New Surroundings in Bad Faulenbach

Today is a great day. I just ate a really delicious frozen pizza. Totally took me by surprise. I like this place more all the time. This morning I woke up and decided to shift gears. I'm going to run my own ad for a place, so I traded in the room at the B&B for a temporary apartment near Bad Faulenbach. (a 10 minute walk from the city center) It's serene and secluded, aside from a gang of other vacation houses. The owners are animal lovers, so they welcomed the cats with open arms. I have a super cute apartment for super cheap! It's cozy and I have a balcony, a kitchen of my own and a television in my room. Praise Jesus! I never realized how much I love TV before. Even if it's in a foreign language. It's like a big electronic teddy bear of sorts.

Now for the bad news. My good friends Tony & Stephanie took a train down to New Orleans to find a place to move. They absolutely love New Orleans and decided to move there so they could "vacation somewhere else". Well, their shit got jacked on the train! Can you believe that shit?!? Some jerks took all of their baggage except for their carry-on bags. Got off in Fulton, Kentucky. Amtrak can't do anything. Let's all hope that things turn around for them somehow. They are really good friends of mine and they don't deserve that shit. It really burns me up.

Not much else to report. I hope to have my ad in the paper in a day or two. Hopefully, I will receive some replies. I booked this apartment for 10 days. I'm really hoping this plan works out and I find a place I like so I don't have to pay an agent fee. Although I really, really like that apartment I looked at, I feel like a woman scorned. I still haven't received an answer about it yet.

Again, this apartment is fantastic. When I go out on the balcony, I can hear the waters of Bad Faulenbach trickling by. It has central stereo. The place has the feel of a lodge. I could see living in a place like this if it was just a tiny bit bigger. Still don't have internet, though. Oh well. I know where the internet cafe is now. Oh, but I DO have access to swimming pool! HOORAY! I love to swim, but I haven't been able to do it nearly as often as I like to. Yet another thing I'm looking forward to: swimming in the alpine lakes this summer.

By the way, did I say day 16 the other day? It's more like day twenty-something. I don't know where my head was at...

Some photos from my walk in the fog the other night:




Tiny frozen lake near Bad Faulenbach:



Here's the lake those guys were playing "ice-bocce" on before:

Further down the Lech between the town and the falls:

Füssen: Population 14,000

Hello friends,

It's day sixteen here. Still having zero (or null) regrets about moving here, even though technically I don't feel like I've moved yet because I still don't have an address! ARGH!

I decided to call my agent first thing tomorrow morning and find out what the deal is. The fucking owner of the building seems like a real alarmist if he's taking a week to check me out.

Alarmists: have I told you guys how irritating I find them? Certainly, it pays to plan shit out, but looking at every situation with the "worst case scenario" perspective is really tiresome to me. How can you possibly live your life if you constantly contemplate the worst case scenario?
Wimps. Always cryin' about somethin'. Something that will probably never happen! But I shouldn't be irritated by them. I should pity them, because it's a pitiful way to live.

Although I do find the show "MEGADISASTERS" entertaining. Go figure.

*thinks to self* Hooo-wee...ain't he a tall drink o' water? *shakes head*

Sorry, I'm in a cafe. Like I said, there are a ton of good-looking men here! Actually, I had a brief encounter with this guy who reminded me of a Mexican John Cusack. Or...Juan Cusack as a couple of my friends quipped. By "encounter" I mean an innocent make-out session. (He made the first move, of course. I'm old-fashioned.) You guys know me enough by now to know that I don't give it up so easy. He was only 26 and I can't remember his name, but isn't that the way it's supposed to be?

He checked into the B&B I'm at with his roommate and his roommates mother. Apparently, his roommate had a bad case of pleurisy and his doctor advised him to come to Füssen to recover. (I find more reasons to like this place every day...)
I had pleurisy years ago. It ain't no kind of fun.

Billy showed up with my trunk full of clothes yesterday. Hooray! I'm so tired of wearing the same couple of outfits...washing them...then wearing them again. I was angry, as some of you know. REALLY angry, but I said my peace, he said his and we moved on. Life is too short to carry grudges. Besides, he made good and brought me my clothes, and bought me three meals and some internet time.

The photo at the top is from Hohes Schloss the other night when it was foggy. One of my favorite shots!

Going back to the subject of the apartment, I'm still waiting on a reply from the owner. If he doesn't have an answer for me Monday morning, I'm going to run an ad myself and find a place. I'm tired of waiting. And as I said to Billy today, "...my money is as green...red, blue as anyone's!" so what is the holdup? I'm not a criminal! Sheesh!

I found the spot to buy cigarettes after hours here. There's always one guy in the place leaning back on a lounge chair watching television. I don't know if it's a gambling spot or what the deal is. I bought a pack tonight and I thought the machine shorted me my change. Then I looked, at there was 50 euro cent sealed inside the cellophane of the pack. Whaaa? How unusual.
I'm also starting to recognize the townspeople. I've seen at least 6 people several times in different areas. A small town, indeed.

St. Mang...again:


I saw this guy walking down the street today. They seriously wear these outfits here in Bayern (aka Bavaria):
Your's truly in front of Hohes Schloss last night:

The ceiling in the Knight's Hall at Hohes Schloss:


Some sort of large-scale wooden instrument or maze near Bad Faulenbach. The wood hangs loosely from a grid. You could probably walk through it, but banging the dangling pieces together wasn't too musical, so maybe NOT an instrument on second thought:

Day Fourteen: September 1st, Rothenburg, Germany, castles & the Romantic Neckar Route

I know it's horrible to say, but doesn't this Jesus look like a bobble-head?






















This has got to be one of the best days I've had on this trip. Just about everything went perfectly, except for my alarm not going off, but I still got on the road by 9:30 so no big deal.
I drove back up to that road, but there was nothing there. I think it was a logging route or something. And it got even scarier as I went further down so I am VERY happy I didn't continue on it last night. I easily could've gotten stuck in the mud in the middle of nowhere.

I drove around the castle cluster I spoke of last night, but dammit if they aren't elusive suckers. I drove all over that region and finally said "fuck it" after 2 hours. No biggie. It was still a nice drive.
So I hit the road of Rothenburg. GREAT idea! I had no idea what I'd find there. It was (another) walled medieval town! Super cool. I walked along the top of the wall and saw pretty much the whole town. It was a little touristy and there was a lot of medieval shtick going on; you know, people roaming around in period clothes, making period food & crafts, etc. But it was still cool. Very, very cool! I picked up some cool little antiques at a couple of shops. It was in Rothenburg that I decided that I may be a Deutsche-phile. I really, really love this country.

Makes me think of my friend Jon, who says he's a Franco-phile. Says "...I drink a lot, ride a bike, I like good food and I'm unclean...so hey..." That was bad, I know. But awfully funny!
Anyway, I finally found the Romantic Route! I started driving and came across ruins of a castle in Wertheim. I climbed all the way up to it, and let me tell you that wasn't easy. But SO worth it. Funny, but panting heavily transcends all languages. I ran into a few people on the way up and each time we had "conversations" about how difficult it is to get up there!
But I got some amazing shots. I was so happy to find another castle. In ruins no less! This trip just started getting even better.

I drove further and came across castle after castle. Some I could photograph, some I couldn't. I drove through mountains and nature parks and the landscape was just breathtaking. Exactly what I wanted when I planned this trip in the first place.
I continued on the route to Miltenberg, climbing higher and higher into the mountains as night fell. Then I reached a straightaway and suddenly the road was completely obscured in fog. There was a hotel on the left side of the road (and NOTHING else) so I pulled over. I'm here now. It's cheap and the room is great! I even have my own balcony. I just got up to look around the room to tell you where I am, but I have NO idea! Ha ha ha ha! I think it may be Boxbrunn, but it's not on the map so I'm not sure.
I guess I'll find out when I go downstairs to eat in a minute. More delicious German food & beer! HOOORAY!!!

The fog that stopped me:
*break*

I still don't know what town this is, but I had another excellent meal. This is a cute little hotel. Very rustic. I was the only one in the restaurant besides the owner/father, waitress/daughter & 2 locals having a drink.
Before I left I asked for ice, and the woman told me her father was "looking for it" for me. Too funny...

The radio was on and I heard yet another Queen song. I swear I've heard at Queen at LEAST 12 times on the radio since I've been here. (no joke!) Like I said, it's my kind of country. ;)
They also played some Alan Parsons Project and T-Rex, which they never play on the radio in the states except for "Bang A Gong" (which I don't really like)
I'd heard that they play a lot of eighties-era American music here in Europe, but I didn't really believe it until now. They play a lot of American music, period, but especially eighties music for whatever reason. When I was driving through Switzerland, I tuned into Italian radio and heard a version of "The Secret Life of Plants" by Stevie Wonder. That was really cool. It's on one of the video clips I recorded, so I will let you guys know when I get around to editing those.
I love foreign radio.

So I'm planning my route toward Frankfurt, although I don't know if I'll make the plane tomorrow. I got stopped cold by the fog much earlier than I anticipated. I may have to fly home Monday instead. Not that I mind, but wow...this trip is running a few days longer than I expected. I guess it's partly because I really love this country and don't want to go home yet. But I start school again in less than a week! Shit!

Tomorrow I head toward Worms & Mainz. The waitress said both are nice routes, so I guess I gotta look at my road map and decide for myself which way to venture! I only have one day left in this glorious country! :(
...*sniffle*...
...*weep*...

*break*

Aha! I am in Boxbrunn! I just found it on the map even though it's not in the index.
I just washed the pants I wore on the plane and I found some USD in the pocket. It looked like phony money to me! And I also found 3€ which I could've used the other day if I knew I had it! Oh well...

And here is Burg Wertheim. A BIG highlight of the trip!