DAY 10 - The Castle that Inspired Disney

The Hohenschwangau Castle and the Neuschwanstein Castle were not far from our youth hostel. After breakfast, we loaded the bus and had a short drive. We had tickets to tour the Neuschwanstein Castle at 10:25 and arrived in plenty of time.  Due to the extra time, some of us decided to hike up to the Hohenschwangau Castle to see the view, while others started the journey to the Neuschwanstein Castle.

King Maximillian, King Ludwig's dad, lived in the Hohenschwangau Castle and Ludwig was raised here, but decided he wanted a bigger castle when he was older, the Neuschwanstein Castle. The Neuschwanstein Castle inspired the Disney Castle.

The views from the top of each Castle were beautiful.  Pictures and videos were not allowed during the tour of the Neuschwanstein Castle, but the few rooms we were able to see were amazing.

Following the tour we hiked back to the bus, grabbed our picnic lunches, and had lunch alongside the shores of the Alpsee.

After lunch we boarded the bus and were going to visit a church that was built with a Rococo style during the 1750s, but due to construction we could not reach it, so we took the scenic route through the mountains into Austria, about a 2 1/2 hour drive.

Hohenschwangau Castle

Views from the Hohenschwangau Castle (you can see the Neuschwanstein Castle in the bottom left picture, towards the top left of the picture)

Neuschwanstein Castle (inspired the Disney Castle)

Views from the Neuschwanstein Castle  (you can see the Hohenschwangau Castle in the bottom left picture just to the right of the middle)

Alpsee Lake