Neuschwanstein

I finally made it! Having wanted to see the castle that inspired Disney for basically the whole trip, I actually did it.

The castle is located near the town of Füssen: a quaint German town. This is where the nearest train station is located, and it also has a few gems of its own throughout the city. It's a nice little place to hang out before or after a decent climb.

I had done a bit research and knew what to expect, but Rachel and Cameron had not. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, Neuschwanstein is not a medieval castle. In fact, King Ludwig II tore down the medieval castle that formerly stood in there to build one that "looked more medieval". Smart guy, that King Ludwig II.

Regardless, Neuschwanstein is very beautiful, and he did pick a great location to build what is essentially his shrine. The castle is set amongst hills and mountains; surrounded by a waterfall and a valley and the face of a cliff. From one perspective, the mountains provide a beautiful background, but from the lesser visited point of view, a town and lake as the backdrop make the hike very worthwhile.

I'm all about exploring and blazing your own trail, so that's what we did (to an extent). Other people had already trampled down a path, but we took the leap of faith that they knew what they were doing. Rachel and I climbed to the top of the mountain through the clouds to find that we couldn't see anything from the top (because of the clouds).

However, on the way down, we were able to get the view of the castle I originally set out to see. You can see the entrance to the castle with the town and lake in the background, and we got some great exercise getting there. Seriously, if you go to Neuschwanstein, take the hike up the mountain to get this breathtaking view.