Note: Day14 was updated at 1pm PDT on 6/20.

Day Fifteen...

It's off to our favorite dream castle, mad King Ludwig's Neuschwanstein in the Bavarian mountains. We take the train to Fussen, accompanied by Minnie Daniels, and we stop for a "meal" at the microwave-burger place on the way to the castle. Going up the steep trail to the castle, we are cooled by the water and the little beach on the way.

Up at the Marienbrucke bridge, we pose for assorted photos after enjoying the crystal-clear mountain water. Our Bavarian friend, "Grampa," who appears to be the official mascot of Neuschwanstein (we've seen his photo on postcards!) poses with us and takes some of the photos himself -- he knows how to operate any brand of camera, any zoom lens, etc. etc. We see him every year, and we wish him a good year till we meet again.

We take a brief look at Hohenschwangau.and Kate can't resist buying a cowbell, her favorite thing. (If she can't have a pet cow, at least she can have a cowbell collection!)

On the train home, we meet some new friends, or at least the younger set does. They are Richard and Kim from Santa Fe, New Mexico and they've been given a trip to Europe for their college and high school graduation, respectively (they're brother and sister). Now that we have accumulated something of a youth group, we all traipse to the Hofbrauhaus for dinner, where it is about 95 degrees inside, loud, and smoky, but everyone has a good time.