Today is a trip out to look at some castles. To do this we need to take two trains and a short bus ride from Munich. Fortunately our Eurail pass works for the trains and the bus is about 3.50 euro each return. The time for travel was just over 2 hours each way.
The train ride through the country was really pretty as we headed towards the Black Forest area near the city of Fussen. The area before we got to the mountains is relatively flat and beautiful farm land. As we neared the mountains we encountered foothills. At this time of year the hills were covered with bright green grass and yellow dandelions. The colors would make Monet very happy I am sure and my pictures do not do justice since they were taken from a moving train.
While on the first train we sat with a couple from England. She is a school teacher and he is a self-employed accountant. They were here for a 4 day weekend (Easter weekend) and we had a great conversation with them as we travelled.
When we got to the second train, at Buchloe, we were surprised to see the number of people heading to that train. This train primarily goes to Fussen which is closest to the castles. In fact when we got onto the train we were fortunate to find a seat. For the first time on a train there were people standing for the 1 hour journey. I was glad to be sitting for that length of time.
We arrived in Fussen to transfer to the bus which takes us up the castles. This 10 minute bus ride was interesting since the train was full of people going to the castles and at first it looked like there were only 2 buses waiting to transport (a third appeared fortunately) but none the less, every seat was taken and the aisles were packed with standing tourists. I got to sit on a step at the back of the bus but since it was only a 10 minute ride, no one complained. Our option was to rent bikes and ride UP to the castles and although it is possible, it was not desirable.
We got off the bus to look around at two visible castles: the Hohenschwangau castle and the Neuschwanstein Castle. We decided that we had the time to visit both even though they were separated by a distance of a couple of km. So we headed up the street to find the ticket office and stood in line (yep those on the bus also wanted to visit the castles) and got our tickets. Now both castles are guided tours and we could have an English tour, but the tours were scheduled and we had to be ready for the tour at the appointed time. Since we booked both tours our times were set up so we could manage both.
It is clear that this community is a tourist center providing the support for the tourists. As we walked along the only main street we can see a few hotels, lots of food outlets and several outlets for the sale of souvenirs. Just past the ticket office the street branches with a route to each castle and a third off to the Alpsee Lake. In addition there are several marked hiking trails that can be followed to a variety of destinations but in all cases it would lead upward to views and lookouts over the region.
Our first castle to tour was the Hohenschwangau Castle. Hohenschwangau Castle or Schloss Hohenschwangau (lit: High Swan County Palace) is a 19th century palace. It was the childhood residence of King Ludwig II of Bavaria and was built by his father, King Maximilian II of Bavaria.
Hohenschwangau Castle was built on the remains of the fortress Schwanstein, which was first mentioned in historical records dating from the 12th century. A family of knights was responsible for the construction of the medieval fortress, and it served as the seat of the local government of Schwangau.
In April 1829 Crown Prince Maximilian (the later King Maximilian II of Bavaria) discovered the historic site during a walking tour and reacted enthusiastically to the beauty of the surrounding area. He acquired the ruins - then still known as Schwanstein - in 1832. In February 1833 the reconstruction of the Castle began, continuing until 1837, with additions up to 1855.
Hohenschwangau was the official summer and hunting residence of Maximilian, his wife Marie of Prussia and their two sons Ludwig (the later King Ludwig II of Bavaria) and Otto (the later King Otto I of Bavaria).
King Maximilian died in 1864 and his son Ludwig succeeded to the throne, moving into his father's room in the castle. After Ludwig's death in 1886 Queen Marie was the castle's only resident until she in turn died in 1889. Her brother-in-law, Prince Regent Luitpold of Bavaria lived on the 3rd floor of the main building. After his death the castle was opened to the public for tours. To this day the castle is still privately owned (as opposed to state owned). From 1933 to 1939 Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria and his family used the castle as their summer residence, and it continues to be a favourite residence of his successors.
We then walked back down to the lake level and up the other side and around to reach our second castle of the day, Neuschwanstein. As we walked up the road we were passed by a horse drawn wagon which was available (at a cost) to get transportation. However, the weather is so nice and we had the time so why not walk since it only takes about 40 minutes. The views of the mountains, the lakes and the lowlands, from every angle, were breathtaking. However, the air quality did take some of the crispness out of the long distance views, but still beautiful.
Neuschwanstein Castle is a 19th-century Gothic Revival palace on a rugged hill above the village of Hohenschwangau. The palace was commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and as homage to Richard Wagner. The palace was intended as a personal refuge for the reclusive king, but it was opened to the paying public immediately after his death in 1886. Since then over 60 million people have visited Neuschwanstein Castle. The palace has appeared prominently in several movies and was the inspiration for Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle. The king paid for his construction projects by private means and from his civil list income. Contrary to frequent claims, the Bavarian treasury was not directly burdened by his buildings and after Ludwig’s death the House of Wittelsbach.
When Bavaria became a republic in 1918, the government socialized the civil list. The resulting dispute with the House of Wittelsbach led to a split in 1923: Ludwig's palaces including Neuschwanstein fell to the state and are now managed by the Bavarian Palace Department. Nearby Hohenschwangau Castle fell to the Wittelsbacher Ausgleichsfonds, whose revenues go to the House of Wittelsbach.
After we finished the tour we realized that we had not walked up to Mary’s bridge (Marien Brucke) which is behind the castle and provided an opportunity for more views of the castles. As we walked up the hill we realized that not only were we getting elevated views of both castles. We also noticed that there were several trails we could walk to take us up to the top of a few of the surrounding mountains but most indicated a need for several hours return and we did not have that kind of time. Next time, if we return to this area, we will stay close and do some mountain trail touring too.
The Marienbrücke (Mary’s Bridge) is a bridge which spans the Pöllat Gorge. It was from this bridge that King Ludwig II admired his dream castle. As a child growing up in Schloss Hohenschwangau, Ludwig II had already grown to love the beautiful scenery of the Schwangau area, including the dramatic waterfall in the Pöllat Gorge above Neuschwanstein.
We finished our traipsing around and decided at 5:00 to head back to Munich. However, when we went to get the bus, we learned that the next bus was not due until 5:40 and the train leaves at 6:01. Since it is only a 10 minute bus ride and the bus goes to the station, not a problem…unless you looked at the crowd of people waiting for the bus with us. When the bus did arrive it was packed completely. In fact several people could not get on the bus but fortunately they had sent up a second bus which arrived before a riot started.
The train was on schedule and had enough room so everyone had a seat on both trains and we got back into Munich at 8:00. We had not eaten dinner yet so we stopped at a Burger King (not the greatest choice but quick and available) and ordered. We learned, after collecting our food that they were out of napkins and straws. They did manage to find a couple of straws so we could drink our cokes, but as for napkins, well we managed. I was not impressed but not upset..too much!
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