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Doing the Tourist Thing: Travel Information for Castle Neuschwanstein

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Sometimes you have to do the tourist thing. Why else do we travel, but to see places for ourselves, to view with our own eyes the places intimately associated with a region or town? The Roman Coliseum, the Tower of London, the Eiffel Tower all excite the curiosity of travelers worldwide. In Bavaria, the most popular destination, without a doubt, is Neuschwanstein castle, with the neighboring Hohenschwangau a close second. Nestled in the mountains, amidst lakes and jagged peaks, these sites combine fascinating architecture with undeniably irresistible picturesque scenery. The troubled history and mysterious death of the former occupant, King Ludwig II of Bavaria (often denoted in many tourist guides as "Mad" King Ludwig), further adds to the allure of the sites. Since summer travel frequently brings out the tourist in all of us, this article begins a two part series on Ludwig's most famous palaces, Schloss Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein. With ticket booking available online, there's no need sweat it out in long ticket lines. Just schedule your tour in advance, pick up the tickets, and enjoy yourself. I did the tourist thing last August, and I had a marvelous time!

Rather than concentrate on Neuschwanstein, the most obvious destination, I prefer to focus first on the castle of Ludwig's boyhood, Hohenschwangau. Though eclipsed in popularity and romantic grandeur by its neighbor, Hohenschwangau possesses plenty of intrigue and style. The tour, all 30-35 minutes, proved more memorable, and ultimately offered the greatest insight into the enigmatic character of Ludwig. Initially built in the 12th century, Hohenschwangau was the historical seat of the Lords of Schwangau. Reduced to shambles by Napoleon, Ludwig's father, King Maximillian II, rebuilt the ruins in a neo-Gothic/medieval style in the 1830s. The current tour interprets the home as it appeared in 1836. Murals depicting the epic saga of the Swan Night adorn the walls of the great dining hall, echoing the close kinship that Ludwig and his father felt toward the ancient knights of Schwangau. It comes as little surprise that the family developed close ties to the composer Richard Wagner. Wagner visited Hohenschwangau several times, and the royal family supported his career. Wagner's operatic imagery had a profound effect on Ludwig both personally and aesthetically. A tour through Neuschwanstein and Linderhof confirms that Ludwig acquired an obsessive adoration for Wagner's work.

The hill climb up to Hohenschwangau takes anywhere from 15-30 minutes, depending on your stamina and whether you walked up to Neuschwanstein earlier in the day. Since I am chronically early, we made it to the castle gardens with 30 minutes to spare. This gave us time to take in the view as well as marvel at the automated efficiency of the place. Each tour is assigned a number, and large digital reader boards post your number once your tour time draws close. A posted tour number, however, does not mean your tour commences immediately. Instead you pass through a ticket-taking machine, and then queue inside the castle in a stantioned lane below your tour number. Several minutes later you meet the guide, and that is when the tour begins. In all honesty, my trip to Disneyland wasn't this organized.

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