The first morning in Oberammergau we enjoyed a buffet breakfast at the hotel and then drove to Neuschwanstein Castle. The tour included a horse drawn wagon ride up the mountainside to the castle. A local guide walked us through mad King Ludwig’s fairy-tale castle on its craggy outcrop high above a sparkling lake and told us the stories of Bavaria’s beloved King. Today Neuschwanstein is one of the most popular of all the palaces and castles in Europe. Every year 1.3 million people visit "the castle of the fairy-tale king".
In the summer around 6,000 visitors a day stream through rooms that were intended for a single inhabitant. After our tour we drove back down to the town and had time for shopping and lunch at a local hotel. 
Our next stop was Garmisch. The quickest route there took us through Austria; Sheryl had Roberto stop the coach in a small village so that we could say that we stood on Austrian soil... another country to add to my list of "been there".
After arriving in Garmisch we had a brief orientation and then we were able to spend a few hours at our leisure. Garmisch could well be the sister city of Banff. The town with its many upscale shops is situated in the midst of the German Alps. There seemed to be more tourists here than at any other stop on our trip.
That evening back in Oberammergau, we spent some time wandering around the village to enjoy the painted facades on the buildings. We had an authentic dinner at the hotel while being serenaded by lively German accordion tunes.
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