I went to bed unsure whether we would be spending the day swimming at the Olympic park or seeing the castles at Neuschwantein, but we headed to the castles. We caught a regional train in the morning, and it was about a two hour train ride south to the foot of the alps. The ride was gorgeous, and I spent most of it standing in the aisle looking out the open train window at the countryside. It was mostly farming areas, and the smell of cut grass and horses and cows was everywhere. As the mountains grew nearer, you could make out snow at the highest parts. Phyllis joined me at the window for the last several miles of the trip, and it was very nice.

When we arrived in Fussen, we immediately boarded a bus to the castle area, maybe five miles away. You could only tour the castles with a guide, and we had to kill some time until the next English tour, so we climbed up to the foot of the first castle and waited in the gardens.  The gardens themselves were very small and nice but not spectacular, but the view out over the plains and lakes below was beautiful.

The first castle, Hoheschwangau – high land of the swans – was nice enough.  It wasn’t a true defense castle, but rather a retreat for the king of Bavaria built to look like a “castle.”  But it was nice.

After, we made the long climb up the hill to see Neuschwantein.  The road climbed steeply through the woods, and the walk was slow. We again had time to kill at the top, and spent it taking more pictures. There were no gardens, but the view was if anything even better. Farmlands and lakes on one side, and a steep gorge but by a river and crossed by a steel bridge on the other side. And the castle itself really is spectacular. Since it is the model on which popular conceptions of castles are based in the US, it really looks like a castle. It actually reminded me less of Disneyland castles than the castles in the Lord of the Rings movies.

After, we took the bus back to the station, grabbed some food at a store, and then took the train back to Munich. We arrived around 8:30 or so, but then had to retrieve our bags and check into a different hotel (due to a booking problem with the first hotel). This room was nicer (bath in the room, etc.) but the area was a bit worse than our first place. By the time we got everything settled, there was no time to go back out, so I played cards for a bit with Amber and then went to bed.