Blogs from Neuschwanstein, Bavaria, Germany, Europe

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 ... read more

Diese Woche habe ich 4 Urlaubstage und neben World of Warcraft und Champions League habe ich den heutigen Tag dazu genutzt Schloß Neuschwanstein zu besuchen. Das ist wirklich eine absolute Attraktion. Ich bin nach etwa 2 Stunden mit dem Auto am Parkplatz in Schwangau angekommen. Dann habe ich ein Ticket für die nächste Führung nach weiteren 1,5h gekauft und bin - an dem anderen Schloß Hohenschwangau vorbei - mit dem Bus auf den Berg gefahren. Zuerst habe ich von der Marienbrücke den fantastischen Blick auf das Schloß genossen und dann habe ich im Schloßhof auf meine Führung gewartet. Das Publikum hatte einen hohen asiatischen Anteil (natürlich nicht in meiner deutschsprachigen Führung) aber es war jetzt nicht der totale Andrang. Ich habe den Besuch auch absichtlich am heutigen Donnerstag und nicht am Wochenende durchgeführt. Wettermäßig gab es ... read more

A magical day! After a typical German breakfast we engaged our new GPS, named him Guido, and headed for mad King Ludwig's Bavarian castles. It was a beautiful picturesque drive, every little village could grace a postcard. Arrived at the castles, paid to pee (50c each!) and then headed up to the ticket office. Joined a long line and then spoke to an information lady who said that the next available tour was at 5pm (5 hours away), so we took her advice and just caught the bus up to Neuschwanstein and then walked to Mary's bridge where there were spectacular views to be had from a very old bridge. This is the castle that Walt Disney based Cinderella's castle on. We then walked down to the castle with some spectacular views of Schloss Hohen-Schwanghu (the ... read more

We woke up bright and early to begin our castle tours, starting with Hohenschwangau which was where King Ludwig II grew up and watched the construction of his new home, Neuschwanstein. Hohenschwangau was really neat, lots of great murals/paintings. Next was Neuschwanstein, which is the castle that Disney’s Sleeping Beauty’s castle is modeled after. King Ludwig II unfortunately only lived in the castle for 172 days. He was arrested in the castle, and declared “unfit to rule” (insane) and 1 day later was found dead next to a lake outside of Munich. To this day the circumstances of his death remain a mystery. The interior was only 30% completed, and construction stopped immediately upon his death. Within 6 weeks, people were already paying to tour it. Our Rick Steve’s book made this tour seem lackluster in ... read more

Here are the pictures from the road trip through Germany, to Austria, to Lichtenstein, to Switzerland. The participants were me, John, Matt (he will be a 3L in night school, he was also one of the program directors), and Tillman (a native German, he knows Matt from the time he spent in Pittsburgh. Tillman lived in Pgh for 13 years). Someone remind me to send these pictures to Matt.... read more