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Neuschwanstein

Most people would have heard of Neuschwanstein, the famous castle of mad King Ludwig.  In fact Ludwig commissioned several (unfinished) castles of which Neuschwanstein happens to be the most famous (it inspired Walt Disney) and certainly the most spectacular.  Although his building work led to personal bankruptcy, it did wonders for the future finances of the German tourist industry as over a million visitors call at Neuschwanstein every year and a whole town full of tourist shops, car parks and restaurants is sustained by the visiting hordes.


With so many visitors comes a very complex set of arrangements for conducting tours to the castle which require you to reserve a space on a specific tour several days in advance and then pick up and pay for the tickets exactly 90 minutes before your (strictly regimented) 30 minute long tour.  No bags, no photos inside the castle, no touching anything, no this, no that.  They could call it Rule-schwanstein.



The tour is certainly very interesting though.  The rooms are very ornate and the guide did an excellent job explaining the background to the construction of the castle and the various rooms as well as giving an insight into the life of King Ludwig.

After touring the castle we walked outside to take in some of the amazing views, both from the vicinity of the castle itself and walking up to the bridge spanning a deep gorge above the castle which made for spectacular photographs where the amazing location of the castle could be fully appreciated.



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