...when you wish upon a star...

Today we were heading to Neuschwanstein, the castle King Ludwig built and Walt Disney made famous. 

Neuschwanstein is only a couple hour train ride south of Munich although getting there can be a little tricky if you don't know that you need to take the train to the town of Fussen!



Normally there is one change of trains somewhere down the line that only takes 10 or 15 minutes after being dropped off until the next train comes.



The countryside only gets prettier the farther south you go; watching the Bavarian countryside pass by was really enjoyable.  It wasn't too crowded on the train and around us we could hear a lot of other English speaking tourists all heading to the same thing we were heading to see.



Fussen is literally the end of the line, so it is easy to notice the stop.  It is a TINY little station.



Once off the train, there are usually buses waiting on the other side of the station, ready to take you to the little town of Hohenschwangau.  Just look for the bus with the most people boarding it!  If in doubt, just double check with the bus driver, they are always helpful and let you know which stop to get off at.

Once the bus drops you off it is easy to follow the signs for the castle and also come upon the ticket office on the way. 

The ticket gives you entrance to both castles; Hohenschwangau, King Ludwig's childhood home, and Neuschwanstein, the fairy tale castle on top of a hill.  The purchase of the ticket automatically gives you times for each respective tours that are given in many different languages.



As you go farther into the little village, horse carriages line the streets waiting to give visitors a lift up to the castle.



We first walked over to Hohenschwangau, as our tour started in half an hour.  From the ticket office the castle is only a 5-10 minute walk as it is located right on the edge of the little village.



Hohenschwangau was Ludwig's childhood home and built by his father Maximilian on the remains of an old fortress.



After Maximilian died Ludwig became King and since he never married (he was said to be in love with the composer Robert Wagner), his mother continued living in the Queens chambers despite not getting along with Ludwig, creating a bit of a hostile environment.



You can just barely make out the castle of Neuschwanstein from the grounds of Hohenschwangau.  Ludwig built Neuschwanstein while living in Hohenschwangau.  It must have been very exciting to look out from one castle to see the progress on the castle you were building!



Hohenschwangau is pretty, somewhat simple (as simple as a castle can actually be) although very decorative in parts.





The tour doesn't allow any photography so you'll just have to imagine what an elaborately decorated small countryside castle would look like.

At this point it was pouring down rain and a horse carriage ride up the hillside to Neuschwanstein really didn't sound like a great idea.  We waited for a warm and dry bus instead.

The buses drop you off slightly above the castle close to Marienbruke bridge, which gives a fantastic view of the castle and valley beyond.



The bridge sits high above a ravine where mountain water spills down, WAY down, below.  I'm afraid of heights enough that this bridge challenges me, as the bottom is wood and you can see between the slats.  Keith took these pictures for me.



From the bridge you walk down a now asphalted path to Neuschwanstein, probably a 10 minute walk, through the forest with gorgeous vista points.  Here you can see Hohenschwangau and the lake close by.



I've visited Neuschwanstein several times before and it never gets less impressive as you approach it.



It is so magical; it is almost hard to believe you are looking at a real live castle instead of visiting it at an amusement park!  When you are from California it is hard not to liken everything to a movie set or Disneyland!



Our tour time hadn't been called yet so we waited out front, in the rain, enjoying the view and watching all of the other tourists passing by.





Neuschwanstein was almost finished when Kind Ludwig died under "shady" circumstances in a nearby lake.  He had just been diagnosed as insane and soon thereafter was found dead, floating in the lake with his doctor.  He never was able to see the castle finished, which is a shame.  There still is an entire floor in the castle that has never been completed.



After lunch we walked down a little ways to a restaurant for a late lunch; we all were ravenous!



Lunch was really good, standard Bavarian fare which always means sausages and potato salad.  Yum!  Today, with the cold wet weather, it was very comforting.



Mike had to have a picture with our traditionally dressed server; she was nice enough to pose for us.



While we were eating, something magical was happening outside; it was starting to snow!



By the time we finished eating it was snowing HUGE wet flakes and it was coming down pretty hard!



We were so excited to be in a winter wonderland at the fairy tale castle of Neuschwanstein!





As lovely as it was out we decided that a horse-drawn carriage was the ticket for the ride back, romantic in the snow and providing at least some shelter!





It was so beautiful, there was that peaceful silence of snow and all you could hear was the clipping sound of the horses' feet on the pavement and the jingling of their harnesses.



Here's a video I took so you can really "feel" the moment...

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