September 27, 2014 ---- Bavaria is the largest state of Germany and from its long history it has a lot of historical buildings, palaces and castles all over the state. Nathan and I bought an annual ticket from the Bavarian Palace Department so that we can visit over 40 sights (palaces, castles and museums) in Bavaria.
Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau Castles are located 2 hours (by train) south of Munich. Nathan and I bought a Bayern ticket ( €27 for one-day unlimited ride for two people) and took a local train from München Hbf to Füssen station. Once we arrived at Füssen, we hopped on the bus #73 (and #78) to Hohenschwangau / Alpseestraße and it took about 5-10 minutes to reach the Ticket Center. (The Bayern ticket also included all local transportation fees.)
Even though we had the annual ticket for Bavarian palaces, we still needed to get in line to be scheduled for the castle tours. We decided to take the morning tour at the Schloss Hohenschwangau (€11) and the afternoon tour at the Neuschwantein Castle (free with an annual pass) and then to spend late afternoon in the Museum of the Bavarian Kings (€9.50).
After we got all of our scheduled tickets, we strolled through Hohenschwangua town toward Alpsee Lake. The scenery of the lake and the mountains behind it were stunning. To the right of the lake was the road up to the mountains and Hohenschwangau Castle. It wasn't too far or steep, but I could see that it might be difficult for people with disabilities. However, horse-dawn carriages are available for a fee.
Hohenschwangau Castle was a summer palace built in 1832 by King Maximillian II. After the king passed away, his son, King Ludwig II, took over the third floor while his mother stayed on the second floor. The inside of the palace was elaborately decorated, and the guided tour took about half an hour.
Neuschwanstein Castle is located on a higher mountain nearby. It took us about 30 minutes to walk up to the castle from Hohenschwangau Castle, but there are shuttle buses and horse-dawn carriages provided for a fee. The guided tour of the Castle's interior took about 40-45 minutes, and it was really worth going in because every single room was decorated beautifully. The view of the Alpsee Lake, Hohenschwangau town, and the Alps was stunning. After the tour of the castle, Nathan and I kept walking up the road behind the castle to Marienbrücke for a good view of the castle. A lot of people just took the shuttle bus from town up to Marienbrücke and then walked downhill to the castle, but we did all the walking uphill and took the bus down to town. Good exercise!
After all the castle tours, we went to the Museum of the Bavarian Kings. An audio tour was included in the ticket price, and it was very informative. We spent about an hour or so strolling through all the exhibits and learning about the Bavarian royal family.
Around five o'clock we went to the bus stop waiting for the bus (#73, 78) back to Füssen. There were a lot of people waiting, but the bus seemed to only come hourly. (They should have had more buses on weekends.) Anyway, we got to the train station in Füssen by 5:30 p.m., so we went strolling in the small town a little bit before our 6 o'clock train.
Our day trip to Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau Castles was enjoyable and worth the visit. I highly recommend everyone to go once if you are in Munich or close-by.
