Bavarian Castles

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The morning started with Shea and I walking to pick up our rental van for the day that we would use to drive us down into the Bavarian Alps. What I thought was going to be quick walk ended up being a huge ordeal as the rental place was actually all the way by the train station. Nevertheless, we picked up our Volkswagen Van and picked everyone up at the hotel for our full day driving into the Alps. With Shea at the wheel and the navigation left to me, we drove into the incredibly scenic Bavarian Alps and through some very quaint Alpine towns. Arriving in the town of Hohenschwangau a few hours later, we were ready to check out some of the famous castles in the Bavarian Alps. After purchasing our tickets, we immediately made our way over to Hohenschwangau Castle for our schedule tour. The yellow castle is best known as the as boyhood home of Mad King Ludwig who would later build the larger Neuschwanstein Castle. Although not as imposing as the much grander Neuschwanstein Castle on the hill, I would find the 30 minute tour of the interior of Hohenschwangau to be much more interesting than Neuschwanstein. Hohenschwangau seemed to give me a better feel of the life of Mad King Ludwig as opposed to the more stuffier atmosphere later when we toured inside Neuschwanstein. After touring Hohenschwangau, we had some time to kill before our scheduled tour of Neuschwanstein. Enjoying the sunny warm weather, we hiked along the shores of the Alpensee, explored the shops catering to all the tourists, and grabbed a late lunch. For our scheduled 4:00 pm tour of Neuschwanstein, we caught the shuttle bus to the castle and hiked a relatively steep trail in order to reach the castle. Again like Hohenschwangau, there was no photography allowed inside the castle during the quick 30 minute tour. Our guide brought us through approximately 15 lavishly decorated rooms with their original furnishings throughout the castle. After the tour, we enjoyed the views of the surrounding area and did the quick hike up to Mary's bridge for great views of the castle. Despite the signs warning visitors to stay on the trail, we of course ventured off the main trail hiking down to the river and found some small waterfalls. With daylight beginning to recede, we eventually made it down the hill where we met up with Mom and Josie. We explored the town looking for any open souvenir shops but at this hour, most had already closed up for the day. It had been a long day and we were ready for the long drive back to Munich.

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Photos

Neuschwanstein Castle
Seen from Hohenschwangau Castle