Chapter 35 commemorative photo

A long time ago, I wanted to see the Neuschwanstein Castle (Neuschwanstein Castle) built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria.At the end of the nineteenth century, the young king suddenly built a medieval-style romantic castle among the lake and mountains.I have longed to see that castle since I was young, where Ludwig II's own design is incorporated, and every corner reflects his interest, which is incredible.Ludwig II built several such castles in his lifetime. Some people called him the "Mad King", but some loved him and thought he was "an incomparable artistic understanding".He discovered the musician Wagner, gave Wagner's talent the highest evaluation and the most generous help, making many of Wagner's operas successful.In short, he seems to me to be a mysterious man.He was the youngest king in Europe at that time. It is said that his handsome appearance shocked everyone, but when he drowned and died at the age of forty, it is said that he had become very fat and lost his teeth, which was very ugly. The beauty of the past is gone.These legends make me very excited.The related films and various biographies are also very interesting. "Neuschwanstein" means "New Swan Castle".In one of Ludwig II's rooms, there are beds decorated with canopies, and many furniture imitating swans. Even the faucets in the bathroom are made into the shape of swan mouths.In the castle—not in the courtyard, but in the building—there were stalactite caves adorned with lights, and halls where operas were performed for Ludwig alone, with Wagner conducting himself.

I decided to see Neuschwanstein Castle, a place I only dreamed of from books in the past, and now I want to see it with my own eyes.In the summer three years ago, after I visited Tanzania in Africa, I agreed with everyone to take a week off and depart from Munich to Neuschwanstein Castle.Mr. Hiroshi Kume, who hosts the TV show "Top 10" with me, said "I'm going too".That being the case, we simply applied to do a program, and the host of "Top Ten" started their TBS (TV station name) adventure trip from Munich.So we met in Munich, Mr. Kume also arranged a schedule, planned a two-person trip with his wife, and got off in Munich.Because it was a live show, the host recorded the show on the streets of Munich.Mr. Kume and I drove to Neuschwanstein Castle. The part in the castle was filmed with a video camera and played at the same time. This is our recording plan.

I just came from Africa, which was hungry and dry, and the nature of Germany came into my eyes, so fresh, moist and beautiful.The road from Munich to Neuschwanstein is as grand as an autobahn, the so-called "German Boulevard".Because of the rare opportunity, we borrowed a "Mercedes" convertible from the car rental company. If it weren't for the convertible, we would not see the two of us on TV.Mr. Kume and I sat in the Mercedes, and Mr. Kume drove.Behind it is a minibus, in which the director, cameraman, tour guide, and Mr. Kume's wife from Japan are all sitting.The weather was very nice and not too hot, making it a perfect day for a drive.My task is to hold a small instrument in my hand and communicate with the director in the car behind.

Next, I'm going to write about my own jokes.Oddly enough, this time my joke worked a little better, so I hold my head a little higher than usual as I write this. The car drove through the towns on the outskirts of Munich, and as we walked, we saw large paintings on the white walls of every house. The pictures were drawn from fairy tales, including "Breiman Band", "Hansel and Gretel" , "Princess Rose" and so on.Although this is not the streets of Munich, it is the country where Green grew up. These stories make us travelers very happy.We took photos at the gate of a kindergarten with "Little Red Riding Hood" painted on it.

The fields in Germany are well groomed and admirable. We drove in such a beautiful scenery, and almost no vehicles passed us.At this time, a signal appeared on the instrument I was holding: "Hey, your speed is too fast, we have fallen a long way. Could you please stop by the side of the road and wait for us?" I looked back, and there was no trace of the car behind on the wide road.So, I said to Kume-san (that is, I'm making jokes from now on): "Hey, let's stop!" Mr. Kume was about to pull the car to the side of the road, but when I saw that the scenery here was not very good, I said:

"No, no, anyway, we have to stop for a while, let's find a beautiful place, how about driving further?" We drove forward for a short distance, Mr. Kume asked "how is it here" and was about to stop, I said "it's not bad", but found a small house there, which seemed to be a toilet, so I hurriedly called out: "here No way! No way here!” After a while, I said “Ah! This place is good”, and then said “Oh, it’s still not good”, “Let’s find a better place”. It got into a pile of strange-shaped grass and stopped.Why stop here?Because I said "it's better to be here".Mr. Kume said:

"It looks the same everywhere!" At this time, we looked across the road and couldn't help being surprised.There are fields all around, but a gift shop suddenly appeared on the opposite side, and at this moment, two Japanese were walking out of the gift shop.Mr. Kume said: "Geez, people ask what we're doing here when we park in places like this." I also said "yes".At this time, I looked at the two Japanese and couldn't help but exclaimed "Wow".Kume-san also let out an "ah" in surprise.It turned out that the two Japanese were the famous Fuji TV anchor Shigeru Luki and his wife.

"There is such a thing?!" A few people who are difficult to meet in Japan, unexpectedly met in this vast world, on a country road in Germany, and at a place like the roadside!We are all very good friends.Lumu and his wife were also on summer vacation. They came with a Japanese tour group. They walked out of the gift shop one step earlier than others and happened to meet us.It seems that the encounter between people is really caused by the coincidence of countless coincidences! However, this is also because I have to park the car here, so everyone will meet! I am very excited.Like this kind of thing, some people may think "it's nothing special", but I will feel very happy, so I make a fuss, "take a picture, take a picture".At this time, the small bus behind also caught up.

I shouted: "Finally met in Germany, let's take a photo as evidence!" So, the director took someone else's camera and took a photo of us.Mrs. Kume also took pictures with us, a total of five people.I was so happy and had a big smile on my face when the photo was taken. After returning to Japan, the photos were developed, and I was shocked when I saw them.It turned out that the place where I thought the scenery was very good, when I took a picture, there were only grass and sky, and there was no scenery around that could show that we were in Germany.Mr. Kume said: "Isn't this the same as filming in Japan?"

indeed so.