Pesach in Germany IV -In the Land of the Lightstones

Through the trees.

From Dachau we went to Füssen, home of Schloss Neuschwanstein - the famed Bavarian castle near the Austrian border.

After intensity of our first stop, the time spent in the castle balanced out the day, letting it end on a brighter note.

Click on the link to see the last leg of the German Pesach experience.



Hohenschwangau -the castle where Ludwig II, builder of Neuschwanstein, grew up in -we did not buy a ticket to go inside.



On the walk up



The castle . . .


The view of the valley.



Inside.







Unfortunately, we could not take pictures of the interior of the castle . . .



A view out of the window onto the nearby lake and the majestic Austrian Alps.









From there on to . . . Liechtenstein!




As a child, I received an atlas for one of my earlier birthdays. I would spend hours looking through its pages at the various countries, and discovered, much to my joy, that there was a country that shared names with me . . . Liechtenstein!
(In truth the name Lightstone is an Anglicization of the name Eidelstein, not Liechtenstein, but why spoil the fun)

For years I had been trying to plan a trip to 'my' sovereign principality, but none of my plans had ever come to fruition. The proximity to Ulm, less then two hours by car, left no doubt in my mind though that this would be chance to go . . .

So from Füssen we drove to Austria, then to Switzerland, and then across the Rhine, into the Principality of Liechtenstein.









We went to the castle in Vaduz, the capital, but unfortunately could net get in -as the Prince lives there (he is in fact the functioning head of state)






No Entrance





Wanting a stamp in our passports from the country (Switzerland and Liechtenstein have an open border), we drove across its width, into Austria - taking a stop to daven Ma'ariv - and then back into Liechtenstein again (thus avoiding the Swiss border this time).

With a new stamp in our passports, we drove back across Liechtenstein, and returned to Germany (via Switzerland and Austria again).

A night in Ulm, an hour or two of rest, and we were off for Frankfort and our flights home.

After checking in, we began to divide our food for the flight, and found that between the four of us we only needed two boxes of Matzo, not the three we had brought.

"It's worth holding onto," I mused, "who knows who we'll bump into."

After we had settled our expenses, T and D left, the spare box of Matzo in hand.

No sooner had they walked out of sight, though, then a lady walking passed us and turning with a smile said,

"Chag Samech."

Leaving her in the care of my dear friend Mendel, I ran post haste after the other two . . .

The lady, a local Russian Jew, had not been able to get any Matzo before Pesach . . . Now, however, she had.

Thus ended the Pesach in Germany.

Technorati Tags: Füssen, Castles, Neuschwanstein, Hohenschwangau, Nature, the Alps, Austria, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, Passover, Mivtzoyim, Travel, Photography