It was finally time to leave Munich and head down to see the family in Füssen. After a seamless check out we went down to the main station and boarded the train. We knew that there was some works on the line so we would face the unknown of a German replacement bus service for a portion of the travel but undaunted and being from England, where rail replacement is more common than rail itself, we continued on. The train journey was a pleasant one as we watched the metropolis of the city disappear into the distance as we ploughed into the countryside. Soon we were at the end of the line and needed to hop off for the bus.
Along with our other fellow travelers we all gathered around and waited for what seemed quite a while. Eventually the bus did show up though it was in fact a single coach, and at least 60 of us waiting to use it. We all began to get slightly worried we would not all be able to fit as nervous travelers exchanged glances. However, our fears were soon washed away as the scene before us unfolded. The current travelers going in the other direction began to pile off the roughly 55 seat coach, oddly enough, they didn’t stop piling off! I would hazard a guess there were between 80 and 85 people crammed into the single coach, it was a rather crazy scene though eased our 60 minds that we would certainly all fit. Soon the melee began as we tried to all fit in, in the end we had 6 people standing, not bad going. The coach arrived at the next station down the line 10 minutes after our connection should have left but fortunately the train was still waiting for us as we arrived on the platform.
This next train was nothing short of fantastic. Huge windows enabled you to look across the countryside with ease and gave everyone fantastic views of the Alps as they slowly approached us. We were particularly fortunate with the weather as you could see for miles which was a lovely treat. Soon we had arrived at Füssen station to be greeted by my Father and Brother who keenly helped us to our accommodation.
No sooner had we put our bags down and had a hot drink we decided to venture out on a short walk. Following the river we took in Lechfall, and proceeded to go up the back route of Kalvarienberg, a small hill overlooking Füssen, returning down into Füssen over the other side. At the top of Kalvarienberg there are three crosses and on the route down we passed 9 small shrines depicting different stations of the cross and Jesus’ journey from prayers in the garden of Gethsemane to his burial in the tomb. I tried to figure out which of the stations were missing because as far as I could remember from my Theology days, tradition originally had 7 stations and the modern has 14, though I was more caught up in conversation with my Father. However, I can confirm that Simon of Cyrene helping Jesus and Jesus falling for the second time are there.
Arriving back at our accommodation we agreed on a time to meet for food and settled into our new home for the next 5 days. Evening came and we headed out for food, to a Vietnamese restaurant no less! We set about our plans for meeting other family members at the station the next day and decided to call it a night. The next day was filled with exploring Füssen’s shops mostly in the hunt for a traditional Bavarian hat which I wanted. Sadly the hat hunt failed only due to my reluctance to spend lots of money, but I can assure any potential visitors to Füssen there are plenty of hats to be had! We were however able to pick up a few family members from the station as well as a few friends who were also attending the wedding which made for a fun filled day of exploring, and a long evening of drinking, discussing the wedding and getting nervous about my best man speech! Shout out to the Riwa Bar which I’m pretty sure put up with one or more of us every night of the visit!
The Next day we awoke and it was time to be best man, but that’s for next time.
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