Neuschwanstein Castle and Garmish

We had a wonderful weekend trip to Southeast Germany, as we finally went to see the famous Neuschwanstein Castle and very popular town of Garmish.

The Hohenschwangau Castle was right next to the Neuschwanstein castle and we captured some photos of that castle as well. There were three modes of transportation to get to the top of Neuschwanstein. You could walk the entire way which was a 30min walk. Take a horse and carriage ride, which was a little more euros. We took the bus up to the bus stop and then walked the rest of the way up. It was a slightly overcast day, so the images weren't crystal clear. There was a bridge view of the castle which was a little scary to be on, especially with the amount of people on the bridge. The castle is currently under restoration, so that was what we saw, bridge view.

We took the English tour, but our guide was difficult to understand. No photos were allowed in the castle, but we were able to take photos from the windows for the outside scenery. There were many steps to take, up and then back down. It was more of a tour to say, 'hey we have been inside the Neuschwanstein castle.', and gain some history of King Ludwig and his life and interests. The castle was the inspiration to the Walt Disney castle in Walt Disney World.

We then left for Garmish-Partenkirchen, to stay at Edelweiss, the military lodge and resort. The cloud coverage was very thick, so we were not able to view the largest mountain, Zugspitze, in Germany. We explored the Eibsee lake and were able to view one of the smaller mountains. We were planning on taking the boat tour, so we could see the Zugspitze, but the weather was a bit windy. I think the kids we more fascinated by the ducks, thus playing with them was all the fun they needed.

As we explored the town of Garmish and other close towns, we saw some adorable lodging homes, which resembled bed and breakfast places in the States. We walked around the shopping streets and I loved all the artwork, flower displays, and sidings of the buildings. It was even more windy by early evening, so our stroll down the streets was just long enough to see everything and head back to the resort. We finished off our stay by swimming in the hotel pool. Generally, the hotel pool is always a highlight with kids.

Overall, we all had a wonderful mini-vacation exploring a part of Germany that was highly recommended to see while living in Germany. It would have been fun to have explored many more areas of Garmish, so maybe sometime in the future we may venture back to this picturesque spot in Germany.