On last year’s Gökova Bicycle Tour we met Sven from Bavaria. If you’re anywhere near it, he said, make the effort to visit Neuschwanstein Castle. So we did.
We crossed the border, crossed the river, and entered the historic center of Füssen. Dang, how does Germany manage to do these historic centers so well? Why is Ptuj dead and Füssen so lively?
We rode a bit NE from the city center to camp on the Forggensee (a lake) near the village of Brunnen.
Heading out that way we got our first view of the famous castle. See it right in the center of this photo?
The next morning I was in line at 7:40 behind about 50 other people. The next available ticket was for 75 minutes later which gave me time to walk up the hill, take photos, and visit the castle’s courtyard before the start of the tour.
There were some nice views on the walk up.
We were hustled through the castle in about 35 minutes — no photos allowed. It was built by Ludwig II after he was defeated (by Prussia?) and forced to move back to Bavaria. Ludwig II was obsessed with religion, knights, and the crusades. I felt like I was in a church with the religious paintings all over the place.
Here are a couple more photos from the outside.
Olite is still my favorite castle. Maybe in Füssen I should have visited Hohenschwangau Castle instead?
Bye, bye mountains. We have just a little flat riding left to finish our trip in Munich.
I missed this installment when it first came out. I’ve been to Neuschwanstein twice. Too bad they didn’t allow pictures inside. The rooms are certainly unique, often with themes from Wagner’s operas. It’s a fun place to visit. There’s a great view of it from the bridge a short walk up into the mountains on the back side. Hohenschwangau is also nice, but not as untraditional. That was Ludwig’s father’s castle.