Neuschwanstein Castle

I have wanted to see Neuschwanstein Castle for a very long time.  I can't remember when I first came across images of the solitary, mystical, hilltop castle located in the middle of the Forest of Nowhere.  (Ok, so it's in Bavarian Germany but to my child-brain, it might as well have been in a fictional place).  Just do a quick Google image search and check out the impressive photos!  Neuschwanstein Castle is truly was the stuff of fairytales.  Walt Disney thought so too - it is the architectural inspiration for the Disneyland Sleeping Beauty castle.  

Back to the actual castle.  Who would build such a magnificent structure in such a location?  A mad man, that's who.  Good old King Ludwig II.  I think I must have a pretty good gaydar because before I had even read this wiki entry about the dear man, I had a hunch that he was in the closet.  Written down in history as an eccentric?  Building a fantasy castle devoted to Richard Wagner's operas?  Not interested in running in the country?  Likes pretty things?  Loves the arts?  The Swan King?  He wasn't a Mad King at all - he was just a (flaming) Queen!  Anyone with a half decent gaydar would have picked that up.

Ludwig.  C'mon look at his portrait.  He's a queen!

My original plans to see the castle were stalled last year by the 200 year anniversary of Oktoberfest.  Having the Dad and the Bro in town this time, it was all the more reason to do some touristy stuff.  Little did I know, the Dad had already been to Neuschwanstein!  Gee, thanks for telling me Dad.  Now I feel like I'm just dragging you along!  Anyway, he was happy to go again because his previous visit was on a tour bus and didn't involve entry into the castle.

Neuschwanstein is located about two hours out of central Munich and if you want to explore the nearby Hohenschwangau Castle, it's best to allow the entire day.  There are no direct trains to Neuschwanstein.  Instead one must take a train from Munich Hauptbahnhof to Füssen and then catch a dedicated bus (they coincide with the train arrivals) which takes you the teeny-tiny village of Hohenschwangau at the base of the castles.  My personal travel trip - if you don't know where you're going, just follow the other Asians.  (They have probably done more research than you.)  This tip only works if you're not in Asia.   

We purchased our train tickets and printed off a timetable from a DB Bahn vending machine.  What an awesome ticket machine.  You can print off a timetable for any journey!  The train we were boarding involved a transfer a 10 minute transfer at Buchloe but it was pretty seamless and we didn't even have to change platforms.  Another tip - if you can't find Füssen in the list, type 'Fuessen' because 'ue' is the same as 'ü'  :D.  With three grown adults along for today's ride, I made sure that we purchased a Bayern (Bavaria) Ticket.  It's a bargain at just €29 for unlimited travel for up to five adults!  We could have taken strangers with us!  Anyway this site and the official site have good advice about how to get there.  

We were treated to some nice views along the train ride.  Everything in countryside Bavaria looks like a fairytale.  

Once we reached Füssen, it was a bit of a dog fight to get on to one of the buses.  One of the private tour buses took pity on the crowd and picked a few of us up for the 15 minute drive.  The Bayern ticket covers this cost too!  

A restaurant at the base of the castles.  A fairytale restaurant.  

Must go buy entrance ticket first before heading up the castle.  Yeah, in hindsight, we should have booked it online but the queue wasn't too long today.  

Here's the yellow Hohenschwangau Castle on the way up to Neuschwanstein.  We debated whether to walk, ride a horse carriage or take a bus up the relatively steep hill.  We opted for the €2 bus ride.  

The bus stopped at Marienbrucke (Mary's Bridge) which offers a most superb view of the castle.  Not for the  acrophobics whose fear would have been exacerbated by the rickety, wooden bridge.  

Must photograph signs with the intention to read them later. 

Welcome to my castle. 

Get out of the way, you damn tourist.  Enjoying the castle in all it's spectacular-ness.  

Now, off to the castle!  Follow the sign to Disneyland!

Must be like other tourists and pause for another photo.  

Here's my yellow castle again, located in the valley.  

  The view of turrets from down below.  

Our tickets were timed and we had wait at the gate for our tour number to be called.  Now I'm in the courtyard waiting to go inside the castle!  

No photography is allowed indoors but honestly, there wasn't a lot of see as the majority of the interior was never completed due to Ludwig's untimely death.  The tour only lasted about 30-40 minutes.  The coolest room was the grotto - a fake cave within the king's quarters!  How fancy.  

The Dad and the Bro looking back at Marienbrucke.  Wow, so high above the gorge.  

By the time we had our fix of  the castle and stocked up on cheesy souvenirs, it was nearly 2.30pm.  A late lunch was had on the conveniently located Hofbrauhaus situated on the path down to the village.  

Go ahead, have that beer.  

I had a jaegerschnitzel with croquettes while Dad and the Bro both had sausages, sauerkraut and potato.  The servings were a little smaller than what I was used to but it's all relative - you're normally served too much food in Germany!  

Our journey back to town was a bit disappointing.  Germany efficiency failed us!  One of the scheduled buses back to Füssen never arrived which resulted in a larger than normal crowd of tourists and eventual mosh pit scenes.  Good thing that the train ride back was uneventful.

So yep, Neuschwanstein.  Another tick on my bucket list!