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Friday, Mar 27, 2009
After seven hours of trains, I had arrived. I was a little late, but got off the train and started looking for my street. The first thing I noticed after getting off the train was a lack of covering. We stepped right out into the drizzling rain. Ah, this town was indeed small. Snow was everywhere, like it was still the middle of winter. Europe had apparently not gotten the message that spring had arrived. Spotting a large map, I went over and took a photo of it to help me find my way (it was a trick I had only recently thought of). I had only the notion that my street was southwest of the train station, but had forgotten that the little online street maps are not to scale. The distance was much more than I had anticipated. It always is.
All around, the town seemed fast asleep. The only signs of life I observed were the taxis waiting for passengers, and a few scattered people here and there who didn’t seem as lost as me. Certainly the taxis looked beckoning. I mean, for just a few short euros, I could be at my place in probably five minutes. I just don't like taxis. I just don't like not knowing the exact amount ahead of time and not knowing how much to tip—and knowing that I had the capability and fortitude to reach any place on my own. I just couldn't see myself getting into a taxi and finding out the destination was 100 yards down the road. Thus, I began wondering and wandering.
My compass was in my other jeans at the bottom of my bag, so I didn't have access to it. No matter. I could get my directional bearing from lining up the train station with the post office, and then heading south. But south didn't seem right. I wasn't finding my street. I wasn't finding anything familiar, but then again, what could be familiar 8,000 miles from home. I headed north again to the center of town, and down the street was a bank. With the outside doors locked, I couldn't reach the automatic teller. I tried my bank card in the door and it worked. The door opened and I went inside and withdrew about €150. Then I checked the map of the train station again and headed south once more. This time I ventured farther. The street lamps were sparser now, and I seemed to be heading almost out of the city, yet as the road continued, as did I. I reached some small tall hills and continued even farther. Soon I found myself in the southern part of town, which seemed almost entirely disconnected from the northern part. But I was fairly confident this was where I needed to be. I was now hoping to find my hotel quickly since the rain was still coming down and I was ever so cold. It was hard holding my camera, and my video recorder, and my umbrella all at the same time, while wearing gloves. In time, I finally found a name of the street next to mine. I followed it, but it seemed to head in a circle and I was not making much progress. Finally I decided to walk back down the road and check the opposite or what seemed to be the opposite direction. Eureka! I had found my street. I follow it a little farther and reached my hotel.
It was completely dark. Not one light was on. I went up to the porch and rang the buzzer. No response. But I gave it some time and finally, someone started walking up the stairs. Excellent! I would have a place to stay—always a good feeling. The man was a nice German gentleman and he opened the door, informing me that my key and a note were in an envelope outside the door. (I hadn't noticed that before.) He showed me to my room and bid me goodnight.
My room was clean and nice and reminded me of a small cabin. There was a little TV, a comfy bed, a small bathroom and shower, and a tiny desk. But mainly what I wanted was a WiFi connection. It was too late to ask about it and I had no idea even how to use the phone. Finally, I found the room welcome manual. I flipped through it and eventually found the information on connecting to the WiFi network. After a few attempts, I was in. I had Internet! Ah, good old Internet. I also begin charging my computer and camera batteries. Ah, good old power.
It was only about 11 p.m., so I decided to watch a little bit of 24. I didn't get very far before I felt extremely sleepy and went to bed.
At 8 a.m., I woke up. I was now completely out of food, so I would have to make sure I didn't miss any free breakfasts. I went downstairs and found plenty of food waiting for me. I had cereal, an egg, juice, cheese, bread, and coffee. Coffee at the hotels is nice. You can enjoy as much you want. Afterwards, I returned upstairs to shower and shave. And I reorganized my bags. The weight was lighter now, for I had eaten most of my candy. I used the Internet a little more, but eventually the phone rang. Odd. Who knew to call me there? I wasn't expecting any calls, and obviously had already woken up. It was the hotel hostess asking when I would be checking out. I said in about 10 minutes for it was 10 minutes to 10 a.m. Soon I headed downstairs, paid my fee and left. The fee, by the way, was really nice. I think it was about €33. Not bad for a hotel and full breakfast. When in Fussen, stay at the Hotel Jakob.
I then journeyed down to the train station. (In the daylight, it was much easier to navigate my way through town.) I usually only get lost once per city (usually). I found the bus station and waited for the bus. Once it came, I boarded, paid a small fee, and waited. This bus had one main job—to take people to the castles. There was only one other person on the bus, and we left shortly after. It was a short ride, but an exciting one. I was finally making my way to Castle Neuschwanstein. Even the other passenger eventually got off, so it was just me. The bus was taking me personally to the castle. I waved at the peasants.