Neuschwanstein Castle tour at Munich

Day 13
April 20, 2009
Munich

It was past 10 PM on April 19 when we arrived at Munich, after a 2 hour train ride from Salzburg. The hotel we booked, A and O City Haupbahnhof, was a few blocks away on the other side of the train station exit. Our room was small and very plain, without any furnishings but the beds. It was cheap though.

We spent the next day on a tour of the Royal Castles of Linderhof and Neuschwanstein in Bavaria. Both castles were built by King Ludwig II during the 19th century.

Here are some pictures I took:

This is Linderhof, built as a hunting lodge by King Ludwig in the 19th century. Unfortunately, the very quick guided tour of the interior did not permit photography.




Shown here is the back side of Neuschwanstein castle, at the top of the mountain. We had to take the shuttle to get there. We got the 3 PM tickets so we had lunch first.

Here is a hanging bridge across the castle, which provides a side view of the castle.

Unfortunately, the castle was was covered with scaffolding. This was not a great day for shutterbugs.



Here is another view from the bridge:

Here's one on the way to the castle:



Here is the castle courtyard where we waited for our turn of the tour. Just like in Linderhof, photography was not allowed inside. The tour was also quick, given that only very few rooms in Neuschwanstein were completed. Apparently, funding for the castle was stopped and the King was mysteriously murdered.




Here is a view from the castle:

Here is a model of the magnificent neo-Romanesque style castle. It was the inspiration for Disney's Sleeping Beauty Castle.




We also had a stopover at Oberammergau, world-famous for its woodcarvers. Here I enjoyed shopping for little wood-carved Christmas decorations, which I bought for my mother. I hope they look well in our Christmas tree.