Day 3: The Castles! Part 2
We ended up arriving around 10:00 pm. We stayed in the little tourist village between the castles where the ticketing center is located. It was peaceful and quiet.
Höhenschwangau village, so quiet at night. Not really a real village per say, more like staying in Epcot.
Höhenschwangau castle at night.
Early morning view from our window, the Neuschwanstein castle in the distance. Still and quite before the hoards arrive.
Early morning view from our other window, the Höhenschwangau castle right above us.
Villa Jägerhaus, our stop for the night with Höhenschwangau above.
You can see Villa Jägerhaus, middle left in the photo. Perfect location.
As the morning turned into day, the village of Höhenschwangau became overrun with tour buses and tourists. So many Japanese tourists that the large store at the end of the road employ mostly Japanese staff members. The whole village was crazy busy and I'm glad we arrived the night before to enjoy the quiet.
The Neuschwanstein castle tour was fantastic, I could see how Disney reproduced the very front of the castle entrance for Disneyland.
This is the side that Disney used for the front of his castle.
Entry doors into the castle. Looks very similar to Disney.
Interior courtyard holding area before tour. This would be the back side of the Disneyland/Disneyworld castle. This part of Neuschwanstein castle is the entire Disney castle.
Interior courtyard between tours, wish the rest of the castle areas were like this!
One of the castle hallways, no photos allowed once the tour started. The attention to detail in the castle was amazing. The guide said only 1/3rd of the castle is completed.
Hint: We missed the Hohenschwangau castle visit because we took the horse drawn carriage for transportation. The carriage and buses are for Neuschwanstein castle only. You walk up to Hohenschwangau castle. If you can't walk up hill for long distances, take the bus up. When you get off the bus, walk to the bridge to view the castle from a distance, then proceed downhill to the castle. To avoid the uphill walk when going back down to the village, take the horse drawn carriage instead. This way, most of your walking is downhill.
The view of the castle from the bridge. If you ride the bus, you can stop off on the bridge and take a photo of the castle.
The view of the bridge from the castle. The guide leaves you at the end of the tour, I took this photo from the castle kitchen.