The Enchanting Royal Castles of Neuschwanstein & Linderhof - Schwangau

"Travelling is all about stepping out of your comfort zone and surprising yourself!". 

And so we're back from our Europe adventure. Fifteen days mostly spent on the road. Struggled finding the way on their trains, trams, bus and airport. Have to adjust with a lot of walking, early mornings and late nights...Wow! can't believe how it has passed by and I can say we are not tired yet haha. But like any other story, there's an ending and I am proud to say that we have had a happy-ever-after ending.

I'll be writing and sharing our travel story in random, so here it is.

Like Switzerland, the beauty of the Bavarian countryside is so touching and captivating, even  became so special when it is surrounded by colorful autumn trees - where leaves turned red, yellow and orange. Our first adventure on our 8th day starts at Lindehof Castle.

Schloss Linderhof became King Ludwig II home where he spent the last years of his life.  He became King at the age of 18 and had seriously a troubled life - some believe he became insane while ruling, kicked off the throne and mysteriously found dead in a nearby lake. Up to date, the cause of his death is still unknown.

Despite it being small, it is the only castle that was fully finished and furnished by King Ludwig. It is beautiful inside and out and extremely ornate - a lot of gold decorations, unique chandeliers, paintings,  tapestries, big/small mirrors, sculptures, porcelain vase and fireplace. Our tour guide shared us fascinating stories about the imaginative King Ludwig and this amazing place.  It's just too unfortunate that taking photos are not allowed inside. 

The castle has wonderful grounds and an impressive man-made grotto out in the hill. The gardens are fantastic and you'll find yourself like walking in a wonderland.

Some of the stunning and picturesque landscapes along the way down to the castle....my camera just can't find what to focus on haha. This is one of my favorite shot, the deep green quiet lake surrounded by the Alps mountain. According to weather forecast, there is some rain showers so I can say we're just lucky that the sun is up, bright and smiling. Next, we go to the charming village of Oberammergau.

Oberammergau is famous for its Passion plays. We enjoyed sightseeing and a coffee break while waiting for our time going to the highlight of our day tour, The Neuschwanstein Castle. 

It was past twelve in the afternoon when we reach Schwangau.  This time, the weather is not in our favor (the weather forecast is reliable haha). At first it was cloudy  followed by heavy downpour but as you can see, even if it is raining, the beauty of the castle still stands out.

King Ludwig lived in the castle for only 172 days. He loves to build fantasy land around him but his dream didn't seem to make him fit to be the head of the state and eventually declared insane.  He was charged of using the public's money that's why he was kicked out of the throne.  On June 13, 1886 he was found dead in Lake Starnberg near castle Berg. After six weeks, the castle is open to the public.

We decided to walk going up to the castle. The hike was great but strenuous and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who has young kids or to anyone who doesn't like walking . Actually, the are many ways on going up. You can take a bicycle, ride the horse-drawn carriage uphill or just take a bus. Riding in a horse carriage would be fun but it will not drop you on the exact location and it will take another 7-10 mins walk to reach the castle. Bus ride is the same, there is a time interval, you still need to walk and the queue is very very long. 

This is the last lap, the Marien Brucke bridge (Mary's bridge). This is the perfect place where you can see the whole facade of the castle, the view is spectacular and breathtaking.

Jonathan took almost half an hour to convince me to join him on the bridge and have a photo with the castle. Honestly, my knees were shaking because of its location. I still can't imagine how I got there haha. The best thing to do is just walk straight BUT don't look down!

Finally, we reached the castle wohooo! Walking up to the castle wearing my boots while raining and freezing cold is one big challenge. If you are willing to achieve something, you'll do it no matter what comes along your way. Be brave and take risks because nothing can beat experience. 
We took rest for a while. We went inside a cafe for a cup of coffee while waiting for our number to get inside the castle. Reading a short history of the castle on the back of a postcard makes me realize that King Ludwig was really insane haha. Imagine building a castle on a cliff overlooking Bavaria with the Alps behind it....amazing! 

So whatever you can imagine on what's inside this castle is all true, no more no less....all the superlative words, I guess. Again taking photographs are not allowed. 

The weather is not really good when we go out of the castle, this time its raining hard and its getting dark. But before we left this breathtaking castle, we had a chance to see the other castle of King Ludwig, the Hohenschwangau and lake Forgensee..

As the saying goes, "wherever you go, whatever the weather is, always bring your own sunshine" and yes we did. We're like kids walking and playing in the rain. Hays, if the weather was only cooperative.....but still we were fortunate to have this "fairy tale experience".