Deutschland.. My Fav after Suisse..

German or Germany.. What I remember first is the German classes we had in colleges.The classes only remind me of the chat stall in college which we would wait to eat for 2 days every week. I think Radi and Mathu would agree with me. Yet, we cleared the basic level and to add more I dont remember even a word until I reached Germany. I was so excited in going there , since it was a trip after a long time and for my birthday! We had a lot of confusion rather I had a lot of confusion whether we had to cover Neuschwanstein castle , Triberg(Famous Cuckoo clock) and Berlin. But later we dropped the Cuckoo clock since Venkat had already explored it and stuck to Neuschwanstein and Berlin. We booked the Thalys ticket to Koeln and from there wanted to roam around.
Neuschwanstein and HohenSchwangau Castle:
I know the names are so confusing, but the place is picture perfect. The famous Disney Land castle Logo which Walt Disney adopted is based on the Fairy tale castle in Germany. We reached Koeln around 7 in the evening on 21st and got the German Rail Pass , German Youth pass for 280 euros. There are various passes for adult,students and youth. They are much cheaper than the individual tickets. With this pass we can travel anywhere in Germany through the train and S Bahn . S Bahn and U bahn are the 2 metor systems or tram services in Germany. They are very well connected. From Koeln we reached Sttutgart which was the nearest place to stay and to reach Fussen for the castle trip. We had home made chapathi in the train and then got down at Sttutgart and took the S bahn line and U bahn line to reach the Etap hotel. Checked into the hotel and had a peaceful nights sleep after a long train journey. The next day was an early day for us, we woke at 5 and got ready to reach Fussen. Took the U bahn and reached Sttutgart main station. Since there was no direct train to Fussen , we had to do 2 changes. Some friends also accompanied us in the castle trip, but they took a different route to reach there. Its better to ask the checking inspectors for the directions of the train even though you are very sure of the journey. From Fussen we had to take Bus no 68 or 63 to reach the castle entrance. The bus stop is just opposite the Fussen station and you can see a lot of tourists rushing to board the same bus. The bus ticket was 3.60 for a return journey. The trip was a very pleasant one , very scenic and we could the Bavarian Alps at a far distance.

Once we reached the footsteps of the castle , we got the tickets to both the castles. The ticket is 21 euro for one person for both the beauties :). There is a guided tour in many languages. We first alighted the steps for HohenScwangau. The view from each bend was awesome and obviously we took pics. We had our lunch on the way and then waited for the opening of the English tour. The history behind these castles is about King Ludwig and his family. He was the son of obviously another Ludwig and HohenScwangau was built by the elder king and he married the Princess of Austria and this was their summer palace. The elder king had 2 sons, one King Ludwig and the other I dont remember the name :) . The younger son was mentally ill as history says . The HohonScwangau castle was the place where the kids came in summer and enjoyed their vacation and also hunting. It was a magnificent and mostly contains the gifts given to the elder King during wedding. You cant imagine the gifts, they are mostly some antique pieces made of gold or precious stones which is very normal for them!
It contained a Kings room,Queens room,Queens study room, Queens sleeping room and her dressing room and what not! It belonged to the 18 century and I still cant believe that every bit of the castle is so well mantained with all the richness and grandeur. The guide was sort of OK kind and explained the important happenings in the castle. Even the drapes and the bed spreads of the castle remain intact. WOW! The tour lasts for 35 min . We went from one level to another and explored the places. Our next destination was the fairy tale castle.

There are horse drawn carriages to reach that castle and also to go from one castle to another. But you can walk too . They say the walk takes 45 min, but for us it took only 25 min. It was a nice walk , but more of a slope , hence be careful! On the way while you are alighting to Neuswanchstein from Hohen, we can see the glimpses of the castle. My GOD! The most beautiful castle I have ever seen.It ultimately looks like the logo for Disney Land . As we go nearer, the more excited we are. We took splendid number of photos and it was a great feeling. This castle was built by King Ludwig 11, he wanted to build this castle nearer to the one his father did and this was the one that gains more vote. But the most sad part is he lived in this castle only for 185 days. U know why its sad:

1. It has a bed made of the exquisite wood work in the world .
2. He has a wash basin made of a silver swan and the water for that basin comes from the topest peak so that it is so pure.
3. He has many gifts from all over the world.
More to write...
The guide did explain each and every room as the other castle and she was so wonderful in her explanations. There we also a bread loaf which came to the king as a gift from some where around the world and its been preserved till now. Why the castle and its things remain so good is : it was taken as a museum after a very few years Ludwig died and maintained well. How the king died remains a mystery and he was suddenly seen lying dead.He was never married but he was engaged and he called off the engagement.

Similar to the previous one he too has a reading room, bed room,servants quaters , kitchen and what not! phew! It was amazing! Once you are out of the tour, we can see a bridge called the MaryLand bridge which is across the peaks and water flowing between them. From the bridge you can see an magical island or thats what I think , the castle looks so amazing and now I know why its called Fairy tale CASTLE! You can see it raising from the peaks amongst the trees and its as if its just floating in sky. DAY DONE! is what I felt.. :)

We came back down in a totally different route and it was a bit adventurous. Then with a ice-cream and fairy tale memories, we got into the bus and reached Fussen and then back to Stuttgart and then to ETAP! The next day would be more historic and not fantansy .....

BERLIN :

Berlin meant history to me, I stood on one leg and was stubborn that I wanted to see Berlin. It was far away from Stuttgart , nearly 6 hours in train and we got a complete cabin to us and Venkat was happily sleeping and me with a book .. I love this!

I tell you, we can take half a day to go around the Berlin station!! It was wonderful.. very modern and u can shop for anything here ...!

We first put our bags , then enquired about U bahn and S bahn - local metro and tram and also about the walking tour and started off to Potsdam! Potsdam is a very beautiful city , a little outside Berlin - 45 min in S bahn. Since we dint have much time, we planned to see the Sansoucci park and the palace alone. This was built King Friedrich II. This was his favourite retreat. He got the most famous architect from the world and did this, the speciality is that the park looks like a vine yard and it has vine creepers(not now I think). The shape of the park from the front looks in the form of a V and the structure is designed well. It is said that when Napolean arrived here, he entered from the back side of the palace and he dint know that because it looks so good, that we cant differentiate the front and back. When he came to know of this , he left the place furiously. We wandered around the park and took photos and hopped back into the bus and then the S bahn and reached Berlin again. We bought tickets to use the bus inside Potsdam , but we can get combine tickets for Berlin and Potsdam also.

Reaching Berlin and we went straight to the Bradenbugr TOR to start our walking tour :) . The walking is at 11:00 , 1:30 and 4:00 everyday. We took the 4:00 o clock one and waited near the Starbucks admiring the Bradenburg TOR. TOR in German means Gate. This is the first historic symbol of Berlin which shows the Lady of Victory riding horses and this was built over the victory over French and to add more the lady faces the French Embassy.. Nice thought eh!! The guide was excellent going per all reviews and comments. First he explained the TOR to us and then we saw the Hotel Adlon from where MJ "showed" his baby from the 4th floor. We Then walked to the Reich stag and saw it from a far distance. This is the German parliament building... more details later!
Then we walked and saw the lines on the road that splits Berlin.. into West and East. pretty historic feeling! Long and Strong History.
Then we walked through the Holocaust Museum , this is a monument dedicated to the jews who were massacred by Hitler. It was a different architecture. It contained only small rectangular blocks in black which was laid on a up and down surface. It was very creative, nice way to play Hide and seek . People are not allowed to smoke or drink or even stand on the blocks. By this they pay respect to the dead. Then the guide pulled us towards the city area and we walked across many main roads, we saw the most famous Trabant car .. which has become a comedy now. It was very famous automobile before and used by the German police but because of its poor performance , it has not been used and sits as a museum material :) . Then we saw roads affected by the world war, we saw buildings that were and are not damaged by bombs ... weird eh?

We walked a lot again and I was out of Stamina when we reached a parliament building which depicts both sides of Communism.. It would be better to be seen than explained!
Then we saw the FAMOUS Berlin wall... at last.. It was a great feeling to touch it.. its just nothing a wall which is ruined so badly and it forms a square where people just rest.
Berlin is mostly famous for street arts...very creative also!!

We then walked towards the Check point Charlie.. which was one of the main military areas during the world war and served as a main bunker to attack.
Also we saw Hitlers Bunk where he and madam Eva were hiding and later gave their life!
Then our guide showing mercy on us, asked us to take a small break.. that's when I had.. Strawberries and Cream.. yummy.. and charged up for the marathon again.
It is also told there are so many pieces of Berlin wall sold around the world, that when you combine you can get a wall which is much much bigger than the actual WALL! So all fake.. never buy them..
Also, there are stories of how people crossed the wall when it was officially announced that the wall would be broken. Some just made holes in the wall and crawled. Other just jumped passing the military personnel's!!

After the break we saw many famous buildings and churches... during this time I was just flat and was sitting anywhere in the road when the chance was given. Later , when I knew it was going to end... I was happy since I was toooo tired.. then the guide made an end with a speech about how the proclamation was made to break the wall... funny incident...!
Since it was a free walking tour, we can give any amount that we feel is worth to the guide.. we thought we ought to be generous since it was so excellent.. So its better to use this walking tour then touring Berlin alone !!
Then we had dinner in an Indian restaurant.. the most famous in Berlin and the best and cheap! but to our surprise.. we were the only Indians.. so at last we felt.. we are some where in Foreign.. for the fact the full of Berlin made us feel that way.

The next day was short for us, so we planned only 2 places:
1. Reich stag: We can easily reach this by the S bahn(Unter Den Liden) , but its always advisable to go early so that we can avoid queues. Once we reached the Reichstag, we were also part of the queue. It was a nice day, not sunny though. The security is too heavy and they check each and every one separately. .. wonder why its a Government building. After 45 min we passed the queue and reached in . Then entrance is absoulutely free . We need to take the elevator to reach the top, they provide everyone with free audio tape guide. We can just put on it and go around the doom fully. The building was an ancient one and was not used for sometime, when Hitler acted as the government. Then later it was put to use and re constructed with the famous glass doom from which you can see the parliament happening below. The audio is excellent and explains how the building and the doom was built and also explains the various buildings you can see from the doom. The doom also hosts a lot of historic pics . The view from the doom and from outside is worth. Well the main part is we can see the "Fat Hen" or the silver Eagle seen in the parliament building. This is the same eagle we see often is CNN IBN news.. or what I used to see.So , the Reichstag tour ends and now to the next attraction.

2. Lego Land:

Since we dint have much time and had to catch the train to Koeln. We went into the Lego Land.. it is basically the play area or a childrens play place using the building blocks. Its easier to reach this, we can get down at Potsdamer Platz and enter into the Sony showroom and reach the Lego Land. The entrance here is costly around 21 euros for both of us. I was a bit reluctant to go inside because I dint know what it holds... but at the end it was worth!! It was so awesome inside. The place was fully done with building blocks which we used to play when we were young.. with all colours. The set up was so good. The created cities , palaces , monuments all over the world with the blocks and there were many small rides and games.
One game where we could ride the boat inside the waterby standing outside and steering the wheel alone. We could fight over with each other by just steering the wheel and had loads of fun. The whole place had new rides .. a small toy train which inside went into the cave made of animals and creatures . Then there were puzzles set up in the whole place just for kids.. but we had a tough time solving them and ended up copying from a small boy. Even though it was for Kids Place.. we went to our child hood going into Lego Land.
After the Lego Land.. time to catch the train to Koeln.

Koeln:
Koeln ... beautiful place.. once you jus walk out of the station al you see is one of the most beautiful cathedrals in the worls.. Dom Cathedral!! My my... awesome... a very detailed and intricate architecture and a old Church.. But a massive one.. no words.. It stans in my eyes as I write this...
Then we just walked along the Rhine river.. on a super sunny day with kids playing around. Excellent and perfect vacation. After a superb Creamy vanilla shake from Starbucks.. caught the train to home... Brussels.. to get ready for a new week and start a new year in my life.. My Birthday!!! So HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!