Day 3 - Fussen, Germany

The weather was sunny, slightly breezy, and a tad cooler than yesterday.

Today we headed to see the castles. A taxi got us there pretty fast for only 8,50€. I made the reservations online in advance, but we still had to get the tickets. Fortunately, because we had advance reservations, we got to go through a speed line.

We took the "short" 10 minute walk up the hill to Schloss Hohenschwangau, the birthplace of Prince Ludwig instead of the horse and buggy ride.

A view from the street.

Looking back at the town from the castle.

We caught a horse and buggy ride down the hill. Unfortunately, the buggy driver waited way too long trying to fill the cart. As we were pressed for time and there was a very long line for buses going up to Schloss Neuschwanstein, we decided to walk up. We knew pretty early into the walk that there was no way to get up to the castle to make are appointment time. We learned afterwards that the buggy drivers are independent, so he was in no hurry.

Along the way we stopped at a little outdoor cafe and I finally got my big pretzel (which you will see a pic of on mom's blog).

We walked around the outside of the castle and proceeded to Mary's bridge which had the best view of the castle.

Neuschwanstein castle.

View from Mary's bridge.

View of Hohenschwangau from Neuschwanstein.

Views of the valley from Neuschwanstein.

View of the gorge under Mary's bridge.

We decided to take a taxi back rather waiting for a bus. A German couple on holiday from Stuttgart asked if they could share the cab with us, so we ended up splitting the cost.

While looking for a cafe, we found a little grocery store and picked up some things for our train ride tomorrow.

Travel Tip:
If you choose to do both castles, give yourself 1 or more hours between them...especially in the summer months with the crowds. If you get lucky and get up to Neuschwanstein castle we'll ahead of your scheduled time, go to Mary's bridge first.

The horse and buggy will take you right up to Hohenschwangau castle. It will not take you directly up to Neuschwanstein. If you take the buggy to Neuschwanstein, it takes you up most of the way, but you still have a little walk to the top. If you take the bus up, it lets you out on the back side of the castle right next to Mary's bridge.

We stopped in a Woolworth that was about 3 doors down from our hotel. I've been paying about 3,20€ per soda when we eat. They sell them for ,99€.

Location:Reichenstraße,Füssen,Germany