Central Europe 3

Tuesday I drove the short distance to Hohenschwangau, where the Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein Castle are located. Neuschwanstein Castle is the major drawing card of this area, a fairytale castle with a superb location in the Bavarian hills. The castle was built by Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and as a homage to Richard Wagner, the King’s inspiring muse. The castle was close to completion when Ludwig died in 1886, shortly after he was declared insane. It is the most photographed building in Germany and is one of Germany’s most popular tourist destinations. Luckily I already reserved my tickets online, so I did not have to queue up there. With the accuracy only found in Germany and Switzerland the tours started exactly on time, and gave a good overview of both castles. After these visits I cruised through the busy tourist town to another tourist town: Berchtesgaden. Since I was only spending one night there I got myself a room in a small pension. In the evening I visited Schönau am Königssee, a small village located next to Germany’s deepest and most scenic lake.