Wieskirche and Frustration

On my way to see Neuschwanstein yesterday, I stopped at the Wieskirche, something I have never done before. This large, white church sits in a rolling green pasture, surrounded by a couple of buildings and a nearby farmhouse. The setting is peaceful and idyllic and horses graze quietly in a paddock behind the church.

I stopped by a small chapel on my way up a small rise to the larger church, decorated ornately with paintings, carvings, and gold leaf. The organ high above the entrance door was especially lovely. A fitting accompaniment for a choir of angels. I took lots of pictures even though signs asked visitors not to. All the other visitors were snapping away as well so I didn't feel too bad about it. I would like to have stayed longer and prayed, but with all the foot traffic I just have a hard time focusing. I noticed a nun on a seat near me basking in the Divine in her quiet and unassuming way.

Early the next day I set off down the autobahn intending to stay near Lindau, a city on an island in the Bodensee for a night. I stopped in Kempton on my way to shop around and use the internet which was possibly a mistake, as I was unable to find a room to stay in near Lindau, in spite of driving around for 2 hours. If I saw a sign for a room, I would turn off and travel off up a road only to find a group of 10 houses, none of which was identified as the one offering rooms. Walking from house to house is simply too time consuming. Other times no one answered the door, the rooms were already taken, or the proprietor was not inclined to rent to a single traveler. It was just a wild goose chase. Eventually I stopped at a small hotel in Ravensburg and was told that there was a big cycle event in the area and all the rooms around were full. The nice man suggested I travel 95 kilometers back to Ulm for a room, so I got back on the autobahn and headed that direction, thinking that if I was going to have to sleep in a rest area, the safest place to do so would be at a busy autobahn rest area. After a 45 minute traffic delay due to road construction, I finally reached Ulm and found a hotel right next to the autobahn with an available room at about 8:45, where I gratefully paid $95 for a room.

This was a lot like the nightmare trip I made to Cinque Terre in Italy in May and was one of the few times in recent months I have felt close to having a meltdown. When I am tired, my tolerance is very low. I must find some good ways to deal with that situation when it happens in future.