Schneeballs, Castles and Konstanz

Part 2…Ludwighafen was an impromtu stop on our way to Meersburg but it was definately worth it to see this corner of Bodensee (Lake Konstanz). Ludwighafen notably features include some quirky statues / wall art, which I still don’t understand what they were all about other than making a mockery of the political system and a rather large lady!

Onwards to Meerburg. As lovely as it is, there’s not alot to do when it rains. This was the only time we gave in to the weather and decided to wait it out and let the rain pass. Thank goodness for BBC  World news. After getting the rain out of its system, the next day we were greeted by amazing weather. We saw Meersburg in a whole new light. From the harbour we were able to take the ferry over the Konstanz. If you plan on heading there make sure you leave early and check the frequency of ferries during low season. Something we failed to do. I wished we had spent more time in Konstanz but we made the most of what time we had. As soon as we hit land, we hired bikes, cycled along the Rhein to get to Isle of Mainau. This floral island had been recommended to us by many and it’s not hard to understand why. You could easily spend a full day here amongst the garden but we had to zip round to make sure we made the last of ferry of the day. Still managed to get an ice cream stop in on the way back though.

As we travelled on to our final destination, we fitted in a fairwell rodelbahn ride on the longest track in Germany. Having to take a cable car to the start at the top of the mountain was the first hurdle. I do not like open cable cars. After gripping the bar the whole way up we finally we reached the top to be told we’d have to go down on separate karts as the track was fresh from rain. Oh yay! That said, I enjoyed all seven minutes of the ride, it’s a different way to take in all the mountainous scenary. 

Fussen, the final stop. Time to try some more authentic German food (mainly to keep someone quiet). Sauerkraut, spatzle and schneeballs, all three ticked off the list. After first spying Schneeballs in Heidelberg, we had to bag one in Fussen. However, it was slightly disapointing and made it all the way back to Bremen. The producer must have the biggest profit margins, scraps of shortcrust pastry rolled in to a ball with a bit of flavouring. Not exactly skillful.

For me the trip had been building up to visiting Neuschwanstein Castle. The castle Disney’s Cinderella’s castle is based on. The castle the car flies over in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. If you can face all the tourists, I can totally recommend, just avoid the bridge when a bus load rock up with their selfie sticks. Cue an enormous amount of irritation, yet British politeness. There’s not a huge amount to do in Fussen, it really is just a base for people to visit the famous castles and surrounding Bavarian attractions. But when there’s nothing to do you take up the opportunity of the hotel spa and fit in some last minute relaxation before an eight hour drive home.

Friday, time to hit the road. Week 2 of the roadtrip wasn’t as action packed as the first week but the environment made up for it. Driving away from the incredible mountains to the flat lands of northern Germany was a real comedown. A sneaky McDonalds made up for it, just.