Schlösser, Brezeln und Bier: München und Füssen

Willkommen in München, Deutschland! Yep, we’re in Munich, the capital of Bavaria. Munich was our gateway to a particular castle near Füssen that we’ve been dying to see.

Day 13

We arrived in Munich early in the afternoon, just in time to check in at Wombat’s City Hostel. The hostel is just a few steps away from München Hauptbahnhof and we stayed there for that particular reason. We spent the afternoon at Englischer Garten (The English Garden), a 1000 acre park. It was quite enormous that we actually got lost in this park for a few hours. There were a lot of geese and ducks (and their droppings) around the park. It was sunny so there were a lot of young people hanging out and lying on the grass (they didn’t seem to mind the shit). We wanted to see the river surfing area but we never found it. We later realized that it was on the southern part of the park while we were on the northern part.

Lost in Englischer Garten

Day 14

Neuschwanstein. This was what we were waiting for. The fairy tale castle. This enchanting castle was built by the mad King Ludwig II. It was the inspiration of the castle in the Disney logo.

We got on the first train to Buchloe at 6:51 AM. Yes, we did wake up. We were determined to make it on time, before the queue became long. From Buchloe, we took the train to a town called Füssen. I fell asleep most of the time but during the times I was awake, the view from the train was scenic… the green German farmlands and cute houses that look like gingerbread.  I also noticed that a lot of the houses in the countryside had solar panels in their roofs.  

View from the train

From Füssen, we took the bus to Hohenschwangau (a village in the municipality of Schwangau) where we bought tickets for a tour of Schloss Neuschwanstein (€11 for students).  Both Füssen and Hohenschwangau seem touristy but who can resist a folkloristic Bavarian village?  Everything was so picturesque, they didn’t look real! The castle was built on top of the hill in Hohenschwangau so you’ll need to either take a 45 minute walk uphill or a 20 minute ride to reach the castle. Instead of heading straight to the castle, we entered almost all (if not all) the tourist shops in Hohenschwangau that we weren’t able to catch the bus to the castle on time. So, we took a carriage for 6€. The carriage brought us up to a certain point of the hill (I think the route was too steep for the buses and horses) so there was still a 5 minute uphill walk that we ran. When we finally arrived at the castle, I was out of breath and perspiring. 

Schloss Neuschwanstein... The fairy tale castle

 The castle was magnificent. Unfortunately, the tall and pointy parts of the castle were under repair, so we didn’t have the best photo of the castle. Nevertheless, it was my first castle and I loved it. The castle wasn’t finished because of the death of King Ludwig II and because the city simply did not have enough funds to finish such a grand castle. But every part of the castle that was finished was intricately made. Because the mad king loved swans, the door knobs were shaped as swans and you can find several ornaments of swans around the castle.

Schloss Hohenschwangau

Nearby, is Schloss Hohenschwangau, the castle where King Ludwig II grew up. It wasn’t as enchanting as Neuschwanstein, but this one was finished. On the way back downhill, I found a chocolate pretzel. I was so happy to find one because I was craving for it since we arrived in Munich.

Schokolade Brezel

Home to the well known festival, Oktoberfest, a trip to Munich is not complete without a beer. It all started with the festival celebrating the wedding of King Ludwig I and Queen Therese. Every year since then, the Oktoberfest was celebrated. The festival starts on the 2^nd to the last Saturday of September until the first Sunday of October. We were at Munich on an April but it did not stop us from trying the famous Bavarian beer.

Bier und Brezel!

A friend of mine suggested that we try the beer at Hofbräuhaus. They have been brewing beer since 1589. The place is swarmed by both tourists and locals. Even if you’re not a beer drinker, the place is amusing. The employees are in lederhosen and dirndls and you can buy beer in 1 liter mugs. Since my stomach cannot hold that much amount of anything, I ordered only half a liter of Radler (beer mixed with lemonade).

More pretzels at  Hofbräuhaus

We left Munich around 11PM via the City Night Line. The bunk space of the 6-berth couchette was so small that you can’t even sit up while you’re on the bed. It was quite funny trying to drink from our position. It was already late when the train left that by the time we settled in at the cabin, everyone, including us, just slept right away. And as we drifted to sleep, I bid Bavaria auf weidersehen!

Next stop... Amsterdam!