Fairytale Settings

One of the constant things in my life is waking up to my mom playing the piano. When I was much younger, I would sit beside her and look at her deft fingers gliding across the black and white keys. I always admired how graceful her fingers looked while she was playing and how she managed to make the music emanating from the piano sound so beautifully. Among the pieces she played that I favored the most were compositions of Ludwig van Beethoven, Johann Christian Bach, and Johann Pachelbel. My early exposure to classical (piano) music led me to become an avid fan, sometimes preferring this genre over my much loved punk rock. But Beethoven, Bach, and Pachelbel had more in common than just being world-renowned composers - all three were also of German descent. Yep, next up would be a series of pictures and random chatter about my visit to Deutschland - the land that gave me, rather the world, perhaps the best of classical music.

(Misplaced) rain clouds, you ruined the picture!!!

Lake Titisee

The flowers are too lovely in this part of the world.

The flowers are more photogenic than I am. Ugh.

Our first stop in Germany was the municipality of Titisee-Neustadt. Titisee-Neustadt is actually made up of six communities, namely Neusdadt, Langenordnach, Rudenberg, Titisee, Schwärzenbach and Waldau. We, however, were only able to visit the community Neusdadt. Being that Neustadt was only a lunch and souvenir stop, we didn't have much time to thoroughly explore the place. Nonetheless, we were still able to enjoy the picturesque view of Lake Titisee.

Also, I think it would be worthwhile to mention that among the several places I was able to visit in Europe, Titisee-Neustadt sold the least expensive items. It was here that my mom and I stocked up on numerous Milka chocolate bars, which are manufactured in Germany itself.

My definition of a fairytale setting

Ruins of the Heidelberg Castle

That family in the background though. He he he.

Buildings of the inner court of the Heidelberg Castle

The view of Heidelberg from the ruins

After Titisee-Neustadt, we visited the setting for the inspiration of one of Jose Rizal's most famous poems - "To the Flowers of Heidelberg". Our first stop in Heidelberg was the ruins of the Heidelberg Castle, considered to be one of the prime tourist spots in the city. I could almost imagine being in a fairytale as I walked along the ruins, which in my opinion were still quite breathtaking, despite the fact that they are deemed as "ruins". I am still in awe at the fact that the facade remains intact, even though the castle was initially erected somewhere around the 1200s. And can you imagine - genuine royal bloods have dwelled within the walls of the Heidelberg Castle!!! Please do allow me to get lost in reverie as I imagine the royal balls and fancy dinners and Beauty and the Beast moments that could have taken place in that castle.

Aldstadt or Old Town

Pretty facades in pretty towns

Entrance to the Carl Theodor Bridge or the Old Bridge

Our tour's next stop took us right into the heart of Heidelberg - their version of the Old Town or Altstadt. It is in the Old Town that the famous (and aptly named) Old Bridge is located, which offers an enchanting view of the rest of the town of Heidelberg. Situated at the entrance of the Old Bridge (Alte Brucke) or the Carl Theodor Bridge are several statues, including a monkey statue which locals say will give you wisdom, fertility, or love should you rub its golden plate. Since it couldn't hurt to try, I have to admit that I rubbed on the golden plate pretty intensely... I need all the wisdom I can get for the coming academic year.

For our second day in Deustchland, we went on a Saint Goar - Boppard river cruise. The river cruise allowed us to see the scenic views that the countryside had to offer. Plot twist: Although the pictures depict a sunny-ish day, I was freezing while we were on that river cruise, and this is despite the fact that I had three layers of clothes on.

The Cologne Cathedral

Perfection in details.

In my defense, I wasn't posing - the wind was just blowing my hair all over the place.

Collage of the stained glass windows of the cathedral

Gothic exteriors

After the river cruise, we travelled to Cologne, Germany to be enchanted by the famous Cologne Cathedral. It is one of the most beautiful churches I have ever encountered, second on my mental list of favorite churches only to the St. Peter's Basilica in Italy. The "most visited landmark in Germany" has its title cut out for it - the stunning, intricate details of each nook and cranny of this cathedral are a must-see. The stained glass windows were works of art; the gothic facade is a masterpiece. Yet another fantasy/fairytale/Disney setting, it seems.

Germany, as far as I have seen, is a museum, housing some of the most beautiful relics in the world - relics, of course, in the form of architectural wonders and spectacular views courtesy of Mother Nature herself. Deutschland will perhaps always be my fairytale setting, what with the classical music, and castles, and gothic churches, and lovely towns, and tons of cute local boys that I could definitely picture as my Prince Charming. Paraphrasing Taylor Swift, it was definitely enchanting to meet see you, Germany.

Neutral Territory

Very recently, I started to watch the medical series Grey's Anatomy. Grey's Anatomy is one of those shows that immediately reel you in and make you want to lose sleep just so you could finish marathoning one season (or two... or three...) of it. In one of the episodes, Dr. Cristina Yang says "Switzerland. It's very neutral there and they make very nice watches," and it's quite true. In almost every corner, there would either be a clock tower or a watch shop. To be honest, I was such a sucker for that "Switzerland makes nice watches" line and just had to buy one for myself. Yep, I officially allow you to add impulsive buyer to your list of things that are wrong with Lesh.

Zurich

Zunfthaus zur Meisen

Cour d'honneur of the Zunfthaus zer Meisen

(The shoes were supposed to look cool, but.)

Our first stop in Switzerland was the city of Zürich. Zürich is the largest city in Switzerland, and from 2006 to 2008, it was considered as the wealthiest city in Europe. Zürich wasn't actually part of our tour's itinerary, as we were supposed to go directly to of the city Lucerne. However, the hotel we booked - Radisson Blu, had a slight overbooking situation. The hotel's Lucerne branch couldn't accommodate our whole tour group, hence they had to transfer us to their Zürich branch. The relocation wasn't a loss or an inconvenience at all. Aside from giving everyone room upgrades, they also gave us a free city tour! As an addendum, the Zürich branch of Radisson Blu have these cool Flying Angels which are highly entertaining for guests to watch as they eat their dinner.

Seeing as Zürich wasn't really part of the plan, we were only able to see minimal sites in the city. Most of the city tour was done while we were riding inside of the bus, and the only time we were able to go down and "explore" was for photo opportunities at the Zürich pier and at the Zunfthaus zur Meisen. The Zunfthaus zer Meisen is a guild house and is one of the seven sites of the Swiss National Museum. Right outside the guild house is the plaque that commemorates the speech that Winston Churchill gave at the University of Zürich.

When in Switzerland, it only seems right to visit the Swiss Alps. The Sound of Music, anyone? But going back on tangent - our tour took us to see the resort town and municipality of Engelberg. Engelberg is where Mount Titlis is located, the site of the world's first revolving cable car. I'm proud to say I survived that revolving cable car without getting motion sickness! *cue in: self-pat*

Dirty snow

Seriously, "the cold never bothered me anyway".

If you haven't guessed from the series of photos, Mount Titlis is a snowcapped mountain. If you know me, you'd know that I absolutely adore cold weather. (You could even ask my dorm mates just how much I can't stand the heat.) Imagine my excitement when I learned that I would be able to see snow for the first time! I've found Mount Titlis to be the perfect Frozen setting. It was only too bad I couldn't make my own Olaf since I lacked gloves... and no way am I risking my fingers getting cut off because of frost bite. Also, I didn't have much pictures in the snow except for a couple of selfies because my mom was too cold to brave the snowy mountain with me. Nevertheless, being on that mountain was one of the best experiences of my life. Yes, because of the snow!!!

The Kappellbrucke

Yet another tourist photo. Oops.

The land of abundant swans.

Our final stop in Switzerland was the city of Lucerne. The Chapel Bridge or the Kapellbrücke is perhaps their most well-known landmark. The Kapellbrücke is a wooden footbridge whose interiors possesses paintings that date back to the 17th century. The wooden bridge also serves as the city's symbol. 

What I immediately noticed about Lucerne was the abundance of swans in the area. The swans, coupled with the vintage look of the infrastructures, gave the city a romantic feel. It was both peaceful and beautiful and if I am ever to write a romance/chicklit novel, this would most likely be the setting I choose.

Even though the buildings look dated and the architecture is visibly old-fashioned, the stores were all modern. Walking down their streets, we stumbled upon very modern brands such as H&M, Clockhouse, and Vans. They also had a Swatch shop, which held a great selection of wristwatches - probably because Swatch watches are actually manufactured in Switzerland itself.

Switzerland, as far as I've seen, was close to perfect. Quite frankly, the only problem with Switzerland is that everything (yes, everything) was so expensive, but that should probably be a given for 2011's wealthiest country in the world.