Now, most people stay in the town. For them and for those who make a day trip of it, you have to buy tickets at the bottom of the mountain in town for a ride up the mountain. If this is what you plan on, its best to get there early as tickets sell fast! For those who were unfortunate enough to not be able to buy a ticket for whatever reason, they were stuck with a fairly steep and long climb to the top. We were either fortunate enough (or clever enough) to book a room at a hotel right near the top of the mountain. It is called the Hotel Neuschwanstein or Schlossrestaurant Neuschwanstein. We could actually see the castle from our room, albeit a small corner of it, the location was still pretty awesome!
Our room was really comfy! Any place you stay in Europe (unless its a chain hotel, which I avoid if I possibly can) is going to look a bit dated. You need to just accept this as part of the charm! They just have a different taste... And of course, there are the wonderful fluffy duvets! I can't say as much for the restaurant. I can't say what their meat is like, but for a vegan like me, my only choice was a salad. The salad was not very good at all. My husband and mother who are vegetarian, but not vegan didn't find the food that great either. But hey, it was worth it for the location!
The amazing thing was it was less than a 5 minute walk to the castle. It was literally around the bend in the road!
The day we got there we walked up and enjoyed the beautiful mist (and tried to enjoy the freezing rain!) We walked up again that evening as it was getting dark. The clouds were beginning to lift a little and you could see that it had snowed just a little higher on the mountains.
The next morning we got up bright and early to make the first tour into the castle. It was still rainy and drizzly.
The castle was built by "Mad King Ludwig", who ran his country's economy into the ground by using exorbitant taxes to raise funds for his castle. Both he and his doctor died under mysterious circumstances. King Ludwig's body was found in the lake at the bottom of the mountain. King Ludwig loved swans (schwans), hence the name of the castle. The decor is full of swans inside.
Unfortunately, you can't take pictures inside. Which reminds me of something funny that happened. We were just beginning our tour and the tour guide was explaining the do's and don'ts of the tour. She had JUST explained that we couldn't take photographs inside the castle when a flash went off. Everyone turned to see the culprit and it was a lady in a group of Chinese tourists. They clearly couldn't speak either English or German, so I guess were stuck going on a tour that they really couldn't understand. Anyway, the tour guide asked if someone who could communicate with them would please explain about the no pictures rule. A large American man walked up to the small Chinese lady and says very loudly and slowly, "YOU (points at the lady) CAN'T (wags his finger vigorously) TAKE PICTURES! (mimes taking a picture). Everyone just burst out laughing! It seemed to do the trick, though! She didn't take any more pictures!
The castle is breathtakingly beautiful, and much larger than it looks in pictures. It is said that Disney's Cinderella's Castle is actually based off this castle! There are some beautiful trails you can walk from the castle. There is a gorge with waterfalls just a short distance away that is quite a sight to behold. There is a swinging bridge that crosses the gorge and is quite spectacular. It does make it a little exciting if you are there on a rainy, windy day like we were! The bridge was swinging with each gust of wind and I thought I might pull a Mary Poppins with my umbrella!
You can actually see the smaller castle where King Ludwig grew up down near the lake from Neuschwanstein Castle. His parents still lived there while he lived in his much larger palace.
You can see the parents castle--the yellowish-tan castle on the hill near the town and lake. King Ludwig's story is a sad tale of over-indulgence and a lesson that you get back out of life what you give to it.Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.
Proverbs 22:6
