Cindarella's Castle

Lauren and I set out bright and early on Friday morning, 6:30 AM, heading for Neuschwanstein Castle, the inspiration for Walt Disney’s Cinderella castle and Hohenschwangau. King Ludwig spent his summers as a child at Hohenschwangau and then built Neuschwanstein after he became king.

It took us forever to get there because we went north through Munich so we could catch another train to head back to the small town of Fussen and the castles. Little did we know that we could have gotten to the castles in a little over three hours as opposed to almost six hours via Munich. Whoops! Lesson number one for the day…when you think there’s a more efficient way to get somewhere, there is, but the websites just don’t tell you. But…to find that out, you’re probably going to know someone to find out the quickest way.

I loved the castles. Hohenschwangau, although not as beautiful as Neuschwanstein from the outside was wonderful inside. The guided tour took you through several floors of the castle, including the queen's rooms and the king's rooms. Back then, the queen had one level of the house, the king another and the childern another. This castle still has many of the furnishings, gifts, etc. from when Ludwig actually lived there.

From Hohenschwangau, Ludwig had a telescope set up so that he could view the building of Neuschwanstein. And, of course they still have it positioned so visitors can see the castle.

After we saw Hohenschwangau, Lauren and I took a horse drawn buggy up to Neuschwanstein. It was an extremely steep ride and I felt sorry for the horses because they make that treck several times per day. But, I can assure you they are not malnourished!

Neuschwanstein is much more ornate than Hohenschwangau. Ludwig was obsessed with Wagner and devoted all of the finished portions of the castle to Wagner themed music. It's WAY over the top, but beautiful. Unfortunately for Ludwig, the castle was never finished although he did live in portions of the finished castle prior to his death.

What I learned today: 1) Regio or Regional trains are old, smelly and ridiculously slow; 2) in the rural parts of Austria and Germany, cows actually wear cow bells around their necks, this doesn't just happen on TV or in the movies; and, 3) the train schedule provided by Eurail is not always accurate and some of the trains leave earlier than listed in the schedule!