Europe Trip Day 3

Today was an awesome day.  The only thing on our itinerary was to see Neuschwanstein Castle.  This castle was one of our primary destinations on this trip.  And it didn’t disappoint. 

We slept in a little since we didn’t get to bed until after midnight.  We had a yummy (free) breakfast in the hotel and then met up with Scott and Myrna for the drive to the castle.  And, yes, it was raining. 

We got really excited when this was our first glimpse of the castle.

We purchased tickets for the tour and then headed up on a bus to the castle so we wouldn’t have to walk the 40 minutes up the mountain.  It was super busy even for a rainy day in the off-season.  It was so amazing to see Neuschwanstein Castle, especially with the fall colors and the snow-capped mountains.  It definitely lived up to our expectations.  The whole area was just beautiful.

Here’s a shot of Hohenschwangau Castle.  This is where King Ludwig II was born and raised.  Apparently it wasn’t big enough for me. 

Here we are getting closer to the castle.  Yes.  Our luck would have it covered in scaffolding on one side.

From the entrance gate this is the view of the misty mountains surrounding the castle. 

The view of the valley below the castle. 

Here’s the courtyard.

Here are our traveling companions, Scott and Myrna.

We love this picture.  In it are the snowy mountain peaks and Mary’s Bridge which we walked on later to take amazing pictures of the outside of the castle.  Note the pretty waterfall below the bridge.

Because no photography was allowed inside the castle we don’t have any pictures to show the inside.  The throne room, his bedroom and the Singer's Hall were all amazing.  We bought a book about the castle for the girls to read about the history of the castle and inside pictures. 

Here is the view from Mary’s Bridge.  It was just spectacular…and cold. 

Here’s proof that Mark went out on the bridge.  Well, at least a few feet on it. 

On our way back down we got a good view of the Hohenschwangau Castle and the Alpsee lake.  Did I mention the fall colors were amazing?

It was a great day and we finished it off with some Turkish food at a roadside dive.  We were able to get back to our hotel at a decent hour to update the blog and have some relaxation time.  Good night all!