I'm off to see castles!

I’m still planning on leaving for Germany this weekend. Best Friend and I are going to try to catch the Saturday afternoon flight into Munich. Sunday’s flight has far more empty seats, so who knows exactly how it will turn out. One thing is for certain: I am going to Munich and I can’t wait until I get there! The uncertainty of how and when is part of the fun. I think that I have come to embrace that fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants aspect of my life. I feel so free!

I have so much planned in the short time I will be there and I hope that I get to do it all. I want to see and experience as much as I can. I want to watch all the dreams in my head transform into reality right before my eyes. There are many places that are my dream to visit, but among this list, Bavaria, Germany rates first.

Someone asked me what draws me to a certain place and why Germany was at the top of my list.

I’m almost embarrassed to admit how my fascination with Bavaria began. It actually exposes a geeky side of me that I never knew existed. I fell in love with Bavaria through a computer game I once played! I know! I, the girl who has had no interest whatsoever in video games since Atari, fell in love with a computer game! Let’s say it all at once and get it out of our system… “Geek Girl!!”

My ex and I used to have our own computer store. There was this guy who always loved to come in and talk us to death. One day he brought in this game that caught my attention. It was called, Gabriel Knight 2, The Beast Within. Here’s a description I found online of the game:

The Beast Within" is a direct sequel to Sins of the Fathers, the first in the "supernatural mystery" adventure series that tells us the story of a bookstore owner and writer Gabriel Knight, the last offspring of generations of "Schattenjaegers" (shadowhunters), whose task is to fight the evil forces that abound in the world. After leaving New Orleans, Gabriel moves to the Ritter Castle in Bavaria, Germany, his family heritage. One day, a group of peasants approach the castle, and the elder tells you about a terrible death of a little girl, who was killed by a vicious wolf. Suspecting the wolf could be a supernatural creature, the peasant asks you, the Schattenjaeger, to purge the evil. The investigation brings Gabriel and his assistant Grace Nakimura to the mysterious Hunter Society and to Bavaria's dark past.

The game tied in historical facts about King Ludwig II , his fairytale castle Neuschwanstein, and his obsession with the composer Richard Wagner, and his mysterious death as well as information about the Munich area. The game was almost like watching a movie. I saw beautiful shots of the Alps, downtown Munich including the Marienplatz, Ludwig’s castles, and the medieval style towns surrounding the area.

So let’s see… You combine this history with scenic pictures along with the supernatural tales of werewolves and make it into a mystery to solve and it’s no wonder why I became hooked. I did solve the mystery, by the way. Sure I might have been turned werewolf a few times before I made it, but eventually I made it out of Germany alive. Plus I discovered that King Ludwig was bitten by a werewolf on one of his midnight sleigh rides and turned mad and then later drowned himself in a lake. That’s what happened, folks, just so y’all know. Plus I saved the greater Munich area from the dangers of werewolves. I rocked!

I later followed Gabriel Knight in Game 3 to France to solve some mystery about the Holy Grail and vampires, but I never finished it. It was his stay in Bavaria that never left my mind.

After researching these beautiful places I saw in Bavaria, I knew I had to go there for real. And now I am.

As I said before, I hope to explore all the places on my list. I will cherish every moment of the time I have there. And of course, come back with tons of pics and tales of adventure to share with you all.

Until then, Auf Wiedersehen!