Day 10: Munich, Neuschwanstein

We debated for quite a while whether to see Neuschwanstein and Linderhof by ourselves or as part of a day tour. Seeing them ourselves would take two days, but we would be able to visit according to our own schedule and leisure. Taking the day tour meant being able to see them both in one day, but we would only either be able to tour the inside or the grotto at Linderhof (not both), and we would be stuck with at least 30+ other people and a strict schedule. D told me about his good experiences with a day tour last summer, but in the end, we decided to do it on our own ^-^

The train out to Fussen predictably consisted of people going to visit Neuschwanstein. We all got off and connected at Buchloe. On the train, we met this student taking a weekend trip from Budapest. She was from North Carolina (!) studying math in Budapest for a few months and lucky to have a schedule without class on Mondays and Fridays! 4-day weekends to explore every week! She was taking the night train back to Budapest after the castle.

The castle was unexpectedly covered in scaffolding for the part viewed from Mary's Bridge. We were a bit dismayed but felt better when we were told it would be that way for another two years. At least it's not like they decided to do some restoration only outside of peak season.


D told me 'you have to go to the viewpoint above Mary's Bridge', accessed by a steep, unmarked trail. He said there was no way I'd miss it though, because we'd see all the people coming down/back. But, it's low-season April, not crazy-tourist-season July (when D went). There was no one past the bridge, just us, and then the couple a bit later after us. We couldn't look up and be like, hmmm "how do I get up to the spot all those people are at?" We found a slope, but we're not sure if it was the same area D went to. Actually, we saw this *really* steep slope, which we opted not to go up. The viewpoint we did visit was pretty nice though, but I keep thinking maybe I missed out? If so, we'll have to return someday (and no scaffolding then) ^-^

Since we haven't visited Linderhof yet, the inside of Neuschwanstein wasn't a big letdown like for D. Still, I think I've seen too many palaces, so they seem pretty similar after a while! One thing different here though... the man-made cave corridor. "Mad" King Ludwig is a fitting title.


Aside from the castle exterior itself, the best part of our visit might have been our descent down from Neuschwanstein. We thought we were taking the other path down (different from the one we took up), but it turns out it was another path that we were probably not supposed to use? We did encounter one Korean couple going the opposite way though. Our path ran parallel to the waterfall going down (and sometimes partially over the water itself).


The reason we thought this was probably not a path we were supposed to use is because of the sign we encountered at the end, in the other direction.

The bus back to Fussen for our train back to Munich was really crowded. The schedule stated no buses for an hour and then two buses within five minutes of each other! The bus "line" was badly placed. In the end, it was a mass of people free-for-all, with a bunch of them being Italian teenage schoolkids. Somehow, we managed to grab two seats on the second bus that came up before the first bus had even left.

Anyways, all in all, I'm glad we decided to visit on our own ^o^