Neuschwanstein Castle

Up on a hill above the village of Hohenschwangau, Germany sits the beautiful Neuschwanstein Castle. This castle was built by the crazy King Ludwig and was the inspiration for the Disney Castle. This was one of the main reasons we visited Bavaria. I love how this castle sits among so much green with a lake and the alps as a backdrop. Below is a postcard showing a view from a neighboring mountain.

Because we did not bring our stroller, we took the horse-drawn carriage ride up to the Castle instead of enduring the hike. At the top we laid around on the lawn enjoying the views of the castle and valley while we waited for our turn to go inside. I guess we are a novelty because many people came and asked to take a picture with Luke. They would jump in the picture as if he was a movie star or Disney Character and pose smiling with him or shaking his hand. Even weirder, Harper fell asleep in the Bjorn and I had people run in front of me, take a picture of us and run off. How random is that?

The views of and from this castle were breathtaking and the rooms inside were unbelievably ostentatious, including a room which was fashioned to look exactly like the inside of a cave. They did not allow photography inside, so I don't have any pictures of the inside, but it did allow me to really enjoy it instead of just having my face in my camera. These pictures are from two different balconies. I was holding a sleeping Luke while taking the second one.

After hiking down we strolled through the area while Luke made friends with some kids. There must be a secret kid-language because whoever Luke meets, no matter where they are from or what language they speak, they are able to laugh and play together.

 

 

These are views from the train on the way home. The landscape of green hills with yellow flowers were only broken up by small villages built around old churches. The peaceful train ride put Harper and I right to sleep. An exhausting, but great day.