Neuschwanstein Castle

I always tell people, "I would love to be a princess if it didn't involve being married off at the age of 6 for a treaty and having to wear corsets."

However, when I saw this castle, the dream did pass through my head for a second.

I first came to Neuschwanstein Castle with my family back in 2009. I remember being in awe as we drove up, since it was the first real-life castle I had ever seen! If you are going to visit a castle, this is the one to visit. Neuschwanstein is considered one of the most famous castles in the world due to Walt Disney basing Cinderella's castle off its design.

I remember feeling like Cinderella walking up its steps.

(Oh you thought I meant from 2009...)

Of course, every great adventure starts off with coffee!

After a surprisingly goodnight sleep in the hostel, we headed to a coffee shop in Garmisch. We were thrilled to be able to see mountain peaks from the windows at breakfast. There was no way it wasn't going to be a perfect day.

The inside of the shop, already felt ourselves becoming princesses at 8 am. (And Rowan a prince!)

We had been told that one shuttle bus ran from Garmisch to Neuschwanstein a day, leaving at 9:15 AM. The man behind the desk had no information for how much it would cost, so we showed up to get our tickets a little nervous. Turned out, 10 Euros round trip! We were overjoyed to find that we had lots of money left over for bratwurst and souvenirs!

Who can ever complain about waiting for a bus with these views?

The bus ride took a little over an hour, and the entire ride was filled with mountain views and green fields I just wanted to run around in.

We bought our tickets for the castle and had an hour or so to kill before our tour started!

Being in such a beautiful area, we couldn't stand to sit on a bench and wait. So, we headed out for a short walk through the country side.

Blessed to go on a trip with people who are always down for an adventure!

We walked along the side of a road until we came to the fields we saw on the ride over. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and the fresh smell of grass and mountain flowers filled the air. This is something you just can't get from a city. God always makes the coolest stuff!

I would love to build a little house here and wake up to mountains and castle views every morning. My neighbor, Neuschwanstein Castle, might outshine my teeny cottage a bit, but it's a sacrifice I'm willing to take.

We headed back to the center for our tour, and grabbed a snack for the walk up! There was an option to pay for a shuttle up, but being broke college kids, we opted for the 30 minute hike! It was such a nice day, we didn't even mind!

Panoramic views of Bavaria on the walk up!

Ask me how happy I was, I dare you.

Waterfalls and mountain rock face on the hike

At last, we saw it in the distance! Couldn't miss it!

King Ludwig II built Neuschwanstein Castle as a place of retreat in 1868. Ludwig was an awfully shy king, and was a huge fan of fairy tales, art, and music. This palace was not meant for him to rule from, but for him to relax in a place that depicted his passions. Artwork and murals in most of the rooms show scenes from Wagner's Operas, versus the knightly scenes from most other palaces. As musicians going through the castle, this was pretty awesome to see. Yay for respecting the arts!

There were no pictures allowed inside, so here are two I pulled from the official Neuschwanstein tourism website that I thought best represented the ideals of Ludwig's palace. (source cited at bottom of post)

The Throne Room, showing murals of scenes from the Bible! Ludwig's favorite color was royal blue, and set amongst the gold made for an incredible setting.

Next to Ludwig's study is a room that would not normally be found in a royal apartment: a small cave tunnel. It was based on the idea of the Hörselberg in the Tannhäuser saga by Wagner. I think it's safe to say that Ludwig probably didn't get much done with that close to his work space. How awesome is this?

Overlook from a balcony in the castle

We then headed over to a small metal bridge between two rock faces that gave the best (and scariest) view of Neuschwanstein Castle!

Can you tell how terrified I was?

But it made for some great photos and a breathtaking view. Yeah, like I couldn't breathe.

After that whole experience, it was time to get some doughnuts. In Germany they serve Fastnachts, which are 110 times better than the average American doughnut hole. They are huge and much lighter, sprinkled with powder sugar. I distinctly remember getting these as a kid when we last visited, and vowed to have them again one day.

We had some time before we had to head back on our bus, so we were able to check another castle off our list: Hohenschwangau Palace.

The childhood residence of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, it is a short walk from Neuschwanstein Castle! Ludwig basically built his castle across the street.

No like, actually:

We didn't pay to go inside, since we didn't have enough time, but explored the castle grounds and gardens!

Love the yellow color!

At the base of the castle was Alpsee Lake, and we got a last few minutes of fresh mountain air before the ride back!

This swan was molting its feathers, and kept flapping its wings! Made for some awesome pics, and a cool show!

We ate some gelato in the sunshine, and headed back on the bus to Garmisch.

Another night bus awaited us back to Prague, and the hostel was kind enough to let us leave our backpacks there for the day! (We didn't have to walk around the castle with huge bags on our backs!)

Such an amazing adventure weekend, and we were honestly impressed we were able to pull it all off! 3 night busses, 1 hostel, 2 shuttles, 2 counties, one castle, the highest mountain in Germany, and time to soak in a bath in Budapest! We were shocked NOTHING went wrong with all of those plans! Mom and Dad, look how adult I'm getting! Such an amazing experience, definitely one of my favorite trips yet!