Neuschwanstein Castle

Today we went outside the city again, this time to visit the famous Neuschwanstein Castle.  Neuschwanstein is a castle that was commissioned by Bavarian Kind Ludwig II in 1869 as a personal retreat.  After he died in 1886, the castle was opened to the public and has been ever since.  The castle, an example of Romanesque Revival architecture, has been the inspiration for many other castles and buildings around the world, most notably the Disney Castle.  The castle is located in the town of Hohenschwangau on the edge of the alps.  When you get into town, you have to buy tickets at the base of the mountain and then walk up to the castle.  It's about a 30 minute walk uphill the whole way, but it wasn't too bad for us.  The view from the castle was incredible, both looking up at the mountain and down into Bavaria.  We tried to get to the bridge where everyone gets the picturesque photos that you see of the castle on Wikipedia, but it's closed till May for maintenance.  Also, the weather was cloudy and slightly rainy, but the views were still spectacular.  The tour was pretty short as well, but the inside of the castle was very ornate and beautiful.  As we were walking back to the car, the clouds finally parted and the sun came out, leading to a great picture of the castle sitting atop its perch.  Definitely worth the visit.

View down into Bavaria.

View from behind the castle, almost from the bridge.

View from the town once the sun came out.

On the way back to Munich, we stopped off at Kloster Andechs, a monastery brewery well-known for its strong Dopplebock Dunkel.  Everyone at work told us we should go there, but that we should be careful because the beer was really strong.  However, the beer is only 7% ABV, which is lower than the stouts I usually drink back at home, so it really didn't have any effect.  For German beer though, it is stronger than most, since they are typically between 4 and 6%, so I guess I can't blame them for the warning.  The beer was good and the pretzels were the best I've had so far.

I love beer and pretzels.

More pictures here!