Finally, some German Castles!

European Trip - May 24, 2002

So we crossed from the French countryside into the German landscape via our overnight train. Once again, we were in steerage class. This time, we were better prepared for it though, unlike our unwitting cabin buddies, affectionately known as the Baroness and Max. They weren't too happy to be in this second class accommodation, and before we even got moving, they had moved to another cabin because us Americans were a little obnoxious for their taste. Instead, the conductor moved another German to our cabin, Udo. He was a blast to talk to and he even brought aboard a 6-pack of French beer, which he offered to all of us. Already Germany was cool. He was getting off at Stuttgart, and in fact, I didn't hear him leave at all, which was unfortunate. Alas, we made it to Munchen the next morning. We had again reserved a room for that night, but couldn't check in yet, so we just dropped our stuff off at the hotel, and returned to the train station because today we were going to Fussen, the home of King Ludwig II's famous castles, Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein. Especially cool for me was the opportunity to practice my German. I actually was able to understand the ticket lady and have a conversation. It was great to realize that it was coming back to me. We boarded a 2-hour train to Fussen, which afforded us magnificent views of the Bavarian countryside. But the ultimate view was as we approached the base of the Alps near Fussen, in which you could clearly see the castles from a distance. I knew this was a day I would not soon forget. After disembarking the train, we took the bus from the main town of Fussen to the portion of the town which lies next to a beautiful Alpine lake and in between the two castles. To view the castles, you can buy a ticket time for each castle, with Hohenschwangau first. Below are the pictures that we took at Hohenschwangau, the arrival at Munchen and the train ride to Fussen.

Arrival in Munchen and Hohenschwangau

After our visit to Hohenschwangau, we wandered the woods just outside the castle and found a spectacular view overlooking the Alpine lake glimpsed above from the castle windows. We then slowly tambiened the Alpine countryside towards Neuschwanstein, which as you can see from the picture above, is not exactly close by, especially on foot. We found this out directly as we walked up the steep and seemingly endless path that approached Schloss Neuschwanstein. Exhausted by this endeavor, I was reenergized when we finally rounded the bend that afforded us our first close-up view of the castle. What a sight - I instantly remembered trying to finish a 3000-piece puzzle of a winter-time view of Neuschwanstein. And now, here I was, about to step foot in a picture I'd always wanted to be in. This was a large check box that I'd wanted to check for the longest time. We got to go through the castle on a tour - going through many extravagant rooms designed by King Ludwig. The oddest thing is that the castle is not done. In fact, only a few floors of the castle were finished before Ludwig's death. After which, the funding stopped for the castle because he literally was bankrupting the state of Bavaria building these castles.

Schloss Neuschwanstein

After taking the tour through one of most anticipated destinations ever, we knew we had to go to the Marienbrucke (Mary's bridge), which is a crazy bridge nestled in the mountains just across from Neuschwanstein. The big draw though is the unbelievable view of Neuschwanstein that you get from the bridge. So, we walked up and down the mountain to get to the bridge - and stood on the rickety bridge, but gawking at the magnificent view. WOW!!!!!!!!!! It was incredible. If you think the pictures below are sweet, you should see it in real life. Even my video doesn't really do it justice. A definite one-in-a-million view that will leave you breathless. At the same time, I hated being on that bridge, as the wood planking would bow under your weight as you walked. Uh, I needed to go, NOW! Anyways, we then walked down the path less traveled - which was a nice respite from the heavily traveled tourist path we walked up. It was a very peaceful walk down to Fussen, and we didn't meet a single person on our way down. Sweet. Finally though, it was starting to get late, we were starving, and we needed to get back to the train station to go back to Munich and sleep. We did intend to go to the Hofbrauhaus that night, but it didn't happen. That night. More on that on the next day.

Marienbrucke (Mary's Bridge)

Shoot me an email if you have any comments!