I have been looking forward to visiting Neuschwanstein, or the ‘Disney’ Castle for a long time now. The major tourist destination was an easy stop on our way home from Austria, or so we thought, so we planned the trek.
Mistake number 1: visiting the tourist trap on the Sunday, after New Years. The entire area was swamped with tourists, Germans, Austrians, and Italians alike.
Mistake number 2: DRIVING to the destination. We could barely move in our car seeing as the tourists swamped the roads on foot. Also, the price for parking was obscene.
Mistake number 3: Going. With 2 other castles in close proximity, actually in sight, Neuschwanstein is by far the least exciting. I kept looking at it saying, ‘Really? Are you serious? That’s IT?! That can’t be it!’
Yes, the castle has an interesting history with Mad King Ludwig ordering someone to paint the dreamed up castle, then having an architect build the painted version, building the castle for years, going crazy (hence the nickname ‘Mad’), living there for less than a year, being forced to leave, and dying (murder or suicide?) only days later. BUT, I would advice you read Ludwig’s history and look at a picture of Neuschwanstein (or in my book, the greatest European let-down) online, NOT make a trek there. There are so many other great tourist attractions, castles included, to visit in Germany or Europe.
Needless to say, Neuschwanstein is a Neusch-waste-of-time.
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