Schloss Neuschwanstein

After taking a family picture outside the castle, we headed back to the bus, and were on our way to Schloss Hohenschwangau and Schloss Neuschwanstein. First, we passed Schloss Hohenschwangau, which was King Ludwig’s childhood home. However, we did not enter the castle, as more time was allotted to the famous Schloss Neuschwanstein, after which the Walt Disney castle was modeled. From where the bus dropped us off, we could see the amazing castle high up amid the mountains. We had a couple of hours to visit, so we went to get a quick lunch before going up, and decided to get chicken sandwiches and fries. However, after waiting in line for 25 minutes, the chicken sandwiches were given to us, still inside their microwavable bags. We all were brave and tried them, but no one was able to take more than one bite. Pretty gross! We tossed the rest of the lunch, and began the mile-long hike up a trail to the Schloss Neuschwanstein. On the way, we passed the Jägerhaus, decorated with stag antlers, as well as many horse drawn carriages. Once all the way up to the castle, the view of the Alps, the village below, and the castle itself was amazing. The castle, built between 1868 and 1886 and dedicated to the Wagner operas, is only partially completed, but nevertheless looks like something out of a fairy-tale. On the castle tour, we were able to walk through the 15 completed rooms in the castle, which were even larger and more elaborate than the ones in Linderhof. In the dining room, the dinner table was built on a lift, so that it could be sent to the kitchen below. King Ludwig’s servants would place food on the table, and it would be lifted back up to him. It seems like he went through a lot of work just to avoid his servants! While the castle looks amazing, it was never completed due to the king’s death. Evidently, King Ludwig was suspiciously found drowned in a pool of water. After his death, the castles were opened to the public, to help pay off some of his debt. The tour turned out to be really neat, and we got a good view of the Marienbrücke from a top floor window inside. The bridge spans a valley between two peaks, and would have given us a great view of Neuschwanstein if we had time for another short hike. However, we had to head back down the trail, which looked beautiful in the dark with the castle lit up behind us. We got on our bus after stopping in the souvenir shop, and headed back to Munich.

Once back in Munich, we decided to go back to the Marienplatz to find a restaurant for dinner, and we ended up at a small Italian pub. We all got pizza and salad, as well as Lowenbrau, before my mom went to grab her coat and pulled down a support beam along with it. After getting out of there pretty quickly, we headed across the street for Häagen Dazs ice cream to finish off a great day.