Cinderella's Castle...Under Renovation!

We decided to go to Neuschwanstein today, so we got passes online for a 1:30 tour and then took the train to Fussen, the village where it is located.  You will be shocked, I know, to learn that it was raining when we left.  I've stopped counting the days (all of them so far) that it has rained for some point during the day because it is too depressing.  The last time I was in Europe it rained the whole time, so I was hoping for better weather.  Guess not.

Anyway, we decided to make the best of it.

The ride to Fussen was very pretty.  There were lots of picturesque villages along the way.  As we got closer and closer to the area, we could see the Alps begin to rise in the distance.  It was very exciting to finally be getting close enough to see snow still on some of the peaks.  We knew we were in for a treat when we finally got to the town.

The kids on the train.

We got off the train and stepped into Disney World.    It was just like Fantasy Land!  The town of Fussen is by far the most beautiful place we have been so far.  All of the houses are painted pink or yellow or blue.  Some of them have decorations painted on the outside around the windows and doors.  I wanted to explore right away, but we had to get on the bus that would take us to Newschwanstein.

Once we got to the top, we got our tickets from "will call" and decided to walk up the mountain to the castle.  The lady said it would take about 30 minutes.  Didn't register that it would be 30 minutes of climbing uphill in the Alps!  It was paved, so that wasn't the problem.  I hate to admit that I'm woefully out of shape, but when I had Omas passing me by, I realized I need to get out more!

We did take time for some pictures of thing big and small:

The town below.  That's where we got off the train.

Lots of snails around.

At one point, we could see Hohenschwangau, the castle where King Ludwig II grew up.  It is really neat looking, but we didn't end up going inside.  We had limited time, and we wanted to make sure we were able to see the castle that Walt Disney used as a model for Cinderella's castle at the Magic Kingdom.  

Hohenschwangau from the trail

Closer view

So we hiked.

Going up!

We got to the top, knowing that Neuschwanstein was undergoing renovations, but we were really disappointed to find out just how much renovation was going on:

Talk about a let down!  

We went to the tour anyway.  The inside was gorgeous!  We learned all about King Ludwig II and how crazy he was.  How he built all these palaces and castles and had no one to share them with.  He was a loner and almost a hermit.  He was very eccentric and built his castles to represent his favorite Wagner operas.  In Neuschwanstein, there is a whole room for operas and concerts, and he is the only one who ever used it.  He would stage a performance only for himself and would sit in different seats around the room to get a feel for how it was place to place.  In his bedroom is a huge arrangement of porcelain flowers that look 100% real.  I had to do a close-up look to make sure what they were.  This castle was never finished during his lifetime, and he only stayed here just a few days.

After we toured the inside, we walked up to the bridge behind the castle.  Thankfully, the back is not under scaffold, and we had a great view of the castle and surrounding countryside.

Neuschwanstein from Marian Bridge

Marian Bridge from Neuschwanstein

You'll get the family picture at Christmas!

After we finished touring the castle, we walked back down to the bus stop and took the bus back to Fussen.  On Sunday, most things are closed, but it was beautiful just to walk around.  It truly felt like Walt Disney must have come here for inspiration when he was designing Fantasyland.  It was just as clean as Disney World too!

Back in Munich, we saw the most interesting vending machine I've ever come across.  Kim T., this is for you!