Neuschwanstein is a castle that looks like it was built in my dreams. The landscape surrounding the castle was absolutely stunning. There was bright green grass, little houses with burnt orange roofs, colorful shops, a big lake, and to top it all off, the alps were our background. Something that stuck with me was that Ludwig had this castle built so he could escape the life of being king, and that’s exactly how I felt standing there: like I had just escaped reality. The hike up to the castle was pretty steep, but it was nice to reconnect with nature after a few days spent inside on site visits. When we approached the top, the view was unreal. You could see so much of Füssen and the entire green landscape we had just driven through.
The castle that looked small from the ground was now massive and I stood right before it. The materials and architecture reflected its time of construction in the 1800s. The inside of the castle was built very intricately with some wooden flooring and many paintings and sculptures. The furniture was built of wood, but everything in there was so detailed. There was a room with over 150 swans hidden in the curtain fabric, the doors, walls, and paintings yet, everything still seemed to match the vibe of the rest of the castle. I couldn’t imagine actually living in this beautiful space. Unfortunately the castle was never finished as it was still being built at the time of Ludwig’s death. I wonder what the rest of the castle would’ve looked like if it had been completed. By the cafe in the castle, there was a lookout where you got a view of the landscape from even higher up, this took my breath away.
On the way back to the bus, we stopped for Quarkbällchen, which is “Like sweet Donut,” as described on a sign. These were little warm pieces of dough filled with a sweet cheese filling. I enjoyed them more than regular donuts and wish I could find them in the US. Following this, we went to the town of Füssen for lunch. It was a holiday so most restaurants were closed, so we stopped at a cafe for some sandwiches. The town was bustling because of the holiday. It was cool to see everyone walking around, the colorful buildings, and cobble stone roads. Most of the shops were open so we got to explore and look at some knick knacks. Walking around the area I wondered what people did for work around there. In a small area that is driven by tourism, it seemed that the residents would work in hospitality or own a shop, but did some commute for work or was this economy sustainable for everyone there to have?
The final stop of the day was to Wierskirche, a beautiful church where there was choir practice going on. The ways the instruments and voices echoed in the room was magical. It was a good and peaceful end to a day I would describe as a fairytale like (and one with over 30,000 steps taken).