We have stayed overnight at the Hotel Muller, looking very much like a chalet and right at the base of the mountain. Today started with a buffet breakfast at our reserved table no less in the atrium with views of the town and the castle. Hohenschwangau is a very small town, just 3 or 4 hotels, surrounded by farms, the lake and the mountains, beautiful.
Last night we we given the tip to make our tour of the castle early, before all the tour buses and crowds turned up, so it was into the horse and carriage for the ride up the mountain. There was still a 15 min walk up a fairly steep road to reach the entrance to Neuschwanstein Castle. Amazing! The views across the valley, to the lakes, simply stunning and the castle was everything we thought it was going to be and more. The tour only lasts just 30 minutes but you get to see all 3 levels including the ball room, theatre, kings bedroom, kitchen and more. There is a bridge further up the valley built in 1866 which is the perfect vantage point to view the castle.
I took the bus down which was an exciting ride in itself. When I got back down to the bottom I was amazed at the number of people around now. There were long queues for the horses and the buses that take you up the mountain.
We then had lunch by the edge of the lake before walking around it and ended up at another castle.
We boarded another bus about 3:00pm to take us to Munich. We arrived about 7 it took us a little while to find our hotel, turns out there is 2 Kings Hotel only a street apart. We had tea at this cafe in the park, more like a beer hall, but a great spot, I had a snitzle of course. You should see our hotel room looks like a castle complete with the carved wood over the bed. |
