Tag Archives: Fussen

A fine holiday in Fussen

Posted on by Gcroft
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Continued from here.

I didn’t post a concluding post on our holiday in Germany a few weeks ago.   Our 2nd day in Fussen was yet another glorious one weather-wise.  It was 30 degrees or so, but we had a big, comfortable room (similar to last year), with a little fan to keep us cool.  Plus the air on the foot of the alps was better compared the Lake Constance.

After a good night’s sleep, followed by a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, we went for a little drive.  Our hotel is less than 5 minutes drive from the Austrian border.  We drove by the Lechfall and stopped to take some snapshots.

The fresh alpine air played havoc with my appetite and I was constantly hungry.   We drove to Pinswang and found ourselves at Gasthof Schluxen again.   Hubby had a beer while I ordered vegetarian cheesy dumplings served with sauerkraut. 

A lot of people stopped by at the guesthouse on the way to/from hiking or cycling.  We spotted this really cute sign just outside the guesthouse.

We drove around for a little longer, and then headed back to the hotel to rest.  That evening, we drove to Hopfen-Am-See.  Just 2 days in Fussen and we were missing lakes! 

We went for a lovely walk along the promenade and Hubby spotted rowing boats for hire.

Having re-watched Bridge Jones – The Edge of Reason recently, Hubby wanted to recreate the lake scene by taking me on a little rowing boat-ride.   I forget how much we  paid – possible €10 for 20 minutes and we were advised to stay within 500 metres of the jetty.   Hubby was in his element, but we were so caught up in the scenery while he was rowing that we forgot to recite poetry ala Daniel Cleaver and Bridget!

The restaurant where we had our anniversary dinner, the Fisherhutte is along the promenade.  We decided not to trace our footsteps back to the restaurant and had a simple Chinese meal in Fussen itself.

We spent our remaining 1 1/2 days in Fussen just chilling out, having nice, simple meals, going for walks and watching a few episodes of House on DVD which I’d brought along with us.

We checked out of Hotel Sonne Sunday 28th August.  Our flight wasn’t until 7pm that evening from Stuttgart which was about 2 hours drive away.  We decided to break journey in Ulm.   We parked near the town square, and went for a walk to check out the sights and grab a quick bite to eat.  The Ulm church is apparently the tallest in the world. 

Seeing that it was a Sunday, the shops were mostly closed.  We had another 100 km or so to go, so we decided make tracks.  As we made good progress on the roads,  we decided to stop at Tubingen, a very pretty town, about 30 km outside Stuttgart.

The town was buzzing with tourists and families out enjoying the weather.   We went in search of ice-cream but the queues were too long and we decided to stick to bottled water which we had with us.

We took a few photos to remember the town by, and got on the road to Stuttgart Airport.  Our holiday had come to an end.  Thank you Hubby for your lovely company, and for all the driving you did. 

Here’s a parting shot of ice-kaffe, which Hubby grew fond of drinking whilst on holidays.

Lake Constance to Fussen

Posted on by Gcroft
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We were quite tired after our 3 countries-in-a-day trip the day before.  There was another electrical storm last night, the room was stuffy and neither of us slept well again.  I was up by 7am, and asked Hubby to check with reception if we could check out without incurring cancellation costs.  It was fine – they were extremely busy and expected the room to go to someone else in a blink.

We were planning on visiting Fussen that day – it was my birthday and our 4th wedding anniversary, and were in Fussen last year on the same date.  However, instead of coming back to the Bodensee, we decided to spend the remainder of our holiday in Fussen.  I booked us into Hotel Sonne online, packed our bags, had a quick breakfast and literally headed for the hills!

We stopped to take some photos as we drove away from Lindau.

Check out the clear blue sky.  It was to be another warm day.  The drive to Fussen took just over an hour.  We remembered the road leading into the town and drove to Hotel Sonne.  We were about 2 hours too early for check-in, so we decided to leave the car at the hotel car park and talk a walk in the old town.

We realised that we hadn’t seen the Fussen Heritage Museum and bought combination tickets for €7 each which included entrance to the Hohes Schloss (Castle).   The museum was well worth the visit – there were various interesting displays – violin workshop, 20 paintings depicting the Dance of Death, the paintings on the ceiling in the music room, the library containing books going back to the 1800s, to name a few.

Today was also King Ludwig II’s birthday.

Whilst I was enjoying the tour indoors, I couldn’t help but notice how lovely it was outside from one of the windows.

It was almost 12.30pm and I suggested lunch and a beer at the nearby Gasthof Krone which we went to last year.   It does look like we’re sticking to the tried and tested here, but I now understand why some people go on repeat holidays.  There’s something absolutely charming about Fussen.   It could be the Alpine air, the friendliness of the people we’ve met, the food, the drink….

It wasn’t overly busy at Gasthof Krone and we were seated as soon as we walked in.  The restaurant has a medieval setting and all staff are dressed in medieval clothes.

We ordered a light wheat beer each which came served in a tumbler.

It was very warm out so neither of us were too hungry.  Hubby ordered a portion of Bratwurst and sauerkraut.

 Unfortunately I couldn’t really decide on what I wanted so I ordered spatzle, which is described as egg noodles and it was served tosse din cheese and served with fried shallots.  I had it last year in Augsburg and is a hearty dish.  The spatzle was also served with a big portion of salad, or vitamins, as our waiter joked.

Having had a total of 4 hours sleep in 48 hours, you can imagine what such a heavy meal followed by a pint does to you on a hot afternoon.

We checked in at 2.20pm and slept until 5pm at least!

It was only day 3 of our holidays, and I was sick of eating out already.  For my birthday meal (we decided to call our meal at the Romantik Hotel in Meersburg our anniversary meal), we went back to the Italian restaurant we ate in last year, Il Pescatore – the reviews on Tripadvisor were positive and the restaurant was only 5 minutes walk away.  The reviews don’t lie though – we waited a very long time for our drinks and food.  However, knowing this in advance (and I was still full from the spatzle) made the wait less painful.

Hubby ordered steak in truffle cream, which was served with a side of pasta.  I had a taste of the paste – it was delicious. Hubby wasn’t overly keen on the steak though.   He thought the meat didn’t taste as fresh as it should.

I ordered prawns in garlic and white wine sauce, which was served with garlic spinach and sautéed potatoes.  The prawns were served in a separate dish and there were 5 large prawns.  The waitress placed 2 prawns on my plate, while the rest was kept warm on the serving dish.  This was a winner.

Neither of us were in the form for staying out so we headed back to our hotel.  Seeing that I had consumed enough garlic to keep vampires away, we decided to watch New Moon.  I had brought along a few DVDs to watch in case we felt like having some down time, and it was the perfect ending to our first evening in Fussen.

Hotel Sonne, Fussen

Posted on by Gcroft
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Hubby and I stayed in Hotel Sonne in Fussen, Germany last month.  We initially couldn’t decide whether to stay in one of the hotels at the foot of Neuschwanstein Castle, or to stay in Fussen itself.  The reviews on tripadvisor did sway my decision, but in the end, we opted for Fussen for a bit of nightlife.

Hotel Sonne is highly rated on tripadvisor.  As we found out for ourselves, the reviews were justified. The hotel is situated in the heart of Fussen. The old town is literally around the corner, and there are plenty of restaurants and bars nearby. 

Check-in was a breeze and the staff at reception were extremely helpful and welcoming.  We had booked a Hohes Schloss room, with a balcony, a view of the Bavarian Alps and the Fussen monastery.  The room was very spacious, we had a king-sized bed, and the bathroom reminded me of our own loo at home. 

Breakfast was included in the rate, and we had a feast every morning. There was sparkling wine, a variety of bread, cold meats, yoghurt, cheese, hot-food buffet, little cakes, pastries, juices, smoothies, teas and coffee. 

We booked our tickets to Neuschwanstein through reception, which meant we just had to turn up at the ticket office an hour prior to our tour.

The hotel offers free WiFi, however, the traffic seemed heavy during the day and connection was next to impossible, until after 5pm or so.

These are the highlights of Hotel Sonne:

  • very friendly staff and service
  • lovely breakfast – there’s a sign in the breakfast room that said patrons were welcome to take away some food for snacks
  • parking is available at €5 per night. However, we weren’t charged for any parking despite them knowing we had a car
  • the hotel has a lively bar where I sampled some lovely cocktails
  • Inexpensive mini-bar. We declared 3 bottles of still water when checking out, but the receptionist only wanted to charge us for 2!
  • free WiFi – this was great when it was working
  • fabulous location – you won’t go hungry as there are plenty of restaurants and cafes around
  • would you believe they gave us a farewell gift which was a little bottle of schnapps and Bavarian cheese when we checked out?

Hotel Sonne is definitely one of a kind.  I’ve rarely come across such wonderful hospitality.  They are not afraid to give. Which is why they are guaranteed a return visit from ourselves, hopefully someday soon.

Lunch at Gasthof Krone, Fussen

Posted on by Gcroft
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We walked around the Old Town in Fussen before stumbling upon Gasthof Krone, which had a medieval themed restaurant.  All staff wore medieval-type clothes. We were ushered to our table by a young squire.  My german is almost non-existent, so I was very grateful when he asked if I wanted a menu in English.  

This restaurant is a treat for those for love meat. Unfortunately I don’t eat beef or pork for religious and cultural reasons, so I opted for deep-fried onion bloom served with salad. Hubby ordered Bratwurst served with sauerkraut and bread. Before our food arrived, the waiter put big paper bibs on us. 

Onion rings will never taste the same again. Check out the portion size. I only managed to eat half the onion bloom and picked at the salad.

Hubby said the bratwurst was very meaty and tasty, especially when washed down with his Dunkel Beer.

We skipped dessert as we were absolutely stuffed, but hubby had this little ice cream about 3 hours after lunch. It was called fruity and creamy, and the waiter sort of gave hubby a knowing look when he ordered this…!

Holiday highlights…

Posted on by Gcroft
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1) Tegelberg cable car ride (around 1700 meters) above sea level. We more or less got the last cable car up to the peak which took about 5 minutes. We were told when buying tickets that we’d only have 20 minutes to have a look around at the top. Once we got up there, it started fogging up so we were shooed back into the cable car for the trip back down. Fabulous views from giddy heights!

2) Coffee in Pinswang, Austria – we hadn’t realised how close to Austria we were until we went for a spin in the car on our second day in Fussen. We stumbled upon Pinswang, a gorgeous Alpine village, and stopped by at Gutshof Schluxen for coffee.  The view of the alps was amazing, and it is obviously a hot spot for hikers and cyclists.

3) Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau castles

4) Horse-cart ride up to Neuschwanstein.  These 2 chaps worked very hard to get us all up to the base of the castle.

5) Trek to Marienbrucke. We took this photo from the castle. The bridge is worth a visit, but if like me you’re afraid of heights, have something beforehand to calm your nerves.

Guess what we discovered today?

Posted on by Gcroft
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We went up to Neuschwanstein Castle today on a guided tour which lasted around 40 minutes or so. After the tour, we found a lovely bistro in the Castle.  They had a good selection of cakes, snacks and also champagne.  Our friendly waiter carried our champagne glasses over to a table with a wonderful view of the alps and surrounding lakes. As he was placing the glasses on the table, he told us that it was King Ludwig II’s birthday today.

Now what are the chances of me choosing to visit Neuschwanstein Castle on my birthday, which also coincides with the birthday of the great king who lived in the castle back in the 1800’s?

I’ll drink to that….

Shall we drive instead, honey?

Posted on by Gcroft
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Me and my big mouth.

I suggested to hubby that we find out how much car rental from Munich to Fussen would cost. Instead of getting the S-Bahn, bus, and then a train to Fussen, we ended up renting a car at the spur of the moment from Munich Airport. There was no sat-nav in the car, so we had to rely on a map and my Eyewitness travel book to get us to Fussen, navigating unfamiliar German names for towns.  The motorway was busy, and I know cars speed on the motorway in the UK, but I think driving on an unfamiliar route, on the opposite side of the road, and in a rented car made the experience super-scary.  

My heart was in my mouth for the 2 1/2 hours it took us to drive to Fussen. We did stop at the services for a break and to get our bearings. Shortly after we got back on the motorway, we saw a sign for Fussen, about 60 km away. We were finally on the home stretch.

We were not too far from Fussen when we nearly crashed into the back of a car, a tourist no doubt, who suddenly braked to a halt when a tall, blue pole came into sight.  I hope he got good photos and that it was worth giving us whiplash.

The route we took is called the Romantic Road, which is very scenic… rolling green meadows, cows, farms, farm houses, alpine forests, fresh air… you get the picture.

We drove past the turn-off to Hohenswangau and spotted Neuschwanstein in the distance. It was such a breathtaking sight.  We’re planning on visiting the castle on Wednesday.

Our hotel in Fussen is very central to the Old town, bars and restaurants.  We had dinner in Il Pescatore, an Italian restaurant in the old town, which was recommended on Tripadvisor. Don’t worry, hubby will be having lots of meats and sausages, so I’ll be sure to post photos. However, for tonight, we settled for a plate of spaghetti with olives and capers for hubby, and a napoletana pizza for me.

We’ve been up since 5.30 this morning, so I think a nice relaxing night is in store for us.