Travel 2009
Neuschwanstein, Bavaria Germany and Sacred cows, Dehradun India
Germany
This section provides a sample of the several hundred photos I took on a trip to Germany, in June 2009.
I drove down the Rhein, over to Wurzburg and down the Romantic Road (Romantische Strasse) to Fussen and then did a little touring in Bavaria.
Neuschwanstein, but not how it should look. Not much you can do when you get there and it is covered in scaffolding.
Some of the castles and working barges of the Rhein. You can see some of the vineyards on the slopes, in the background of the pictures. Must be hard work harvesting the grapes.
Castle at Bad Honnigen, opposite Bad Bresig.
I think this was near Boppard.
I think this was near Bacharach.
One of the many barges working the river and yes, that is a car on the deck.
Drove across from the Rhein to Wurzburg, which is the start of "The Romantic Road", and it goes all the way down to Fussen on the Austrian border. It is renowned for beautiful medieval towns, which have been well preserved.
A panoramic view of the Wurzburg Residence palace, south side. This is three photos stitched together. They were taken hand held, so they do not quite match up and I have had to manipulate the stitching and it is far from perfect, so the perspective is a little distorted.
Wurzburg Residence palace, west side.
Fortress Marienberg, across the river Main.
I think this was Wurzburg city hall.
Left Wurzburg and now on the road. This is Weikersheim.
One of the entrance towers, Rothenburg ob der Tauber. This town is a perfectly preserved medieval walled town and is well worth a visit.
Rothenburg Rathaus (Town Hall).
One of the most photographed views in Rothenburg.
Having driven down the Romantic Road, you eventually come to Bavaria and I stayed near Fussen on the Austrian border. This is famous for being a Konig Ludwig (King Ludwig) area and his fairy tale castles/palaces are all over the place.
Typical Bavarian countryside, chalet style homes and log piles all over the place.
The Hohenschwangau castle, right next to Neuschwanstein.
Another view of Neuschwanstein.
Painted shops in Fussen, a chemist.
Had to drive through a small part of Austria to get to the German mountains. What a setting for a golf course.
The top of the Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany, 2964 metres, just under 10,000 feet. Looking back down to the start of the cable car, next to the Eibsee lake.
The summit, looking from the German side to the Austrian side. Temp was about 0C, but very cold when the wind gusted, otherwise nice in the sunshine.
Looking across the top of the glacier, the foreground mountains are Austria and in the distance, the Swiss mountains.
Just another shot of the mountains.
A photo from the bottom, looking back up the cable car run. I have used my zoom, to get close up and you can see the cable is almost vertical for the last few thousand feet.
More typical Bavarian countryside.
The Pension I stayed in, on the Weissensee lake near Fussen.
Oberammergau and it's painted buildings
More Oberammergau.
More Oberammergau.
More Oberammergau.
Oberammergau, Germany, June 2009. Very unusual head stone, carved wood.
In India cows are sacred, which means they can go where they like and do what they like, including sleeping in the middle of a busy road.
My friends will know that I went to India in August to try some IT training.
I was in Delhi for just a few hours and one nights sleep before catching a 6am train to Dehradun. So I had virtually no time to do any tourism of substance and have no photos to show for it. While in Dehradun, the training was very intensive and near 7 days a week, so I equally did not get any time to do any tourism. The training, unfortunately did not work out (long story), and then I was extremely ill and had to return home. So I have very little in the way of photos to show for my trip.
Dehradun is situated some 250Km's north of Delhi, in the province of Uttarakhand, near the borders of China and Nepal. It is located approximately 2100 feet up in the foothills of the Himalayas. Being a small town/city, it only has a population of around 1 million.
The centre of Dehradun, it's famous clock tower.
The main street of Dehradun, the market area.
The Buddhist temple, across the road from my accommodation. The monks were very friendly and welcoming.
Some of the horns they use for ceremonies. They were giving these a good old blow one day, I think it was a wedding.
I had never seen anyone ride a motorcycle side saddle before. Ladies in saris cannot straddle a bike. Also, it is only law in India for the driver to wear a helmet. Strange?
The government sponsored IT park in Dehradun. Nice new roads, but only half a dozen sites occupied and one site, still had a dwelling on it. The little red brick hut, just to the right of the storm drain.
The training centre. I think you are supposed to only look at the ground floor.