TRAVEL
this is considered the perfect holiday
destination for all seasons. Holidays
in the Allgäu, a unique combination
of tradition and lifestyle, provide
opportunities for refreshing breaks.
Suitably refreshed, I ride past Lake
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to Schwangau.
Here, where mountain giants like
the Wächter frame the gentle, grassy
slopes of the Alpine foothills, the
Bavarian kings found their much-
loved retreats. Maximilian II built the
Hohenschwangau residence in the 19th
century and his deluded son Ludwig II
built the castle Neuschwanstein. The
building was erected beginning in 1869
for the Bavarian King as an idealized
representation of a mediaeval knight’s
castle. The king lived there for only
a few months and died before it was
completed. The resulting “fairy-tale
castle” can be visited almost all year
round, or you can go to Disneyland to
see a modern interpretation.
I had reserved a cosy room with
balcony in the country Hotel Huber. I
rented a bicycle at the nearby Forggensee
campsite, to pedal to the valley station of
the Tegelberg. With its altitude of 1881m
above sea level, the Tegelberg is a striking
mountain massif in the Ammergauer
Alps, rising directly from the foothills.
It also has a cable car and from above I
enjoyed amazing distance views. To my
delight, some paragliders and kite pilots
headed out in spite of the absence of
any updraughts, but they started to land
very quickly in front of the valley station.
Quite honestly, I can’t think of anything
that would get me up with one of those
things. You reckon motorcycling is
supposed to be dangerous?- The tar might be narrow on the German
Alpine Road, but it’s in good shape. - The German Hulk is red, not green, and
gets his superpowers from fried potatoes. - All the designated tourist roads in
Germany are well signposted. - Ferry ‘cross the... no, not Mersey, but
Lake Constance.
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