Europe 2016: Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany Day 2 visit to Neuschwanstein Castle

I remember as a little girl seeing a picture of Neuschwanstein castle, a stunning magestic beauty overlooking the Bavarian countryside. That little girl dreamed about seeing it in person and her breath was taken away today seeing it. This is truly a dream come true.

I woke at 4 since I passed out around 8 last night, weary from jet lag and walking around a lot (not to mention my heights panic on the Zugspitze yesterday!) I woke to the sound of pouring rain and cars whizzing by, surprising at that hour. I finished my blog from yesterday and checked messages to find my 'tour' was cancelled today. Thanks for the notice! It wasn't a tour really, but a castle ticket, shuttle and skipping the long lines.. So I was had the time to do some research to figure it out.

I had seen it was going to rain today so I was ready! II had read that there were two buses I had to take and didn't find very clear information except the first bus is the 9609. I can do this! I headed out and the bus stopped at Eichelsbacher Brucke. Ok.. so I saw the bus at the stop already went to Schongau so I hopped on. At a stop in a cute little town the bus driver asked where I was going. Neuschwanstein, I said. No, he said. Schwangau is apparently not the same as Schongau and I was in the wrong place.

The good news from this goof is that i somehow forgot to bring sunscreen, and there was a pharmacy (Apotheke) right at the stop, so I picked some up while I waited. It was windy, cold and dumping rain. The bus picked me up to take me back where I started. I think I lost an hour and a half in this adventure, but oh well. It happens. I met a really nice older gentleman who was trying to help me out when he saw me checking the board. It was funny as he didn't really know where he was going either, so we had a good laugh about it. With my limited German and his limited English (which, as I always find, is so much better than mine!) we managed and got on the same bus, though he left earlier. And yes, turns out I was to stay on that bus I was on originally. :)

The countryside is just beautiful. The drive was quite pleasant to look out the window. I was sad I couldn't take pics as there was rain on the window.

I waited in line for around an hour and talked with a wonderful family from Buenos Aires. They gave me some scoop for a future trip, which is awesome! I grabbed a sandwich and ate it by the lake (note: it's hard to find 'grab and go' food without eating wheat, so I'm cheating a bit!) I took the shuttle up the high hill and was glad as there was a good bit of steep walking even still. I first went to the Marienbrucke (Marien bridge) with the most incredible views of the castle. That's where the 'money shot' is from, down below. I climbed down and headed over to the castle, stopping every minute to snap a picture as it's so breath-taking.

I was scheduled for the tour at 1:55 (you can only view inside with a tour) and the qeue was prompt, offering only a five-minute window for your ticket. No photos inside, as with many historic places.

http://www.neuschwanstein.de/deutsch/ludwig/biograph.htm

Neuschwanstein was built in 1869 by King Ludwig and was construction ended in 1896 with his death. He was only 40 and drowned in a lake in Munich under suspicious circumstances. Only a third of the interior was complete. We walked up a high winding staircase to the first floor, which was the servant's quarters. We went up three floors with a total of around 130 steps.

On the second floor there were many painted frescos on the walls and the ceilings had a gothic arch to them, and were all painted. In the throne room there was a huge brass chandelier that weighs 2000 lbs. And no throne as they didn't get to it before the king died. his bedroom woodwork was impressive and took over 4 years to carve. The Canopy over the bed was extensively carved and there is even a secret door which looks like a solid wood panel, leading to the salon and dressing room. There is a painting of Tristan and Isolde on the wall.

Apparently Ludwig like swans, and you could say he was obsessed with them. There is a room with the image of over 120 swans there.

The entire castle was heated and he had running water. One of the rooms even had electric lights and the castle had one of the first phones in the area. One of the rooms looked like a small cave complete with stalactites. There were little areas open to the outside with a sitting area and flowers as offshoots of the cave. It was interesting.

We toured several other rooms and then the tour was over, in about 35 minutes. I went back outside and soaked it all in again, taking my time wandering around the castle and leaving.

I wandered around the town a little bit and decided to get a glass of wine and look at the castle while waiting for the return bus. The return trip wasn't quite as dramatic, and I switched busses successfully (apparently the 9609 goes straight through, but there is another you can take for part of the ride as well.) I was quite tired but managed to stay awake. It was funny as two guys who got on my stop and chatted with me a little got back on the same bus. They recognized me and said hi-- small world! I also forgot to mention that I ran into the couple from Ohio on my tour. Funny how that stuff happens.

I was too tired for a sit-down dinner and not very hungry, so I grabbed a snack at a grocery store I found yesterday (which I found again in only two wrong turns!) Now I try to stay awake for a bit longer so I hopefully am not up at 4 am again!

Wish me luck! s
ps the other castle is Hohenschwangau (also the name of the town.) I didn't have time to tour that one but loved the outside!