Hiking to Neuschwanstein Castle
After visiting the town of Fussen and the Lechfalls on our first day in Germany we continued our adventure by hiking up to the Neuschwanstein Castle.
It's only about an hour and a half away from the town of Fussen and takes you through a really beautiful forest with a mountain lake and a few lookouts over the valley plains.
We got really lucky with the weather that day as well. It was sunny and warm, which was rather unusual for our vacations in 2021. This year it rained or was overcast for the better part of the summer season and this time was no different. I think out of the seven days we spent in Germany, we maybe got three days of decent weather. I took a few pictures of my wife and dog to commemorate the occasion.
After about 45 minutes of walking through the forest we eventually came to the town of Hohenschwangau and its castle on the hill.
It's a lovely yellowish peach colored building that contrasts brightly against the green backdrop of the forest.
We couldn't go into the courtyard because we didn't have the proper covid masks. In Bavaria at that time they required you to wear the FFP2 masks in every hotel, restaurant and venue and we only had our reusable cloth ones.
No breaking the rules under the watchful eyes of the king either.
Down the hill from the castle is the small but charming tourist village of Hohenschwangau.
It's set within a beautiful location in the mountains next to a blue water lake, very picturesque to say the least.
The town is very small and is only made up of a few hotels, restaurants, shops and a museum. Buts it's got some pretty cool view of its castle above.
I noticed that a lot of building roofs in Bavaria had large rocks on them. I don't know the purpose of them and I'm super curious, so if anyone knows why they're there please let me know in the comments.
It was still quite early in the morning at this point but it was already getting busy. Neuschwanstein is one of the most popular castles in the country and maybe even in Europe. Tourists were begining to arrive by the bus load.
They say that over 1.4 million people visit the castle each year and up to 6000 per day in the summer so let's get going! I can see the castle up ahead.
The Castle
From Hohenschwangau it's still about 20 minutes away from Neuschwanstein and the walk is entirely up hill.
Along the way we passed some old timey horse drawn carriages transporting people up the road and also got a few glimpses of the residence poking out through the trees. I could see why they call it a fairytale castle.
Neuschwanstein was built on the side of a mountain in the forest and when the trees part you can see the valley below and start to get an idea of just how high up and secluded it really is. Apparently, King Ludwig II was a shy king, or maybe he just didn't like people because he built the castle as a private residence in order to isolate himself from the rest of society. The castle housed no court and was built only for the king himself.
Not a bad place to retreat to, I must say.
Construction of the castle began in 1869 but was never completed and after Ludwigs death in 1886, the castle was opened up to the public. The king lived there for only 172 days and renovations and restoration continue on the building even to this day.
The architectural design of the structure is Romanesque Revival and a great spot to view it is from the steel grate platform located on an adjacent hill just below the front entrance.
We were traveling with our dog so we didn't go inside - pets aren't allowed in the interior. We still enjoyed walking around the outside though.
We probably wouldn't have gone in anyway though. Like many castles that we have seen in Germany, Neuschwanstein has a mandatory guided tour policy, meaning that you cannot wander the interior on your own.
Walking slowly and standing in a group of 20-30 people really isn't at all appealing to me personally.
More amazing views of the exterior can be seen if you walk around back and up the road a little ways, as well as a view of the town of Hohenschwangau where we had just come from.
As you can see, we covered quite a bit of ground during our hike.
The town of Fussen isn't even visible in the shot below. It's located somewhere beyond that lake in the distance on the right side of the photograph.
One not so minor inconvenience about our visit that day was that the main viewing bridge was closed due to covid. It's the only spot that you can get a really clear and close view of the castle in its entirety. You can see just how close the bridge is in the next photo.
We actually found another spot by hiking way up the mountain, but I really had to zoom in to get a good image.
The second photo is roughly how close it looks without zooming in with a camera. The spot is pretty cool but as you can see we were quite far away and the hike to get there was long and arduous.
The last thing we did before heading back to Fussen was hike to the creek thats located behind Neuschwanstein.
There's an interesting art piece back there as well as a nice little man made waterfall that you can get up close and personal to.
I'm not sure what the folks crossing through the water were doing.
They chose one of the deepest locations to walk through the water. You could cross easily in dozens of other places without even getting your feet wet.
Maybe they were hot and were trying to cool off?
Wow what a hike! Such great scenery the whole time and that architecture is awesome! It didn't know that the king didn't get to live very long in the castle.
Yeah it's a shame that he only got to live there a short time. That's always the case though it seems. They take on a massive project late in their lifetime and then by the time the project is finished, they are dead. Amazing legacy though.
Awesome pics. That castle looks great, pity about the masks.
Maybe they keep the rocks on the roofs to throw on pillagers!!
Haha yeah that could be. But we did see them in other parts of Bavaria as well on barns and what not. Maybe they have issue with people stealing their hay? Lol
What a wonderful post about the beautiful old and well known castle.
Have a !BEER for all your hiking and all the great pictures.
Thanks. I'm glad you liked it. It's quite the location.
I love Beer! Thanks for that as well 😀
You forgot to take a video of the waterfall in slow-motion, I am rioting!!!
😁
Man, look at the size of that beast...Imagine living there, walking all the way downstairs in the morning only to realise you forgot your keys at the top of the tower!
Haha yeah, but I dont think that was a problem for kings. They had servents to run back for them. Actually they had servents to do everything for them. They didn't even need to leave the house. They could just sit around and watch Netflix all day. They had Netflix back then right?
Yes they did! They also had bathrooms, so there is absolutely no chance for them to find "gifts" behind curtains all around the castle!
🤣🤣🤣
I lived in Germany for a while and loved, loved, loved that castle! I put my three kids on the wall and took their pictures. :) Oh, the memories.
Your pictures are awesome! I love how you took stunning shots of the countryside, the hiking and the water! Yes! Gorgeous. I just started perusing your profile. Hello? What took me so long?
The rocks on the roofs?
I hope you are having a great day!
Well thanks for checking out my blog and for clarifying the purpose of those mysterious roof rocks. I knew that someone would come to my rescue on that. That's awesome that you lived in Germany for a time. It must have been a great experience.
It was amazing. Netherlands, Italy, Spain, and and and... it has been awesome. Most of them before I liked cameras. Seriously. I am a late bloomer. :(
That sounds awesome.
Yeah I'm the same. I got my first cell phone at 25 - which was very late compared to others in my cohort. I was like 7 years late to that game haha
Whoa... Some of those pictures of the castle are phenomenal! Also some beautiful nature areas as well. Nice work man!
Thanks! I appreciate it. The area is really nice with the mountains and the lakes.
Nice photos! I didn't realize there was a hike up. We walked up the road a long time ago.
Yeah I think it depends on where you start from. If you leave from Fussen then you can hike through the forest to get there. If you leave from Hohenschwangau though then you basically just walk up the road to the castle. But there are quite a few hiking trails in the forest surrounding the castle as well.
We went there some years ago, before we had kids. It is a fairytale castle, but then Ludwig was apparently a bit crazy. I know it from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. We did a tour there, but I think that only included a few rooms. We shall have to go back to Bavaria some time.
I didn't learn much about King Ludwig for the post but it seems that every culture has a crazy king at some point in its history lol
This post jogged some old memories! I explored parts of Europe in 1979 with a Eurail Pass and Youth Hostel handbook. I had to carry my backpack and large bag with me everywhere, so hiking wasn't something I often did. I would have enjoyed that beautiful hike through the woods. I didn't go into the castle, either, because I was traveling alone at the time and didn't think it would be much fun to go through it alone. Also, it cost money, which I had little of. Still, the outside is an impressive sight. Thanks for sharing your beautiful photos.
Yeah having a large backpack with all of your things would make hiking challenging. I think you can enjoy castles quite a bit without actually going inside. You can use your imagination and imagine how they are decorated on the inside, which can be fun as well.
Like you, I find the guided tours a bit tedious. I'd rather go up the stairs that are roped off and see what's really up there.
Hahaha yeah exactly. I'm always wondering what they're hiding up there! Realistically, they are probably just empty rooms but some of the castles are privately owned and I often wonder if they have a really nice personal suite up there that is renovated with all the modern amenities? I like to imagine the possibilities of owning a castle lol
At least maybe those are useful. Nowadays most people in my country (Hungary) wear disposable masks. And as I heard, these masks can do more bad than good.
That could be? I don't know the differences in efficiency and all that between the different types of masks.
Yes. At least according to ScienceDaily, "Scientists have uncovered potentially dangerous chemical pollutants that are released from disposable face masks when submerged in water. The research reveals high levels of pollutants, including lead, antimony, and copper, within the silicon-based and plastic fibres of common disposable face masks".
Well that's rather alarming. Thanks for sharing that with me.
Wow, what a beauty! Incredible landscapes! I have never been to this country, but I really like the old stately castles! And once I cross-stitched something like that). I will write a short story about this soon. Hope @dswigle and @leaky20 will be interested💖 Beading, threading is my favorite hobby.🤗
Your cross stitch is the Neuschwanstein Castle! That's really neat. It looks great 👍
Thank you 😄
I also walking to the Neuschwanstein Castle too. Such a beautiful trekking and the story behind the Neuschwanstein Castle and King Ludwig II is quite amazing too! Love them both 😃
Yes I agree. The landscape is very beautiful and the history of the castle and king is very interesting.
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Yeah me also :)