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Published: June 23rd 2015
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Neuschwanstein
The climb up to the castle Monday 22 June 2015
Ever had one of those days when given half a chance you would have done things differently. Today was one of those days. The really good thing about today was the sun was shining and it was feeling reasonably warm. So far the weather has been quite unseasonal and even the locals haven't got their summer clothes out yet. It is a bit like Dunedin, NZ. Just wear layers, one of four seasons could be an hour away.
We headed off in the direction of Fussen, a town near the well known tourist attraction of Neuschwanstein Castle. Walt Disney was so taken with this castle that he used it to design his Disneyland castle. The weather was perfect with just a gentle breeze. We were guided into a carpark and paid the 6€. This set the tone for the day.
The leisurely walk up to the ticket office was done with little effort. Ahead of us was a queue which we joined, no questions asked. We hoped it wasn't the queue for a pizza or ice cream or WC. Mistake No.1. We should have got here earlier. It was now 11:15 am. An official
came along the queue and announced the times for the next available tour - 2:00 pm. Mistake No.2. We should have prebooked our tickets the day before. After about 75 minutes in the queue we were able to purchase our tickets and given our guided tour time. What a pleasant surprise we received (or not). Without question we received the Seniors discount and a tour time of 1:55 pm. It was now 12:30 pm.
The walk up to the castle takes an energetic forty minutes. There are two other options. Pay for the privilege of the very crowded bus ride or riding on a horse drawn carriage. Those poor horses trudging up that hill only to turn around and do it all over again. We hoped they got tomorrow off. The views of the castle and the nearby countryside are certainly dramatic.
We were part of a 50+ tour group and taken through several furnished rooms. In each room we were given detailed information about the room and its decorations. For a castle only 150 years old it was decorated to look much older and using many different styles from Gothic to Byzantine. The tour was over in
less than half an hour and concluded with a walk through one of many gift and souvenir shops. One tour member, not us, asked the guide about the similarity between this castle and the one at Disneyland. With the sort of crowd today it must get quite crowded during the height of the tourist season and so it could easily seem like Disneyland.
Impressions. Pleased to have visited this well known tourist sight but feel as though it is all contrived. On our last adventure we visited the palace at Versailles. We came away from that feeling really disappointed because of the tidal wave of people pushing you through without having a chance to view anything. At least this time the groups were organized so that you had a chance to view quickly and move on. Photography is not permitted and this speeds up the movement of people. There was no posing in front of every piece of furniture for that family album photo.
Tour over, we retraced our footsteps down the hill. It was clouding over and still more to do. Mistake No.3. We planned too much for today. Something will be added to the wish list,
perhaps the visit to Zugspitze. So next stop Oberammergau, a short drive away. This famous little village is set amongst the mountains. By now the sky had darkened and rain threatened. We took a leisurely wander around the town. A pity that such a famous and beautiful little village gets taken over by the tourist trade. Souvenir shops crowd the street selling all nature of goods from postcards to cuckoo clocks to religious icons.
For us the trip back to our hotel was uneventful. For some it was a different story. A minor intersection collision, and a truck tyre blow-out causing multiple collisions further on, briefly slowed our progress. In spite of poor planning it has been a good day out just a pity about all the other tourists wanting to visit on the same day. Such is the life of a tourist.
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