzerland. The day wasn't too warm but we decided to take a small boat tour to see the falls. With its five euros and 15 minutes it was the cheapest and shortest trip they had, but it was more than enough.
Roaring blue water at the Rhine Falls.
Continuing our roadtrip we at some point came to drive uphills into the mountains. The Alps are not in fact just a group of mountains, it is an mountain area that is divided into 36 parts in eight countries. The whole area is about 200 000 square km large and opposite to what many people think, only the centremost and highest mountain tops are covered with snow all year around. One of the more famous alpine areas, Sölden, was actually beautifully green when we passed by. On Saturday evening we arrived in Schwangau, where our nice b&b awaited us. From our balcony we could gaze up to the Royal Castles (Königsschlösser), Neuschwanstein Castle and Hohenschwangau Castle. The clouds were hanging heavily over the mountains and the view was breathtaking.
A curvy alp road.
On Sunday morning after having breakfast next to a finnish family we headed up to see the famous disney-fairy-tale-like-castle Neuschwanstein. I must say it looked quite tiny from down the hill, but while walking through the gate I was in pure awe! You are only allowed in the castle with a guided tour, but it was okay, because our group wasn't all too big. Walking through those hallways and rooms you can't help but be amazed about the architecture. I can't believe how they were able to build that kind of massive castles back then with much less equipment than nowadays. Although nowadays nobody would build such a castle, because it would take too long and be too expensive. The castle was built from 1869-1892, leaving the construction incomplete upon the unexpected death of King Ludwig II, who had comissoned the castle. King Ludwig grew up in the other Royal Castle Hohenschwangau just down the hill, and on the building of his own palace, he had gathered inspiration from fairytale sagas like Tristan and Isolde and from the operas of Richard Wagner. The castle even has a singer's room, that was intended as a stage for Wagners pieces. The castle, that originally was meant to be a personal refuge for a reclusive king, but was indeed opened for the public only six weeks after Ludwigs death. The castle has about 1,3 million visitors every year, with peaks of 6 000 people a day during the summer.
The view from our hotel room, Neuschwanstein to the left and Hohenschwangau to the right.
I can't help but wonder what the life was like back in the day when there were kings and queens who lived in castles and did nothing but entertain guests and rode horses. Surely that wasn't all they did, but what I wouldn't give to even have been a servant in the castle. I mean even the thay had quite glorious accommodations. Sure, a lot of things are better now - we have running water, central heating and telephones. But believe it or not, Ludwig was a very up to date king, and he was up to date with all new innovations in his castle - including running water, central heating and telephones. Imagine that!
After leaving the castle reluctantly we headed up the mountains again - this time in Austria and again with amazing views. I could no say that I've seen Germanys highest mountain, Zugspitze, but unfortunately the clouds were hanging very low this morning, so I couldn't quite see the top. Around noon we arrived in a small village called Ötztal. We parked the car on a lot where people in wetsuits were running around and carrying rafts. I was sure I knew what we'd do, white water rafting. I was wrong. Both uf us got a set of wet suits, wet socks, hiking shoes, a helmet and a harness. Even in the bus on the way up the mountain I didn't know what was about to happen to us. It turned out to be a completely new adventure for me: canyoning. The next three hours we spent abseiling down the mountain, jumping up to 12-metre jumps into the water and sliding down waterfalls. It was great fun - but I do have to say my leg are still hurting even today! In Ötztal there are a lot of adventure companies who offer white water rafting, climbing, canyoning, biking - you name it. We enjoyed our day with our amazing guides Michl and James from the company Feel Free (http://www.feelfree.at/canyoning-rafting-tyrol/home/english/feel-adventure.html).
The first waterfall we crossed path with during the trip.
We continued our roadtrip towards Switzerland, making a quick stop in Vaduz, the capital of the small country Lichtenstein. Small really is the word for this country with a population of 35,000. The country is one of about two landlocked countries in the whole world and its area is only around 160 square km. The capital (that isnt the biggest city, the biggest one is Schaan) feels like a small town with its urban population of 4,000 and looking down on the city, Hans-Adam II, the prince of Lichtenstein lives in his castle just up the hill from the city centre. It's hard to believe that someone would still live in a castle. I bet it only looked middleagely from the outside - the inside is probably high tec...
In the evening we arrived in the small swiss town Weggis. It sure is true that Switzerland is an expensive country, at least in comparison to other central european countries. For a finn the prices were quite normal - then again I don't know if the prices are higher in the capital, probably. On Monday morning we made our way to Lucerne, which is said to be the most beautiful city in Switzerland. The town, which is the capital of the canton also called Lucerne, has a beautiful old town which most significant attraction is the brige Kapellbrücke The bridge was constructed in 1333, which makes it the oldest wooden bridge in Europe. Adjoining the bridge is the 140 feet tall Water Tower (Wasserturm), an octagonal tower made from brick, which has served as a prison, torture chamber, watchtower and treasury. The bridge was actually almost completely destroyed due to a fire in October 1993, it was rebuilt and reopened to pedestrians in April 1994.
The rebuilt bridge.
The final destination to our trip was a small city in France, Belfort. There was an ongoing music festival, FIMU International Festival of University Music. We walked through the old town, where all the concerts took place. Belfort is the home of the Lion of Belfort, a sculpture by Frédéric Bartholdi expressing people's resistance against the siege in the Franco-Prussian War (1870) – who shortly afterwards built the Statue of Liberty in New York. The coolest thing about the city is that up on the citadel of the city there is a huge pair of rubber boots - I have no idea what they're supposed to symbolize though...
After a long and exhausting - but fun and rewarding weekend we returned to Berlin. Tired but happy.
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