Spring in Munich was an extraordinary feeling.
It was my humble first time there and I din know what to expect.. But certainly not a volcano in a million years, u bet.
;)

I have nearly 500 pictures in all and that doesnt even include those by my colleagues when my camera died on me.
Thank God for my whining becoz someone else overheard and very kindly lent me her charger!
So hence, the camwhoring continues.



< Off to cook maggie mee add egg with lotsa sambal balacan in it! (Stirred by my BFF Miko when I told her I hungry... thankyouverymuch) >

Ok back.
Heeeehee.

DAY ONE

On the day we touched down, we decided to go to Neuschwanstein Castle - roughly 2 hours away from the city of Munich by train.

Talking to the lovely tourguide who spoke perfect English!
It costs around 39Euros (S$78) for the train ride and tour, castle ticket not included.



After 2 hours on the train talking and laughing along the way.
We arrived and went to a little cafe to eat something!

Hotdogssss...



And shared sausages and fries!



And finally, our bus is here to bring us up the hill!



Can u see the CASTLE??



We were standing on a bridge actually, and the scenery was simply breathtaking.



Neuschwanstein Castle is a 19th-century Romanesque Revival palace on a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany.
The palace was commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and as an homage to Richard Wagner.
The palace was intended as a personal refuge for the reclusive king, but it was opened to the paying public immediately after his death in 1886.
Since then over 60 million people have visited Neuschwanstein Castle.
More than 1.3 million people visit annually, with up to 6,000 per day in the summer.
The palace has appeared prominently in several movies and was the inspiration for Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle.

I wish I could say that this beautiful castle was built by a king for his lovely queen, but alas.. - Ludwig the Second was apparently gay.

Not only did he like men, he was very weird and preferred waking up at night and sleeping only at noontime as the years go by.
Legend was that if u wanted to see the king, the only time u could do so was to wait for his horse carriage to pass by the jungle dead in the night.
He was extremely reclusive, and hated interaction.

But the only thing that kept him going was his love for building castles.



He was extremely ambitious and even when he was deep in debt, he continued building castles.
The Neuschwanstein Castle was the only completed castle when he died, and even so - Ludwig II had only lived there for about 90 days in total.



In addition, Neuschwanstein Castle is also known commonly as Swan Castle, just like how Ludwig II was known as the Swan King due to his love for swans.
( I know.. want to how 'sister' right!)



Unfortunately pictures were not allowed inside the castle, but it was extremely interesting looking at how advanced and extravagant kings in the past lived.

One extremely funny joke during the tour was how Ludwig II had immediately commissioned the telephone to be installed in the castle when at that time the telephone was so newly invented, - he had nobody to call after putting one in his study!

We all chuckled at the thought of it.
:D

Outside the castle and after the tour.



My dress is lovingly by a new up and coming blogshop that I will introduce to everyone soon!
But up next..

DAY TWO!



My delicious italian lunch!
Love the fiery chili in olive oil.. I added so much coz I love spicy!



I adore the european way of living.. maybe its the air there, maybe its just the people.. but everything seemed to have taken a back seat there.
People enjoyed quality food at leisure timing, even though it was a weekday - everyone seemed to be taking two hour lunch breaks.

Then it was off to the city square for a round of window-shopping!
Or.. shopping, rather.
:p



We arrived at Maximilian Street.. roughly 15-20mins away from my hotel.



The neo-Renaissance Maximilianstraße in Munich is one of the city's four royal avenues.
It starts at Max-Joseph-Platz, where the Residenz and the National Theatre are situated, and runs from west to east.
Principal was king Maximilian II of Bavaria, who started the project in 1850, the avenue is named for his honour.
The western portion of Maximilianstrasse is known for its galleries, designer shops, luxury boutiques, jewellery stores, and one of Munich's foremost five-star hotels, the Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten.
Dolce & Gabbana, Versace, Louis Vuitton, Dior, Chanel, Escada, Hugo Boss, Gucci, Gianfranco Ferré, Bulgari and many other famous shops keep branches in the Maximilianstrasse.
They have increasingly ousted the traditional shops, art galleries and restaurants.



Maximilan II was actually Ludwig II's father and this well-known street was actually named after him.



The most incredible thing about Munich is their mix of old and new.
U can walk along the street and find century old buildings in excellent condition housing shops like H&M,Zara and Mango all on one street!



And then u continue walking only to find intricate pieces of art on the road.
Amazing.



Another Day(s) Out stuck in Munich..


Beware: Personal Camwhoring Pics coming up!
And all with cakeeee..!



We went shopping for new clothes (H&M got sale somemoreeee..) and then we couldnt resist having coffee and cake in a nearby cafe!



Waiting for the peeps to email some of the pictures we took there.. but even without, -the great memories of Munich will stay in my heart forever.
I can still remember the shock when the volcano erupted, the sudden closure of europe's airspace, the cancellation of all flights and the only thing we had was each other.

Thankfully I have such wonderful people with me, and I giggle at how we call each other late at night for secret wine sessions, along with early morning calls to go down for buffet breakfast.

But most importantly, I am thankful that I was safe and warm in the hotel while there were so many others stranded in the airport with nowhere else to go.

I hope everything turned out well for the many travelers with flights being resumed as airports open again.
:)

On that note : Please take care everybody, and do treasure the ones around u becoz life could be so fragile sometimes.

"My formula for living is quite simple. I get up in the morning and I go to bed at night. In between, I occupy myself as best I can."
- Cary Grant

And yes.. I will try my very best at my amateur makeup tutorial up very soon!
Love y'all.
Thank u for the prayers and emails, too.

God bless.

xoxo
elaine73