The Castles

Hohenshwagau Castle

It was 18 euros to visit this castle with a tour (the only way possible). We made the short hike up to Ludwig’s family home and we both found it odd that it was all yellow. The castle was pretty plain, not all that impressive and the inside was about the same. Some cool things we saw; what was probably the first lazy-boy chair, Ludwig’s father’s room where he could have lamps lit on the floor above his to reveal stars on his bedroom ceiling. They had many large displays on tables etc. Most were pretty cool looking. On the tour we saw a few rooms, the Kings, the Queens, the Dinning room and the games room. But that was it. We had a decision to make, either drive on to Switzerland and skip Neuschwanstein castle, drive back to Fussen, or drive back to Shongau and see Neuschwanstein castle the next morning. The first two cost money, and the later was around 50 km away. We decided once again to visit our Fussen stellplatz. We parked in the same spot as before, next to our new neighbors.

Neuschwanstein Castle

I set the alarm today to make sure we didn’t have another night at the stellplatz. Even though we do enjoy the electricity, bathrooms and internet, we don’t enjoy paying 12 euros and don’t enjoy the cold. We need to get south fast. So we arrived back in Shwangau to visit Mad King Ludwig II castle, Neuschwanstein. Initially, we were going to take a horse drawn carriage to the castle, but with it costing money, not guarantying us the proper arrival time for our tour and the large lineup we opted to walk. The walk to the castle is said to be extremely tough, it is around a one kilometer hike up a steep road and usually takes around 45 minutes. We found it quite easy and it only took us 25 (We both agree that Vainden in Luxembourg was a tougher climb). This castle was dedicated to his friend Wagner, thus in every room he paid tribute to one of Wagner’s operas and to swans, the royal families favourite animal (also the symbol of the knights that once occupied Hohenshwangau castle Ludwig II family home). This castle is stunning. Justly world famous, also thought to be the inspiration for Walt Disney’s castle it is truly larger than life. It was once again 18 euros to see (we could have seen both castles for 17 euros each if we showed up early enough the first day) with a guided tour. They showed us only the completed rooms, the first being the servant’s quarters which were large and seemed quite nice. Everything has so much detail on it. The doors, window frames etc. all have been hand carved with crazy designs, very lush. The next room we went into was the King’s reception room. It was completely finished except for his thrown. This room was large, stunning and had paintings and gold leaf everywhere. I have never seen such a large chandelier, or one that is that impressive. We later moved on to the king’s quarters, where we saw his bedroom, the living room, the guest bedroom and his dinning room. King Ludwig II bedroom was amazing. So many wood carving decorations, a reading chair that was almost like a thrown, he even had running water in his vanity, something that was a true luxury at the time. His bed however is the main site. It is so stunning. It took 4 years to complete and over 30,000 hours. The detail in the carving is a work of art, simply beautiful. The other rooms continued this theme and were equally impressive. Between his bedroom and the living room there was an artificial cave, weird, but a very cool idea. We made our way into the concert room, which was large and once again painted with one of Wagner’s operas in mind. They still hold performances in this room. It was then down many flights of stairs to the kitchen, which we were able to visit on our own. It was extremely large and a very nice kitchen. All the stoves were wood burning and painted black. They also had large copper pots and pans. The combination looked rich.