Wednesday, 20th August – Munich to Neuschwanstein Castle

We left Munich this morning with our final destination being Triberg in the Black Forest. First though, Neuschwanstein Castle! The Castle is in Bavaria, Germany and is touted as the most photographed castle in the world. It sits above the village of Hohenschwangou and whilst it could easily be said that it’s a huge tourist magnet, we were soon to agree it’s absolutely not to be missed.

There are only three ways to get to the castle after parking your car below in the village (for a modest fee, of course) – walking, horse drawn carriage or a shuttle bus. Walking would have taken up too much time as it’s about an hour all uphill. We opted for the shuttle bus which was also cost a modest fee. The shuttle bus drops you off near the castle and you walk the rest via a bridge which has awesome views of the side of the castle.

The walk from the bus stop is through a forest, setting the fairy tale tone.

The bridge itself, Marienbrucke, is made of metal and wooden planks. It was pretty packed with tourists when we went across it and Bec freaked out every time the boards moved. Of course, you can see why in the following pictures that show the drop from the bridge and how crowded it can get.

We went to the castle around mid morning and the fog was still hanging around, obscuring the castle for the most part, but it makes for a more eerie picture.

However, the same as almost all our days in Europe, the fog gave way to a beautiful day and the shots of the castle were awesome. We opted not to do the tour inside, which is offered for a modest fee, but enjoyed taking photos on the outside of the castle that was the inspiration for Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle.

In the shadow of Neuschwanstein is Hohenschwangou Castle. It’s much smaller and lower down the mountain, but also impressive. We didn’t visit it, but got some great shots!

Once we had finished taking a million photos, we snapped the obligatory selfie and rode down the mountain in a horse drawn cart. Once we were off in the car, we stopped briefly to snap a couple of photos looking back at the awesome Castle.

Next – Triberg and the Black Forest via Lindau.