Last summer, in June, we traveled to Bavaria, the southern region of Germany. After having been to Hamburg, Berlin and Munich, we were very excited to finally see what my kids call "Cinderella's Castle" and drive some of the famous Romantic Road that runs from Wurzburg to Fussen. Although Walt Disney's animators did use Neuschwanstein Castle as the pattern for the castle located in the center of Disney's theme parks, it doesn't resemble Neuschwanstein very closely. While Disney's Cinderella is magical, it can't touch the magic of the real thing.
The village of Schwangau (Swan Land) is actually home to not one, but two beautiful castles almost directly across from each other. Schloss Newschwanstein (meaning the New Swan Stone Castle, named after a Wagner opera) is the more elaborately built and famous castle. It is the creation of bachelor King Ludwig II, and is only one of several (see the Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee Castles as well). Hohenschwangau (High Swan Land or Country) is the yellow-colored castle that was Ludwig's childhood home.
Although we went in June, we ended up freezing cold and soaking wet. This area borders on the Alps, so it tends to be wetter and cooler than the other parts of Germany. As a result, it is also very lush, green and beautiful.
You must book your tickets to see one or both castles in advance, and arrive early in order to make your scheduled tour time. If you drive, park in one of the pay lots and follow the signs to find the main Ticket Center (you can also just head towards the yellow castle, as the ticket center lies near its feet). It's less than a ten minute walk with kids to the ticket office and then less than ten minutes up the hill to Hohenschwangau where our tour started. Tours can start at either castle however. All the walkways are paved, but it is very hilly and can be steep and inside the castles there are a lot of stairs up and down. I would not recommend strollers inside either of these castles.
You will wait outside the castle doors for your tour (luckily for us an awning provided some cover from the steady drizzle while we waited) until the electronic board shows your tour number. Everyone in that group number shows tickets to the agent, pass through a turnstile and go up some stairs to begin your tour in a display room. The tours can be arranged for different languages, and tour guides seem very knowledgeable and able to answer questions. There is NO picture-taking allowed inside either of the castles. Very unfortunate. I would have loved some pictures. . .
Hohenschwangau was just the right size for our enjoyment, but we had no time to eat lunch before having to hurry to make our next tour at Neuschwanstein. If I had this to do over again with kids (ages 3-6) I would have done separate tickets so we could have later tour times, or done them on different days. Neuschwanstein is one mile up a very steep paved road from Hohenschwangau. It was not to be attempted with three small kids in the pouring rain. We paid our money for a round trip ride and waited for the bus. There are also horse-drawn carriage rides available for an extra fee, but on a day with rain like that, even I considered PETA might actually have a point on that topic.
The bus drops passengers off near a small wooden shelter with several paths leading in different directions. It is still a bit of a walk to get to the castle, but it is level or slightly downhill while going this direction, and wide enough for strollers. When you reach the castle, you queue up and wait for your number to appear on the board. You can get some interesting pictures of the outside of the castle from under this archway.
Neuschwanstein is bigger and more "modern" than Hohenschwangau, which was Ludwig's childhood home. I was impressed by the ingenuity he (or his engineers) used to solve such everyday problems as heating and water. Many romantically-styled murals cover the walls, depicting either historical events or ancient tales of ladies in distress, rescuing knights and battles of great heroics. The luxurious rooms at Versailles in France were impressive, but these rooms were even more extraordinary.
The vast and gorgeous views from the windows of peaceful mountains, green meadows and clear lakes just reinforced its magic. The other tour members and the guides were all cheerful and kind to the kids, who had been warned by us beforehand not to go jumping on the beds or climbing on the chairs. We had learned this from our experience at Jane Austen's house, which is a tale about a child, a pen and a chair . . . but we'll save that for another day.
Even the kids were impressed with some of the stunning objects Ludwig had received for his birthdays growing up. I'm sure they were mainly trying to figure out ways to make their birthdays resemble something more like his. They loved the floors, wall pictures and amazing luxury of these rooms, paired with the very tragic story of Ludwig himself. Even the tour guides couldn't quite agree on how to understand this complicated and quirky man, but the architectural magnificence of this legacy guarantees his place in history.
Well, we loved it! It was everything I'd hoped, but we were sore-footed and exhausted by the end of this tour. The tour itself ends at a well-stocked tourist shop, and there is a small cafe across from it where you can grab a small bite to eat. After a food, potty, trinket break, we posed for a picture by the glass wall with the beautiful pillars and arches trellises and lush landscape behind us. I just wished they would let us out on the balconies, but no. We tried to finish off with a movie about Ludwig's life, but after five minutes we left. I wouldn't bother with it as it was very strange and failed to capture anyone's interest.
So we headed off. This time we had to choose whether to just walk down the hill all the way back to our car (STILL pouring rain) or walk up the hill back to the bus stop. As tired as we were, we opted for the closer bus stop. BIG MISTAKE. There is no ticket taker up here; the bus driver is supposed to ensure you have a ticket, but doesn't enforce a line of any kind. This created the perfect storm of human nature, cultural differences and terrible weather.
When we arrived at the bus stop, we got behind the group that had arrived just before us and waited under the slight protection of the wooden shelter. When the bus came, it quickly became apparent that not everyone felt it necessary to wait their turn. We missed the bus. Deciding that if we were ever going to make it on, than we'd have to stand right out front in the rain. This time, we realized that only one bus was running. It took about 10 or 15 minutes for the bus to go one direction. After almost 30 minutes of standing with three very muddy children in the pouring rain, we were very glad to see the bus again. But we were not the only ones. No one wanted to stand in the rain, and there were many vacationing adults who didn't hesitate to throw elbows and trample small children to make sure they got on. Our general misery was acute: wet, freezing and with feet so sore it has reached levels of agony we hadn't felt since we'd hiked London on foot. I don't know if you've ever tried to maneuver three small and sometimes timid kids through a pressing crowd. For us, this meant moving at a literal snail's pace as the scared kids latched onto our legs and doing a hurried minced-step while still trying to aim for the open bus door. The surging crowd pressed forward, nearly pushing us under the bus. Luckily for us, several men joined my husband in leveraging an umbrella in the door's hinge to keep me and the three kids from getting trampled right at the steps of the bus.
I certainly don't give you that account to discourage you from visiting, but I do hope to prevent anyone from getting hurt. So, if you happen to find yourself in a similarly rainy and crowded situation, just know to AVOID THE BUS! It would have saved us a lot of time and misery to have just sucked it up and walked down.
Driving out of town, I was once again struck by the beauty of it all. The bright green fields spotted with blue lakes and dark green forests, set next to majestic mountains rising up out of floating mists - and a beautiful castle, perched, overseeing it all. I had high hopes for this place, and usually that means I'll be disappointed. I wasn't. The landscape and castles really are magical in their beauty and magnificence. Even in the pouring, freezing rain this place is totally worth it.
TIPS: for vacation rentals in Germany, try: http://www.live-like-a-german.com/ ,
for info on the Romantic Road, go to: http://gogermany.about.com/od/sightsandattractions/a/romanticroad.htm ,
and information on hotels, castle tour tickets, the history of Ludwig and other helpful bits can be found at: http://www.hohenschwangau.de .
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