Neuschwanstein Castle

Monday was a holiday in Germany, so Laura's office was closed. Since I'm supposed to be working later to more align with the Eastern time zone, we took the opportunity to do a quick morning trip before I had to come back and work in the afternoon. So we made the drive to Schwangau, a little less than an hour south of Kempten, to visit King Ludwig's Neuschwanstein Castle (Disney's castle was designed after this one). Again, another beautiful drive, but this time headed toward the Alps and the snow-covered mountains we can see from Kempten. The Neuschwanstein Castle is perfectly situated at the top of a peak, with amazing views of the German countryside, lakes, and the mountains all around it. It was built from 1869 to 1886 (so not that old compared to most castles here) for King Ludwig II, King of Bavaria. However, he only spent 172 days in the castle before he died, and he never saw it fully completed. There is actually a picture below of his Throne Room, which never even had a throne built for it because he died before ever getting the chance. King Ludwig II began his reign as king at the youn age of 18, and was the king for 22 years before he died at the young age of 40. The cause of his death is a bit of a mystery, but apparently he was going a bit crazy and had been seeing a psychiatrist. They were both found dead in a lake shortly thereafter. Just 6 weeks after his death, the castle was opened to the public as a museum. The tour only takes you to a handful of the rooms, because those are the only rooms that were completed before Ludwig's death, when they stopped construction and opened it to the public. King Ludwig was known as the "Fairy Tale King," and there are paintings in each room of various fairy tale stories he enjoyed. He is also known as the "Swan King." Swans were apparently his favorite animal, and the swan symbol is decorated throughout the castle and the town of Schwangau (German word for swan is schwan).

It was another gorgeous day in Germany, and because it was a holiday it was very busy around this touristy spot. We got there around 9:15am, got our tour tickets, and hiked the half hour up a fairly steep hill from Schwangau to the castle, took in the views, and then got a 30-minute tour of the inside of the castle. After the tour, we walked over to the bridge behind the castle, the Marienbrücke, for even better views of the castle and surrounding area. While I was on the bridge, I noticed a trail beyond the bridge so I asked one of the locals about it. It apparently leads up to the top of one of the mountains (Mt. Tegelberg) overlooking the castle, if you hike up another 2 hours and 30 minutes. I don't think I'll be able to talk Laura into that one with me, but I'd really love to go back and do some hiking around this area - perhaps when my friend Brad comes up to visit in June (and by then, the trail should be open...currently closed because of snow/ice).

I had actually been to the castle before. When I was on a school trip to Munich a few years ago, we had a day off so a few friends and I took a day-trip out to it. But I didn't notice then what a great outdoors area this is. Before driving home this time, I stopped in the tourist office to ask about the activities and to get some trail maps, cause I'll definitely be headed back. Around the area are plenty of hiking trails, biking trails, ski resorts, hang-gliding/paragliding (there were lots of them out there), etc. I'd like to look into a trip back to hike to the top of Mt. Tegelberg, and then take the easy way down by paragliding - something to look into.

After taking in all the views of the castle and surrounding area, we eventually walked back down to the town of Schwangau. There is actually another castle in Schwangau, called the Hohenschwangau which was built for Ludwig's parents - Maximilian II of Bavaria and Marie of Prussia. Ludwig II grew up in this castle. Unfortunately, we had to get back to work in the afternoon, so we didn't have time to tour that one, or walk around Lake Alpsee, the shops in town, etc. Instead, we did what most German's would do and stopped off at the Biergarten for a nice local brew and some lunch before heading back. Being such a nice day, and so many activities to do there, we didn't want to leave. My parents actually come to town today, and I'm sending them there tomorrow, so I'll have them check out both castles and let us know if it's worth going back to tour the Hohenschwangau another time. I am actually going to go with them in the morning and do the Neuschwanstein for my 3rd time (the views there just don't get old, and it's just not that far away). Laura and I bought an annual pass that's good for many of the castles and sites in Bavaria, so I can go into the Neuschwanstein anytime I want (not sure why, but the Hohenschwangau isn't on the pass). So I can at least drive my parents out there and hang out with them in the morning, see the Neuschwanstein Castle again with them, and then come back to Kempten to work in the afternoon. I'll leave them to continue to explore the town and the other castle while I work, and they'll catch a bus back to Kempten in the afternoon.