Europe 2022- Day 2 Munich May 12 Castle Tours

We were up at 7:00 for the free breakfast buffet at the hotel- AMAZING!  Rolls, fruit, cheeses, meats, eggs, etc. We walked to the Karlsplatz to get on Gray Line Bus for the tour to Neuschwanstein and Linderhof castles.  Linderhof was King Ludwig II's summer home- small palace but very elaborate with lots of porcelain vases and sculptures, painted ceilings, carvings, furniture.  We were not allowed to take pictures of the inside.  We toured the beautiful grounds with fountains fed by mountain stream water.

Then we drove through Oberammergau but were unable to stop there because of the Passion Play taking place and an overflow of tourists in town.  Bus stopped at a small roadside gift shop selling souvenirs and woodcarvings. Beautiful countryside, very hilly with many farms where the homes were attached to barns. In the small towns many houses had elaborate murals painted on them. So quaint!

We drove towards the Alps, to Neuschwanstein, which was King Ludwig II's fairy tale castle that was never finished due to his untimely death.  We had lunch at an outdoor cafe in the village of Hohenschwangau before taking a shuttle bus partway to the castle and walked the rest of the way up the hillside. The tour was very interesting, and included 200 steps inside then down again. We took the shuttle back to the village, then got on the bus back to Munich.

View from the top of Neuschwanstein

Hohenschwangau- Ludwig's birthplace

 

After we stopped at the hotel to drop off our bags, we walked to Schiller Brau for dinner. We had excellent food, beer and service.  Venison goulash with spaetzle and red cabbage was so good! Another long day, we were in bed by 10:15.