Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein Castles in Schwangau Germany part 1

Like I said in a previous post I downloaded the "Top 100" Germany app.  Created by using the survey results from the Germany National Tourist Board.  My goal in the 3 years we are stationed here is to try to hit them all.  So far this will make the 10th site of the 100 so we are doing pretty good in the three months we have been here.

The trip to Schwangau was only 3 hours.  A VERY foggy trip, we where worried that we wouldn't be able to get good pics of the castles.  They are located at the base of the Alps on the German/Austria border.  With our mild winter this year (2nd warmest winter in 100 years) the ski slopes that we passed where all closed.  But to our surprise the fog cleared up as soon as we arrived into town.  

We payed for parking and bought our combo tickets to the 2 castles.  The only way to see the two castles is by tour only. 

Our first tour was Hohenschwangau Castle,  the childhood residence of King Ludwig II, the home of King Maximilian II of Bavaria.  The site has had a fortress here since the 12th century but fell into ruins by the 1800's.  Maximilian discovered the site in 1829 and in 1833 he began reconstruction of the castle.  The castle served as their summer and hunting residence.  King Maximilian died in 1864 and Ludwig II was crowned successor.  In 1869 he decided to build his own castle within site of Hohenschwangau.  The castle was opened as a museum in 1913 after Ludwig's uncle died in 1912.

Here is a picture from the parking lot. Hohenschwangau Castle.

The walk up to the castle.

Picture from the Castle Gardens.

A view of the town below.

You can see King Ludwigs Neuschwanstein Castle from his parents castle.

View from the castle gardens.

Although pictures are not allowed inside the castle, a little goggling and I was able to get these pics. The castle was never damaged during WWII so all the pictures and furniture are original.  This is queen Marie's living room.

King Maximilian's Bedroom there are stars on the ceiling that are actually opaque glass and candles could be lit in a area above the bedroom so the king would see the stars twinkle at night.  Also hidden in the branches of the tree in the ceiling there was a moon made the same way.  The kings quarters also had a private bathroom with running water and a flushing toilet.  There is a hidden door inside the room that leads to a spiral staircase that goes down to the queens bedroom.

The Kings music room, a great German composer, Richard Wagner would come and stay at the castle.  the piano here is the actual one that he would play on.

This is the guest room that Richard Wagner would stay in on his visits.

A gift to the king, this box has gold plated solid silver figurines and is encrusted with emeralds and rubys.

The castle kitchen had all the modern amenities of the time, with a pantry and running water.

The view of the Alps from the kings quarters.

Leaving the castle grounds.

Overall touring the castle was a real treat.  

A pic from Neuschwanstein castle.

The tour was very interesting, it was our first tour of a castle interior.  More than 300,000 visitors come here every year.  In this pic you can see why Maximilian fell in love with this area.  January seemed to be great there wasn't huge crowds of people.  I am going to split this visit up into two parts.