Part 2 of my trip to Neuschwanstein, more pictures.
I think I have mentioned that the views from the castles are truly spectacular. I believe that most people are so engrossed with the castles themselves that maybe the views are not as interesting to them. As for me I far preferred the views to the castles themselves.
The picture above has ‘benefited’ from the Tilt-Shift effect where a specified part of the image is in sharp focus, whilst the rest is blurred. This is usually achieved by using expensive Tilt-shift lens or sometimes happens on its own as above. Well I like to think that is a Tilt-shift effect but is really the foreground in sharp focus while the background got blurred. Incidentally there is a nice piece of free software which will give you the Tilt-shift effect. It is called Tilt shift generator and you can either upload your image to the Flash-based app on the website, or download the program and run it on your PC. It also works on Mac and Linux machines as it’s encoded using Adobe AIR Runtime (which you will also need to install).
The picture of the tractor above was a spur of the moment take which I think turned out quite well.
The Alpsee above is a shimmering lake of multiple colours reflecting, I think, the different depths. It reminds me a bit of the pictures of Nordic fjords you see.
Alpsee from further afar to take in the tree in the foreground which looks like it has been getting abused…
I do not really have much luck taking pictures of plants or flowers even though they are one of the easiest and more beautiful subjects. this one above of a an emerging bud turned out quite well in my opinion.
A deck on the near side of the Alpsee, standing isolated.
Finally, the Alpsee with the still snow covered mountain in the background, see what I mean about being reminded of Nordic pictures now?
Horsecarts to both castles are available. These ones are taking a rest at a junction for Hohenschwangau, while waiting for another team to come up.
The castles seem a popular destination for bikers. Must be good riding roads to get there. However not everybody likes bikers it seems with some shops with signs proclaiming bikers not welcome. Puts me in the mood to get my own bike again.
So I have been concentrating on pictures of the scenery because I loved it so much, but here we have Neuschwanstein, as taken from the road leading to it.
Looking over the Village and lake.
View over the plain and lake from Neuschwanstein public area.
Neuschwanstein facade from path. It is of Neo-romantic style which fits my bill of fairy tale castles and was indeed the inspiration for the Sleeping Beauty castle at Disneyland Park.
Above we have the entrance keep. Notice the red brick facade which differs completely from the rest of the other facades.
And above we have some young men parading round the castle. I never found out what they were actually doing. Maybe just giving the illusion of soldiers on parade.
The above picture is the view from the entrance keep. I guess this is the source part of the lake below which we see in the other pictures, not the Alpsee but I cannot find the name even though I have read it somewhere.
The inner palace/castle as seen from the courtyard just inside the entrance keep.
A view from inside Neuschwanstein. I do not think you would tire from any of the views the castle offers. Although it is not permitted to take pictures of the inside of the castle, You are allowed to take pictures of the views offered. Well most of the books available from the gift shops feature pictures of the inside of the castle, that is probably the reason.
Neuschwanstein overlooks Hohenschwangau as seen above. Unfortunately the weather had become a bit muggy hence the quality of the picture is not great. I imagine in clear weather it would also make a spectacular view.
Finally we have a picture of us on the way back from the trip, photo courtesy of Abhi. Hopefully my companions won’t mind their picture on here. Not that the journey back was uneventful. We had missed our stop for the change of train and ended travelling all the way to Munich. As we neared Munich Abhi made several phone calls trying to find the best connection back to Nuremberg. From what he found out we had five minutes to catch the train. Naturally something had to go wrong and that was the doors of the train to Munich. They were stuck for a good minute while Abhi shoved to get them opened. We had notice this throughout the journey when somebody tried to get them open and should have learned. He finally managed to get them open and then followed a mad sprint to the Nuremberg train which we made but only just as it started moving as soon as we were on board. A nervous finish to the day as I believe that was the last train!
Also this week I was at Erlanger Bergkirchweih with my colleagues from work. It is a local beer festival in Erlangen which is not far from Nuremberg.
I must say I had fun and it was good beer!
Being in Germany, I am being exposed to many different styles, most with a more European feel although most of the Music on the German radio stations I listen to are of American or British origin. I have bought pretty much the whole of Gentleman’s discography while here. I was actually introduced to his music by a German Exchange student some years back when his album Confidence was big over here. I have heard a few songs from his newest album on the radio, he has a distinct sound. The song “Changes” which you can hear at the moment on his website is likely from a new album and is great, with the sound and feeling I loved from Confidence. One more thing, yes I am aware he is white and German and that does not sound like a likely candidate for this kind of music but he has big recognition in Kingston and a single listen to any of his songs will show you why. You can also have a listen here. Oh the song is about 3.5 minutes long. There is a problem with the file’s ID3 tag and the player will song that it is anywhere from 8 minutes to 11 minutes long.
has the ability to put a smile on your face at anytime. I actually heard this during an advert for a shoe shop on TV here. The great thing about the adverts on most German TV channels is that they actively tell you what the background music is which saves you searching for it when you hear something good. If a Song could get me You is the first single from her 2008 album The Chase. The single was released in August 2008 and both it and the album were at the Number 1 position in Norway. However I had never heard of her before now, in the UK or online. If a Song could get me you has more of a pop/folk feel to it. The great lyrics and upbeat tempo makes it instantly likeable and you can’t help singing along or simply tapping your feet.
