Schwangau ( Schloss Neuschwanstein & Schloss Hohenschwangau), Deutschland

This town is probably on a lot of bucket lists around the world. I know it was on mine since I was a kid reading encyclopedias and for one HUGE reason: Neuschwanstein castle!

We started the four hour drive from Vilseck to Schwangau early in the morning. The plan was to arrive around 11:ish am. 
That didn't happen. 

I could've booked advanced tickets for the castle tours online, but I was afraid of missing the tour slot (advanced tickets online only give you a two hour window for arrival). Well the worry was worth it; we would've missed the window. 

The first 3.5 hours of driving were a breeze. Passed a lot of neat small towns, random buildings, farms, and even a few vineyards. But that last half hour of the drive was a pain in the arse. We sat, in very still traffic, FOREVER. 
I was so close to the castle, yet so far away. I think there was construction, not sure?
Warning: This is a LONG post!

Stuck in traffic. Why not snap a picture of the scenery?!

We finally arrived after an hour long traffic jam right outside of the small town.

Parking was 5 Euro, and the attendant who snatched our money was a nice Italian dude. He says "AHHH AMERICANS!!!!" in his excited Italiano accent, and tells us he's from...you guessed it, Italy. 

After eating our picnic, or tailgate lunch, we set off on foot to find the ticket office. 

Whenever we head to a particular destination, I research for months and/or weeks ahead, so it's almost as if I know my way around before arriving. 

Sort of. 

Reading a map from your home computer and being in that same location physically are two  different things, but at least you have a sense of direction. 

The ticket office sat between the two castles (Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau), in the little village/gift shop area on the main street. It wasn't hard to find.

The trouble was this: 

By the time we made it to the ticket office, it was already 2pm. The next tour for Neuschwanstein started at 5:45pm, and the tour for Hohenschwangau started in a few minutes. Boo, hiss.

I hated to do it, but we said "Screw the tours", and we decided to just enjoy the exterior of both castles. Which is free to do. Since I live here, I reminded myself that we can always return another time. No biggie

The foot trails and roads around Neuschwanstein are steep. I rarely get overheated or winded, and it wasn't particularly warm on this day, but had to remove my sweater and stop for a few breaks on the way up. Yeah. 

Fancy people take horse carriages up, but I don't like the idea of being a lazy human while an animal does the trek for me. My legs aren't broken!

When you reach the end of the road up, the castle doesn't really seem super impressive up close. Maybe because it doesn't have a super fascinating history, in my opinion, or maybe because it's not old by castles standards (construction started in the mid 1800s). 

It just seemed very chintzy & overthought when compared to others we have encountered. Kind of like a woman who wears gaudy jewelry and too much make up. Not to say Neuschwanstein isn't beautiful, it is! It just doesn't have the dark vibe, history loaded, and old 'feel' that I love about other castles. It's almost as if Ludwig built it for the purpose and intention of Neuschwanstein becoming a tourist attraction.

I was slightly disappointed that we had nothing but gray skies this day. But I look at it this way: If the sun would've been bright, there would've been terrible shadows in my pictures. But it didn't rain! I guess things could be worse.
I saw a few folks gawking over something while we were standing in the courtyard, and went over to see what it was. As soon as I saw it, I knew: Marienbrücke! 

Marienbrücke, or Mary's Bridge, is quite a spectacle from a distance. I really hate heights, but knew I would have to hike to this bridge and then actually stand on it to get a good view of that famous castle facade. Some people skip this, but I wanted THAT shot. You know, the same shot everyone repins thousands of times on Pinterest. Yeah. A must.

We set foot to Marienbrücke, which is about a 45 minute hike up a back trail behind the castle. On the way to the bridge, you have incredible views of Schloss Hohenschwangau, the town below, and some different angles of Neuschwanstein that I never have seen in photos before.

Marienbrücke was well worth the hike, but I will warn you, the bridge is overly crowded. Hoards of people just hanging out, standing around. Numbers of people (mostly females) trying to get the perfect selfie with the castle in the background. 

I'm not talking a few selfies. I'm talking hundreds. 

This is where I first ever encountered a strange selfie device, and the majority of the people who had them were Asian (which makes sense since loads of innovative technology come from that part of the world). It's a 'selfie stick', a device that attaches to a cell phone and allows you to extend the wand while you hold it to get a photo that looks as if someone else shot it for you. T'was strange, but kind of neat. I must admit, I need one!
I ditched my kids and husband (he hates crowds with a passion. He took one look at the bridge and said "Hell no"), and I shuffled, squeezed, and fought my way through people to the center of the bridge. I now know what it's like to be a sardine. 

And there she was. 

Schloss Neuschwanstein as I have seen countless times in photos! Definitely another "WOW, am I really here?" moment!

Although I was a little sad about the gray sky, I was delighted to have photos that rendered NO photoshop for a pretty sky. I really hate seeing those, by the way. Nature did all of the work with pops of color.

The reason I was here on this day was honestly because I wanted to see Neuschwanstein in the fall; surrounded with warm colors, and crisp leaves. And I got what I wanted!

We could have crossed the bridge and hiked up to an area where many shots of the castle are taken, but I decided against it. We headed down to the main street via a path, not the main path, but a side path. We knew it'd take us down to the town, but didn't know where it would end. Luckily this path was not swarming with people like the others we had taken earlier. 

We hit the main street about 40 minutes later and set forth to Neuschwanstein's neighbor: Schloss Hohenschwangau. 

Hohenschwangau is impressive in it's own right. It's not very big, but charming. There are fountains on the grounds, and there is a cute little courtyard. You also get another angle of Neuschwanstein from Hohenschwangau, and a view of the town below. It was odd to be standing near a castle viewing another castle.

After wandering around Hohenschwangau, we called it a day. Grabbed some brats and cokes in the town and headed to the car. We spent about 4.5 hours in the area, and even though we did a lot of exploring, I still feel as if I need to go back someday. If I never make it back, I won't be sad because I can now say I have seen one of the world's most famous castles! Though our day didn't go completely as planned, I definitely haven't taken our trip for granted :-)