Travelling Back In Time (Part 4): A Fairy-Tale Castle

Our Romantic Road trip in Germany culminated in the alpine terrain of southwest Bavaria. We were awed by the ice-capped mountains of the Bavarian Alps, and were dumbfounded by stunning vistas of rolling mountain ranges, emerald-green forests and exquisite blossoming flowers on expansive meadows. 

The splendid Bavarian Alps

The architecture of most houses had evolved to that of the traditional wood-framed alpine houses, and we had never felt so distant from home, yet our hearts kept reminding us that this is truly home.

A beautiful castle perched at the bottom of the Alps

My most memorable moment here was seeing Hubby running at top speed with his 2 beloved girls, with the backdrop of the ice-capped Bavarian Alps and a whole herd of contentedly grazing cows to their right. Eventually, they ran so close to the cows, and stopped to admire these gentle animals, much to the Bees' elation.

Can you spot where they are?

A breathless Little Bee after running loads! 

As we ascended higher up into the hills of Hohenschwangau where the magnificent Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles reside, we felt a lush silence of awe and wonder, as if the colossal giants of the mountains and forests were holding their breaths for us to appreciate the inexplicable beauty of this region. 

And true enough, our first glimpse of Neuschwanstein Castle perched atop a steep hill in the middle of the incredible Bavarian Alps was magical. To see an actual fairy-tale castle rising up above the craggy mountain tops was unbelievably enchanting. We were struck dumb by the sheer beauty of it all. 

Neuschwanstein Castle is a beautiful castle built in the 19th century, by the famous King Ludwig II of Bavaria, and is so spellbinding that it had been hailed as the inspiration behind Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty castle.

We stayed overnight in Hotel Muller, a quaint yet stately inn situated strategically between the 2 castles and near an alpine lake. What an amazing location! 

Can you see the castle?

We were exceedingly lucky to be allocated to a huge suite with 2 bedrooms and a large living room, with awe-inspiring views of Neuschwanstein Castle from all the windows in our suite! 

The Bees' quaint bedroom, with a view of the castle from the windows

I must highlight how amazed I was with the deep silence. After midnight, when everyone was asleep, I was once again struck by the sheer silence surrounding us, in the mountain region. The silence was so dense that it was deafening, and to some extent, pretty daunting and frightening. We would never ever experienced such silence in any urban areas. 

The lighted windows on the top floor to the right of the building were those of our suite's!

The next morning, we rose bright and early to travel to Neuschwanstein Castle. Unfortunately, the skies were grey and it was raining persistently. Due to the treacherous weather, we took a horse carriage up to the hills near Neuschwanstein Castle so that we did not need to walk too much under the cold rain. The Bees loved being in a horse carriage, at such close range to the majestic horses, listening to the clippity-clop of their hooves, seeing the steam rising from their hot bodies in the cold, and smelling their musky horsey smells. I had mixed feelings though - it was heady to be so close to these brilliant animals, but I felt really bad for them to lug a whole bunch of us up the tedious slopes of the hills. 

We had a few funny moments in the horse carriage though. We were seated right behind the horses, just beside the carriage driver (or coachman, in old English terms). And we were given the privilege to be privy to a few of the horses’ loud, snorty farts! It was hilarious, especially since the horses cleverly manoeuvred their large, bushy tails to one side, before emitting the loud, ever-familiar fart sound, to the shock of the Bees! When the coachman saw their stunned faces, he laughed and said that they were extremely lucky to have perfume right in their faces! Another time, the horses stopped completely just to poop – just like elephants!

The carriage stopped us only midway on the hills near the castle, and we had to trek uphill towards the castle. After some slight tribulations, we were inside Neuschwanstein Castle finally. 

While the weather was cold and wet outside, the interior of the castle was warm and somewhat musty and dark. The castle is not completed by the time of Ludwig’s death, but we were able to visit Ludwig’s intricately designed bedroom, and a somewhat bizarre grotto built into the back of his bedroom. We also visited other parts of the castle like the kitchen and the magnificent throne room. The Bees were fascinated, as this was the first time that they were inside a real castle!

We had a simple lunch in a cosy café with a stupendous view of the surrounding mountains and alpine lakes. It was bewitching just to sit and eat amidst such gorgeous scenery, while breathing in the pure alpine air.

The expansive view of the gorgeous surroundings - our hotel complex is situated in between the alpine lake and Hohenschwangau castle (the yellow castle on a hill)

After lunch, we decided to trek around the mysterious dark woods surrounding the castle, up to an iron bridge (Marienbrucke) spanning a breathtaking gorge with spectacular views of the castle and the surrounding plains. 

Marienbrucke, perched precariously atop the deep gorge

It was heart-stopping to venture onto the bridge with the crowds of tourists, especially when we looked down to the steep drop of the valley many kilometres down below. Can this skinny, ancient bridge truly withstand the weight of so many curious modern-day tourists?

The sensational view of the castle and its surrounding meadows from the bridge

A heart-stopping drop right down the the valley below! 

Still, it was certainly a privilege and a huge blessing for us to be walking in these beautiful woods, to be part of this resplendent scenery amongst the splendid Alps.

Little Bee plodding along the path up the hill! 

Hohenschwangau Castle on the left, where Ludwig II spent his childhood days in

We took a short bus trip down the hills to our hotel, and enjoyed a short stroll around the alpine lake, admiring the blossoming spring flowers in the hills around the lake, before departing this enchanting locale for Munich. What a beguiling day indeed!

Celebrating Mid-Autumn...With Whatsapp!

The mid-autumn festival is upon us again, where the moon shines the brightest and roundest, and where luminous lanterns swing cheerily from the hands of boisterous and merry children. 

We visited Gardens By The Bay's lantern display last Sunday, and was captivated by the multitude of enchanting lights, speckled all around a remote part of the Gardens. However, I enjoyed our leisurely amble into the Gardens in the dark a lot more, as the main lantern display areas were too crowded! There were food stalls emitting all kinds of delicious smells, and we snacked a little while Little Bee dangled her lantern happily. There was also a large stage in which a variety of Chinese performers were taking turns to dance or sing. All very magical and traditional!

Last night, on the actual Mid-Autumn day, I had to be away for work, so guess what? I still managed to "spend" the evening with the Bees, participating in their lanterns-lighting frenzy via Whatsapp!

With the girls being much older now, they were able to record their proceedings on video and sent me lots of audio soundbites - just as if we were beside one another!

So, on a night when I was thousands of miles away from home, I had never felt closer to the girls. And for the first time, I am thankful for the technology that enables us to communicate so freely with our family wherever we are! 

Inspired To Paint

On a lazy Sunday afternoon, Hubby took out paints, easels and canvas, and encouraged the 3 females in the family to indulge in a bout of escapism. Painting, to us, is escapism. The focus it provides is an amazing reprieve from the stress of daily life. Whether we emulate existing paintings, attempt to re-create the great works of old masters, or enact another world from our imaginations, it provides us with a little channel into another world.

Little Bee had previously sketched out a rainforest some time back, and could immediately launched into painting this rainforest alive through mainly verdant shades. 

Big Bee opted to paint a semi-abstract painting comprising of a fairly challenging blended background and a pair of love birds on a beautiful blossoming tree. 

Whereas I decided to re-enact an European countryside scene which I found online. 

We will be displaying our paintings around the house, which makes it so much more meaningful for the Bees rather than us buying paintings from other painters. And I think this rejuvenating exercise will be a regular one for us! 

Heading Towards Popstardom

*This post is by special request of Big Bee!*
As a little kid, Big Bee had undergone many phases of obsessions, ranging from milder ones to more compulsive ones. From young, she had been a devotee of Maizy the Mouse, Barney, High Five, My Little Pony, and The Powerpuff Girls. And now, as she is entering her teens, she has started on the inevitable phase - like many of us - of idolizing pop stars.

She is now crazy over Taylor Swift, and we had been blasted incessantly with her music and songs. However, I am glad she is sharing all these obsessions with us, so that we can participate in her over-zealous expressions of love!

To demonstrate to you the full extent of her devotion to Taylor Swift, here is a snippet of Big Bee's thoughts on her. Pardon the teenage gushings of love ;)

"Oh my gosh her eyes are like so nice... AHHHHHHH. OMG OMG OMG. She is like the best singer EVER!!! And she is like so so so so so nice and her face is like AHHHHSHS. OMG... sigh TEEHEE Her hair is like..... SO AWESOMELY CURLY. And she is sooo pretty. She's sooosoosoosoosoosososososoosoosoososo talented and her voice is TO DIE FOR."
She wrote a whole load of stuff, but I think I will stop here, lest it is an extreme overdose (which it is!). For those of you interested to read more, you can check out Big Bee's blog here!

Colours Of Nature: Strolling Through The Beginning Of Life

Every week, our family of four tries to amble or trek in verdant parks or lush nature reserves. Weekly jaunts in emerald green expanses never cease to rejuvenate and revitalise us, injecting renewed energy and optimism in us, allowing us to look forward to another gruelling week ahead.

Unfortunately, the recent torrential and incessant downpours in Singapore prevented much walks, but we had a most memorable saunter a couple of weeks ago in Botanic Gardens' Evolution Garden Trail. This walk brought us back in time, no, it literally transported our bodies and awareness to the beginning of time, when Earth was first created and early lifeforms were gradually emerging in a young Earth. Yes, we walked back millions of years in time.

We walked along paths where there were signs on the ground indicated that we were rambling in an Earth from 300 million years ago.

We caressed the hard, gritty surfaces of volcanic rocks in an Earth that had just come into being.

We were enthralled by the first flowers on Earth, and enchanted by the ubiquitous dreamy jade-green moss and algae that covered much of Earth in its early days.

We imagined ourselves to be walking alongside colossal dinosaurs when they first walked on Earth.

We were fascinated by antiquated, "petrified" trees that were from eons back.

And then we plunged into the damp humidity of lush rainforests when the Ice Ages on Earth finally ended, and when mammals started to populate the Earth. And all these were not conveyed through big, powerful video screens, but entirely through our imaginations inspired by evolving vegetation cleverly speckled across the path that meandered through the ravages of time. 

It was a beautiful walk, and the Bees were fascinated and captivated by the changing faces of Earth. They had a wonderful time hopping on giant boulders, admiring volcanic rocks, gazing at strange exotic plants, and observing little (and real!) life forms like exquisite tadpoles on huge lily pads.

What a beautiful world we live in indeed!