Blogs from Hohenschwangau, Bavaria, Germany, Europe

There are many tours that you can book to take you to Neuschwanstein castle. It's a major tourist attraction, and well worth the visit! We decided to go to the castle ourselves after much research on line. The best way to go is purchase a ticket from any of the main train stations to Fussen station . The journey is about 2-3 hours on the train through the gorgeous Bavarian country side. All of the other travel sites indicated not to go to late as the line up's can be quite long. You can also book your tickets on line which will allow you to avoid the line up to buy the tickets. The tickets are quite cheap, costing about 30 euros return to get there and back. A steal! We decided to leave Munich around ... read more

Im catching up on blogs and pics for the family. Sorry some of these are months late. This blog is about our trip to the Neuschwanstien Castle. Some history (thanks to wikipedia): The castle is a 19th-century Romanesque Revival palace on a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau near Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany. The palace was commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavaria. The palace was intended as a personal refuge for the reclusive king, but it was opened to the paying public immediately after his death in 1886. The palace has appeared prominently in several movies and was the inspiration for Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle. We woke up VERY early to catch a taxi from our apt to PanzerKasserne. We didnt have our car yet and that was the most expensive cab ride in ... read more

Bruges So our last night in Bruges we ate some tapas, and Caitlin had some Grimbergen and Bruges beer. Being sick, I decided to take the night off from tasting, which was awful considering the surrounding. I will definitely return to Bruges at some point. The town is beautiful, there is no crime, and everything is walkable. We left Bruges for Amsterdam around 8:30 the next morning, arriving at the Eden Amsterdam American Hotel four trains later. Apparently track maintenance is a common thing, and they just let you know once you are actually on the train. Our planned naps on the train were cut short by trying to figure out what train we were supposed to be on at what time. Highlights of Bruges: Christs Blood (just off the Burg) Grimbergen/Bruges Beer Ice Cream (a ... read more

Spent the morning exploring the former Imperial city of Rothenburg ob der Tauber, famous for its medieval town walls and Renaissance Rathaus. Walked half way round the city on these walls before heading back to the market square. Then back on to the Romantische Strasse for a lunch break at the town of Dinkelsbuhl, another medieval walled town, full of colourful gabled houses. Realised we had no chance of studying many of these beautiful towns along the way, so headed to our next overnight stop of Hohenschwangau, home of King Ludwigs castles, the most famous Schloss Neuschwanstein. As we approached, the snow cover got heavier. Lucky for us, it had cleared enough in the last week for us to get there. This castle was directly visible from the balcony of our room, and floodlit at night. ... read more

We made it to the Neuschwanstein castle in time to catch the last English tour of the day. It is a 45 minute walk straight uphill to the castle through the forest from the ticket booth. The place was swarming with tourists which is a detractor for us but we made the best of it. The Cinderella Castle at Disneyland is modeled after this castle and it is truly beautiful from the outside. On the tour I was startled to learn the castle was just built in the 1860s by Ludwig II who was obsessed with Wagner operas. He actually built several castles, and his family was quite mad at him for spending so much money on them. The German people, on the other hand, liked him because he provided so much employment for the local ... read more