Neuschwanstein Castle - September 5, 2020

This is Germany's most famous castle and probably the most famous castle in the world. The Disney logo features it. I believe it translates to the New Swan Castle of Schwangau. If you look at the history, they built Hohenschwangau and then they built Neuschwanstein. 

These castles were home to kings. We wanted to go inside Newschwanstein for a tour, but they only accept 10% of capacity due to COVID restrictions and are booked at least 1 1/2 months in advance, Hohenschwangau was also booked for the next couple of weeks. It was okay though, at least we got a chance to visit the area. It offers more than just a tour inside the castle. Just the location in the Bavarian Forest alone is interesting and worth a visit. 

We parked at the lower lot for €4, the upper lot cost €8. One thing about Germany is that you always have to pay for parking no matter where you go. We didn't know where the trail to the castle was and just started walking. After about 5 minutes we found a sign and followed it. The path up to Neuschwanstein was paved and went through the Bavarian Forest. The castle itself is impressive, but a top attraction is a bridge where you can see the castle from a perfect vantage point. Shell said there was a picture of her when she was a little girl standing on that bridge. She doesn't know where the picture is. 

The line to the bridge was somewhat long, about a 30 minute wait. It was getting cold already. We waited it out. It was so windy and our picture came out shitty. I got some good gopro footage, which made up for it. 

The sun was setting on our walk back to the car. There was a waterfall we passed and only Shell and I took a side trip to the waterfall. The kids were over it, but Shell and I were determined. We gave the kids money to buy food and took the 5 minute hike to a really nice waterfall. It was so green and the water was crystal blue. When we walked back up to the main path, we saw Jared with this huge ass pretzel, one of those Bavarian pretzels. The taste was good, but not the best. Bavarian pretzels aren't as good as people make it out to be. 

What a long day we had. I was tired and fulfilled at the same time. We dropped the kids off and wanted more. Shell and I went to go eat more Bavarian food. We ate at a place called Zum Franziskaner. Shell had the schnitzel and I had the bratwurst. This place had the best sauerkraut. It was sweet and sour. Both Shell and I drank a beer, I had the hefeweizen and Shell had a cola beer. Our waitress sounded Russian, but had an amazing English accent. She was sharp. We tipped her very well for her service. Before going home, we stopped at a pizza place to get the kids some pizza.