Germany, Hohenschwangau: neuchwanstein castle

Sooo, last time I was in Munich, my stay was a bit shorter than I would have liked. And a week or so ago, when perusing the good ol' map of Europe / train schedule I realized that a major transfer station on the way to Amsterdam was Munich. My options were either to spend a full night and day on train, orrrrrr have two back-to-back overnighters and spend the day in Munich.

Which I did, sort of. I took a day trip up to see the famous Neuchwanstein castle, often quoted as the 'disney land castle'. There are actually two castles in the area, the other less well known is Hohenschwangau.

The 'H' castle is where Ludwig (I believe the 2nd) lived as a child, and Neuchwanstein he had built for himself, with his design. It was unfinished becuase he died. Because he was 'clinically insane'. Which got diagnosed my a doctor who never met him? And his body was 'found' after death. Orrrr, I don't know, maybe the Bavarian polititians know more....

Regardless, I didn't get as much history as I would have liked, because our guide could do magic tricks and our group opted for that instead. Fair enough, I could look up Ludwig (and so can you!). We DID have a beautiful bike ride to swan lake where we got a view of both castles from afar. And then lunch and and alpine slide. Then a hike up the 'back way' to the Mary's ? bridge, which Ludwig's mother had built for herself since she loved hiking and there was a big waterfall there. It is here that I'd meet my next cool friends, another married couple, but most importantly CANADIANS on Canada day :) Torontonians nonetheless. And we'd make sure to celebrate... So much so that I plan on devoting an entire post to it, yes, do hold your breath.

So from the bridge we got a sweet view of the castle. We roamed around the courtyard a bit, but didn't go in (an extra 10 euros and from everybody we'd heard not worth it, considering only 16 of the 60 rooms were complete by the time Ludwig died).

Then a quick beer to celebrate Canada day. A shortcut down the mountain. A long bus ride back to Munich where I napped. Dinner from the train station (woo!), and a very kind invite to use a shower and to join them for a beer at the Hofbrauhaus to celebrate Canada & Munich - and I couldn't be happier.

My overnight train from Munich to Amsterdam didn't leave until 22:45, my pack was still locked at the train station, and the Hofbrauhaus was within walking distance - the plan was fullproof! ;)