Füssen the Castles
Day 6
And we're back to Germany! Today was another one of our travel days.
On our drive, we stopped at the Zugspitze, which is the highest peak in Germany. There are two ways to get up to this point - via the Austria Gondola or the German Gondola. Our bus dropped us off on the German side. In case you don't want to ride up, you can also hike your way up! And boy, did we see a lot of brave people trying.
At the top of the base you are free to walk from one country to another. You can even pick and choose which country you want to eat in! The tallest biergarten in Germany was pretty packed, so we ended up eating on the Austrian side.
At the top of the German peak is a golden cross, which is a replica of the cross that was left there by the first group of hikers. In case you didn't want to trek the entire way up, you could take the gondola up and then hike the last bit. You needed hiking gear, though, so Matt was a bit disappointed he wasn't able to partake.
We finally made it to the town of Füssen that afternoon and were told that there would be a bike race that evening next to our hotel. We spent the rest of the afternoon doing our Rick Steves tour in our guidebook, which took us to a cemetery where we found a gravestone with one of Matt's family names, Keck. That evening, we watched a bit of the bike race through the cobblestone roads. I struggled to follow along, while Matt kept commenting that it looked painful.
Day 7
Today was our castle day. We visited the world-famous Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein (aka Cinderella) castles. I had visited these on a rainy day a few years ago while they were doing renovations, so it was fun to come back on a beautiful (and dry) day.
This was the one part of the trip we planned far in advance, as you often need to order tickets weeks - even months - ahead of time. We started first with Hohenschwangau, the smaller 'swan' castle. While it doesn't have the majestic appeal as Neuschwanstein, it is certainly filled with more history as it was the home the royal Wittelsbach family lived in for over a century, up to only a few decades ago! Originally built in the 1300s for the Knights of Schwangua, it was meant to be a country retreat for the Wittelsbachs, but young Ludwig and Otto lived there for most of their lives. While most people pass on this castle, I think its a better one to explore due to its rich history and smaller tour groups. Don't pass it up!
After our morning tour, we had a short lunch and made the (literal) hike up to Neuschwanstein castle. If your legs aren't up for the challenge of a steep climb, you can also ride up via horse carriage. As I mentioned earlier, this castle is also referred to as the Cinderella castle as Disney used it for its inspiration for the cartoon film. Ludwig custom built the castle as his main home, but he only slept 11 nights there before he was kidnapped from his bedroom and mysteriously died in a faraway lake. The castle was never fully completed after his death.
Naturally, the home was gorgeous to view as it was built for beauty not for purpose. It was highly influenced by the composer Richard Wagner and elements of his work are found throughout. Also found? Swans. Lots of swans. Ludwig considered himself a successor of the Knights of Schwangua and took up their coat of arms of the swan. Everywhere you looked there were large swans, tiny swans, every kind of swan you could dream of.
While the castle looks old and majestic, it's actually quite modern. That was one of the things that surprised me on the tour. It was actually built during the same time as the Eiffel Tower and had the first working phone in all of Bavaria.
When Ludwig died the Bavarian family was in debt from the construction. To balance the books, the family decided to open the doors of the castle to the public - something the isolated Ludwig would never have allowed. It was such a success that the doors have been kept open, and is the home to over 1 million visitors each year.
After we finished our tour of Neuschwanstein we headed over to Mary's Bridge. The line was long to get the perfect location of the castle. Ludwig chose the location of Nesuchwanstein castle again not for practical purposes - in fact the whole thing was impractical - but because of how gorgeous it looked from this specific angle. Fair warning - this trip is not for those with a fear of heights. If you're able to push past the hoard of tourists in a tiny little space, you can capture the ever elusive perfect view!
We then hiked down to the base of town, which was much easier than hiking up. I had gotten us tickets to the Museum of Bavarian Kings located near the ticket center. They weren't very expensive, so I thought it would be a nice add on. And boy was it worth it! If you're really interested in learning about history and not just looking at beautiful homes, this is a must on your list. We spent hours going through all of the rooms reading all about the Wittelsbach family from the very beginning to the very end. It had a comprehensive section on the famous 'Mad King' and it was interesting learning about the rest of the family and their influence on Germany.
Last but not least, we had one more task in Füssen. Matt's sister's mother-in-law gave us a crystal as a wedding present and asked for us to leave it somewhere on our honeymoon for good luck for our marriage. As our new family name - Hock - comes from Bavarian origins, there was no better place to leave it. We decided to throw it in the River Lech that runs throughout the Bavaria region.
While my throw may not have been the best - and the locals definitely thought I was crazy - we're happy there's a part of our story still in Europe.