Schongau

Today we left Munich bright and early for the Avis car rental depot. All went smoothly; however we were a little surprised to receive an Audi Q3 SUV instead of a Mercedes sedan. We left Munich during rush hour to head to Hohenschwangau. At the start, we had to learn the different road signs and try to decipher the speed limit.

If you know me, it might be concerning that I am the main navigator while Tyler is driving on a road without a speed limit. We did pretty well. I only missed one exit which cost us about 5 minutes on the way. Unfortunately it was a rainy day but still a beautiful drive. We had a quick bratwurst and a wander through the town of Hohenschwangau before starting the 40 minute trek up the mountain to Neuschwanstein. The castle really is stunning ... we took lots of moments to pause and look at it even though it was between a drizzle and a solid rain the whole time.

Guided tours are the only way to see the inside of the castle. The tour was very interesting. I did not know that Neuschwanstein was never actually used because it was the brain child of King Ludwig II and he died before it was completed. It was built in the mid-1800s as an homage to old German castles of the medieval ages. The interior of the castle consists of facades that represent different operas that he was into. There were also lots of swan decorations and some amazing carved wood details. After the tour, we walked a bit further to the main viewing point on Marienbruke. Again very stunning even though we were a bit soaked. The walk back down to the town was definitely a bit easier than the way up!

Now I'm writing this as we finish up our drive to Rothenburg ob der Tauber. Most apropos song we have listened to on the drive is Ed Sheeran's Castle On The Hill. We ended up taking a bit of a longer route through a few towns on the hillside which was gorgeous.

I know Tyler will want to recount his feelings on the autobahn once he has finished driving but that's all for now. Ciao!

Brooke & TylerRead more