Neuschwanstein

We spent this past weekend in the town of Füssen, which is at the base of the Bavarian Alps. The only reason we had planned on going there was because we couldn’t find any kind of accommodation in Munich for those two days. I looked at the rail map and Füssen was the end of the line for going to see the castle of Neuschwanstein, so that is how we ended up staying there. It turned out to be a really good happenstance. The town itself was very charming and not overly touristy, since many people come to see the castle on day trips from Munich and do not stay in the area. We were up at the crack of dawn for our 9:15 am appointment at the first castle. You might think that this was because I was excited, since I have had a poster of the castle over my bed since I was twelve, but it was Andy who was anxious to go! There are actually two castles, Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein. Both castles are on the top of hills so first we walked up to Hohenschwangau then we had to walk back down into the valley and up the opposite hill to Neuschwanstein! Neuschwanstein was never finished so the interior is not that impressive but the view of the valley and of the Alps is amazing. After we walked down from the castle we walked across the valley for three miles to reach a cable car that went up to the top of the mountains. We actually walked through a field of cows with cow bells on to get there. Their musicality was quite a thing to hear! We took the cable car to the top of the mountain which was very scary since it really is just a cable, there is only one pylon supporting it for the whole way. The view from the top was indescribable; we stood for a while and watched crazy fools launch themselves off a ramp to paraglide to the base, 6000-some feet below. When we returned to the bottom we decided to walk back to Füssen instead of taking the bus. There are all kinds of really nice, well marked walking paths in the Bavarian Alps and we were rewarded with views of the castles the whole way. It was another five miles, however, so by the time we got back to the hotel I only had the energy to fall into bed!