Of course, the morning started much earlier than I would have liked. Because of the strange security system in the Prague hostel, the door to my floor became locked at some point after I got back in. I noticed it with some bemusement, but figured that the problem would be corrected by the morning when I had to leave. However, an American girl from Chicago was leaving to fly back home at 4:00 AM.
I was woken up first by her asking if I knew how to unlock the door and get down. I said I didn't, so she began banging on the door for 10-15 minutes to try and get the attention of the reception clerk one floor below, theoretically always on duty. There was no response, and a couple other people got up as well. It was a surreal feeling, because we were, in essence, locked in our hostel. I was pretty sure that I knew what to do, but really didn't want to get up at first.
Realizing that I would feel pretty bad if the girl missed her flight, I roused myself and took stock of the situation. There was no fixed line to call down with, and the banging wasn't working. I suggested that we wake everyone on the floor up and ask for a cellphone. We found one, and it worked. A groggy looking Czech who should probably be fired opened the door, much to the almost hysterical girl's relief. It was only 4:15, so I think she was ok.
Eventually I got back to sleep and woke up at 8:00 to catch the 9:16 train to Munich. So began my longest day of train travel yet. The train arrived in Munich at 3:40, almost half an hour late. So much for German efficiency. I then boarded a one hour train to the Buchloe station south of the city, where I transfered to another hour train to the town of Füssen. So if you're scoring at home (and I know you are), that made 8 hours of train travel overall. However, it was worth it as the train climbed higher and higher on the southward route, getting into my first real snow of the trip.
Hopefully I'll be able to load my pictures soon, but the computer here won't allow it. It was really exciting though, and I got to see deer-like creatures scampering away from the train every once in a while as we wound through sleepy villages and dense forrests frosted with snow.
Füssen itself is a typical tourist town, mainly because Neushwanstein Castle is one of the most photographed places in the world. It reminded me a lot of Aspen, CO, in fact, although it feels almost deserted. I'm surprised at this, because I would think wintertime would be a popular time to visit the castle by the Alps. Many of the restaurants are closed for the season. Ah well. My gain.
I can walk out on a balcony here and see the castle lit up, surrounded by enormous mountains. It's quite a site, and I can't wait to get going tomorrow. There are buses to the castle, but it's only hour walk, and I think the sights and sounds will do me good, not to mention saving 9.50 € on bus fare. Hopefully I'll have some amazing pictures to post when I get back to Munich, which will happen as long as it stays relatively clear tomorrow. I'm planning to take the train back around 5 or 6, to get into Munich before 8.
Quick note I forgot to mention before--I've become a magnet for traffic accidents. There were two bicyclists hit by cars during our walking tour of Berlin and a tram smashed into a car in Prague in front of me as well. Neither of the bicyclists were hurt, and the guy driving the car was alright, although his car wasn't--the tram ripped the front bumper clean off. I was glad he was alright because then it was ok for me to feel, as I already did, that it was an awesome thing to see.
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