Castle Trip

Yesterday we went on a bus trip to see the royal castle Neuschwanstein in Germany. The bus tour included a guide that told us about the history of the places we were passing through and fun facts about the region. It is just amazing thinking about how old some of the towns we drove through and things we have gotten to see are, there is just so much history here. After about a two and a half hour trip we arrived in the small town that houses two castles, Neuschwantstein and Hohenschwangau. We were only able to see the second castle from the outside due to time constraints.

We did however get to tour Neuschwanstein, which was King Ludwig II of Bavaria's castle. The castle was beautiful on the outside, but even more so on the inside. The worst part was the long hike up to see the castle that took about 30 minutes, however they recently received snow so the woods were snow covered providing a nice view. Once we arrived at the castle we took a 30-40 minute tour, unfortunately King Ludwig died during construction so only 1/3 of the castle is completed meaning we only were able to see a limited portion of the castle. The rooms were incredible, highlights include a chandelier in the shape of a crown and a sink shaped like a swan. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures. The castle really was incredible!

On our trip back home we stopped in Oberammergau, which is known for the Passion Play and woodworking. We had about an hour to walk around and explore town/shop. I appreciated this part, but I don't think dad did since shopping isn't his favorite pastime. There were several shops with really neat woodcarvings and I found a few things I really liked.

Afterwards we headed back to Innsbruck where we went out for American food, by that I mean we went to a burger place. It was the most American food I've had this week, which was really nice for a change. I am definitely missing home when it comes to food. Its hard to believe that we only have one more day left in Austria!