(Recommended by BavariaBen and PStuyvsant)

Beim Landhannes
Familie Johann Mayr
Am Lechrain 22
87645 Schwangau-Horn
Tel - 8362/8349 ~ Fax - 8362/819646
Email - mayr@landhannes.de
This farm is in the village of Horn (just a short jog to the castles)
Excellent location near Neuschwanstein - English spoken

(Excerpts from PStuyvsant Trip Report) ..about 35km past Chiemsee I picked up the B472 for a nice cross-country drive thru Bad Tolz, Murnau, Bad Kohlgrub, and onto the B23 for a short drive to my first Bier stop....the Echelsbacher Brücke.

This is always a favorite stopping place to catch your breath and have a couple of cold ones and I always make a point of it when in the area. Today was great, there was a big crackling fire in the woodburning stove inside the small rest stop,a perfect place to shake off the roaddust. On a clear day the view from atop the bridge down into the gorge is every bit as good as from the Marienbrucke. However,today was a no go since there was nothing but low hanging clouds in the valley.

After a relaxing half-hour it was back on the road and a sharp left onto the winding country lane towards the Wies Kirche and Steingaden. The weather was making a serious attempt at co-operating with occassional glimmers of sun breaking thru the clouds,at least the rain had stopped. At Steingaden it was onto the B17 toward Fussen. My accommodations were to be at the bauernhof "Beim Landhannes", Am Leichrain 22, in Schwangau/Horn, just a cow pasture away from the castles.

I had written ahead a couple of months earlier and the Family Johann Mayr had confirmed a big double with balcony (yep...I decided to splurge).  On arrival I was greeted by Herr Mayr who was just returning from his fields and was herding his dairy cows back into the barn. The place was huge..it was one of those typical wooden, sloped-roof, farms with the creaking stairs and floors. Frau Mayr greeted me (no english...so far so good) and took me to my room. It was a large corner-double, pine paneling, and a nice balcony with table and chairs along with the usual boxes of red geraniums spilling over. The view was straight out toward Neuschwanstein about a mile away. This is great I'm thinking... I can handle three days of this.

By now it is mid-afternoon and what luck, the sun has come out! Not wasting any time I made the rounds over to the castles to see what's cooking. At the big crossroads by the T.I. office it was a little bit of mayhem what with the horse buggies competing for space with the incoming tour buses at the intersection. Throw in a few jaywalkers and it can get interesting. From here I cruised down the Schwangauer straße to make a stop by one of my favorite eating places...the "Hotel/pension Meiher". They have absolutely one of the best Schnitzels you ever want to taste, and the salad is as close to American as I have ever seen. I have been stopping here for years,and although I have not stayed here the Meihers always greet me with a warm hello, and a cold Bier. After stuffing myself I headed into Füssen for some exercise by walking around the pedestrian zone.

After a restful stroll around the town it was getting on toward early evening and I zeroed in on my next target...the Spar market for some wurst, cheese, rolls, and yes....a couple bottles of good old "Amselkeller" rot wine for a late evening snack (those Schnitzels do eventually wear off as we all know). Arriving back at the Bauernhof I dropped my stuff in the room and decided to explore the neighborhood on foot. As the sun set behind the mountains the air grew crisp and cool with a slight breeze coming in from the Forggensee,and so it was with great contentment that Day 6 went down on film, and into the books, as another successful venture.

But the best is yet to come...the next two days will have us scaling the Tegelberg, visiting Reutte, hitting a couple of luges (and one of them hit back), and a coin flip to see which one of the castles to visit. If there is any time left we might even do some sightseeing. As we ended Day 6, comfortably stuffed with Schnitzel and Bier, it was time to prepare for Thursday, Sept 24, and Day 7 of our little adventure. As usual, it was up with the cows and out for an early morning stroll over Herr Mayr's farm. There was a frost in the air and heavy dew on the surrounding pastures as the local farmers started their day. I was able to film some of the locals herding their cows out to the grazing pastures as well as Herr Mayr putting fresh milk into those large 10 gal. cans which every farm seems to have.

About 7 a.m. the local bakery truck stopped by to drop off baskets of fresh-baked rolls and bread. Man what a smell! Right on their heels was the local brewery truck which was delivering cases of the local brew for the Mayrs and their guests.The driver and helper knew their business and had unloaded about a dozen cases in less than a minute. With a hearty Guten Tag they were off to their next stop. By now it was time for breakfast and as I was the first one up and about Frau Mayr already had the buffet laid out (great cheeses, meats, jams, and of course..those great round baseball size rolls which I love.)

Today's plan depended a lot on the weather, and I was not disappointed. The sun was coming up over Neuschwanstein as I headed out by car for the short drive over to the parking areas. Having decided to visit Hohenschwangau this trip (I had been there on several occasions but never taken the guided tour) I wanted to be sure to get there when they opened at 9:00. Parking the car in the public lot I strolled up the hill past the gift shops and hotels making my way over towards the Alpsee. The morning haze hanging over the lake made a great picture!

From there I followed a small group that was heading up the steep path to the castle. Inside the courtyard I was greeted with another great view of the surrounding countryside, and by now the arrival of the initial onslaught of daytrippers coming up the road from St. Coloman church.

At the ticket window the sign said groups of 20 for the English tour..., tough luck, as I am the only American out this early. The tour was mostly Germans and Japanese and so off we went. As our guide rattled on about the castle, it's history, and the contents I could only speculate on the gist of the conversation. Suddenly, from out of one of the rooms came a small group of about 8-9 people in what turned out to be a special English speaking tour! A couple of the men were wearing NFL ball caps, and as I had on a t-shirt of my favorite team (the Cowboys) they suggested I join their group, which I did and am happy to report the rest of the tour was great. The German guide really made it interesting, and even let me sneak in some filming at the very end although they are not supposed to.

After the tour I drove over to St. Coloman for a peek inside. This is a typical German style church with the painted frescoes, ornate altar, and the old wood smell of years of history.

From here I drove over to the small village of Brunnen on the Forggensee for the purpose of scouting out some Bauernhof for BavariaBen. Brunnen is right on the lake and there is a large campground for both backpackers and trailers. There are numerous farms scattered over this area and the ones I checked for Ben certainly fit the bill. I would definitely consider this area on my next trip.

By now it is approaching noon and so like clockwork..it was time to find a relaxing spot for a light lunch of cheese, wurst, and rolls from the local market washed down by a couple of cold Bier. There are numerous bike paths criss-crossing the meadows around the castles (for those of you familiar with the area) and since I noticed cars going up and down them I figured it was o.k. for me too, so after finding a nice shady spot just off the main road I enjoyed my lunch with an entertaining view of the para-gliders coming off the top of the Tegelberg (next destination).

About 1 p.m I headed over to the parking lot at the bottom of the sessel-bahn (cable car) which goes up the mountain. This was to be another "first" on my list..despite numerous trips to this area I had never been up the mountain, mainly due to weather problems. Today was made to order, bright sun and a slight breeze as I hopped on the cable car for the 15 minute ride to the top. I really wasn't prepared for what greeted me. This was without a doubt one of the most spectacular views of any place in Germany...Füssen was in the distance,and the small towns which dotted the Forggensee, plus the views of both castles was breathtaking. My Sony was really getting a workout as was my 35mm. I was lucky to walk away with some great shots, a couple of which are now in my "wallpaper" selections.

At the top is a large wooden runway which has a flat platform, then tapers down about 45 degrees for a good "ummpphh" pushoff for all the junior birdmen brave enough to bail off this thing. There was standing room only for the para-gliders,and parachutists, waiting their turn to soar with the eagles.

Of course I was right in the middle of them filming like crazy, and stood on the platform right behind several of them as the made their leap of faith out over the valley. There is definitely an art to this sport and when the wind hits just right...off they go. It is really something to see and one of the highlights of the trip. The only problem for the jumpers is getting back up the mountain. The chutists have it made...all they do is refold, repack, and they are ready for round 2. The gliders however are another matter. They have to disassemble their craft..pack it...then lug it over to the cable car where it rests on top above the cabin..then back up the mountain to reverse the process before they can jump again. I estimated that on a good day a glider jumper might get in 3 or 4 jumps due to the amount of time and effort that goes into this. I was tired just watching them!

Heading back down to the bottom it was time for my idea of danger....ride the luge!! This is always one of my favorite adventures and having ridden the one near Lermoos/Reutte in Austria several times this brand new one at Tegelberg really had my juices flowing. It is only a couple of years old and unlike the one at Lermoos which is made of a concrete-like substance, this one is highly polished aluminum. You get on the sled which is hooked to a chain system that pulls you up to the starting point about 800 meters up the hill...from here it's "look out below" and you hurtle at whatever speed your nerves can handle (for me it's all out). I always film the ride and was able to get some great shots all the way down without repeating last year's spill (o.k.,o.k., it was my first time and my balance was a little off).

Tired but happy (and safely at the bottom) I was glad to have had such a great day in one of my favorite areas in all Germany. By now the sun was starting to go down over the mountains and so, after a brief stop at the market for "supplies" it was back to my balcony at the Bauernhof for a reflection on the first week of what has so far been a great trip. The good news is ... there is still Day 8... the bad news is the luge in Lermoos was lurking and I was to come out on the short end of the stick in this encounter.

Friday Sep 25... It's now Day 8 (and the dreaded halfway point of the trip) but we are up with the chickens and ready for another adventure. After a memorable Day 7 I am ready to try and top that by heading into Austria for a romp around my favorite stomping grounds...Reutte, and the luge at Biberwier near Lermoos. The luge is always a "must do" on my list ever since BavariaBen and I got hooked on our first trip there in '93.

Back on the road we are off to Austria. The sun is out and it looks like another great day weatherwise. Now that the border stations are gone ,the crossing and short drive to Reutte is a breeze. I always stop at the T.I. office there as they usually have some good literature on farms, pensions, etc. in the area. Last year I stayed at the "Schluxenhof" in Unterpinswang just outside Reutte and loved it! This is where King Ludwig used to stop off for a brewski or two on his many jaunts around the countryside in his fancy carriages and sleighs. He also stayed here a few times (Room #5) which is a large corner room overlooking the surrounding hills. Rick Steves also stayed here in '94 and there is a small brass nameplate with his name and the date which the owners proudly display.

Anyway...back to the subject. From Reutte you pick up the road to Innsbruck for about 20 km through very picturesque countryside until you come to a long tunnel. As you exit on the other end take the first turnoff to the left toward the luge (sign: Sommerodelbahn). Arriving in the parking lot I am pleased to discover I am the only one there! This is great I'm thinking...now I can floorboard it down the course and not worry about catching up to someone in front of me (like I did with Ben in '95 when he stopped halfway down and decided to surprise me by standing there with his thumb out as I flew by with my camera rolling. We still get a kick out of watching that one.)

You have a choice of fares...single, 3-ride, 5-ride, or 10-ride. I usually get the one for 3 which averages out to about $5 a ride. So now you strap yourself into the chairlift for a quiet peaceful ride up the mountain, through the tall fir trees, watching the cows and sheep grazing in the pastures below, and on up to the top of the course.

This is the longest luge in Austria, about 1800 meters (4000 ft.) and very popular during high season. I, on the other hand, have timed my arrival for the last weekend of the season and voila....no crowds.

At the top a guy punches your ticket to show you have used up a ride, and you pick up a sled and go over to the starting point. Here's where it gets a little tricky...being a camera nut there is no doubt this adventure is going to get filmed as it has on previous occasions, and besides I know the routine, right? Yeah sure...so I get on the sled, camera in my right hand, grab the control lever with my left, push off, and let gravity take over from there. Unless you have done this it is difficult to describe the thrill you are about to experience. It's one thing to just ride like a normal person, slow and easy, however it is something else when you are hugging those tight curves and building up a head of steam while looking through a camcorder lens. It definitely alters your sense of balance. Besides...having done this before I've got it down pat, right? Not so this time meine dammen und herren...I was about a third of the way down and doing about 40mph on an S-curve when all of a sudden I'm airborne, the sled goes one way and me the other. I hit the concrete track on my right side and and elbow with the camera still rolling..by now I've got a nice raw patch from wrist to elbow for a souvenir ( Rick warns of this in his book but nooooo.....I have to find out the hard way).

Meanwhile the sled has righted itself and is continuing on down the course while I stand there with my camera running wondering where that truck came from.Needless to say, in addition to the quiet ride up the hill, I now had a quiet walk back down. Apparently this must happen a lot because the guy who strapped me in the chairlift for my next assault just laughed and said "langsame bitte". By now things had moved to the level of "man vs.machine" and there was no way I was leaving without the thrill of victory. Happy to say....the next run was without incident and I got some great footage all the way down.

By now I've worked up a good excuse for a couple of cold ones and so it is back in the car for the drive to Reutte. Stopping at a small imbiss near the luge I am able to unwind from my near death experience and start looking forward to moving out to the Bodensee on Day 9. The rest of the day was easy pace with some time in Reutte, small but quaint, and a lot of good film of the painted frescoes ( much like Oberammergau).

Arriving back at the bauernhof in late afternoon, tired but content, I am looking forward to a good schnitzel mit pommes, a last drive around the countryside along the Forgensee,and back over to the castles where I parked on the side of the road for a last look at the hang-gliders coming off the Tegelberg. After picking up a good bottle of red wine to enjoy on the balcony it's time to pack up for the next adventure. Grateful for a great three days in my second most favorite place in Germany (the Black Forest being first) I hit the pillow that night convinced that if I ever hit the lottery I will have a summer home near the castles, a bauernhof in Gutach, and Ben and his clan can come visit anytime...