Neuschwanstein Castle

One of the purported castles that Cinderella's was based off of is Neuschwanstein. About a 2 hour train ride out of Munich in the middle of a small town, perched on top of a hill, is this fairy tell castle. You better have good walking legs for this one, just watch out for the horses taking lazy people up the hill. I highly recommend reserving tickets weeks beforehand. They let you in by groups of 10 or so, and give a guided tour of about 1.5 floors of the castle. No photos are allowed inside. Commissioned by Bavaria's Ludwig II, construction started in 1869, and never was completed. The castle itself was opened to the public immediately following Ludwig's death. Only the king's personal rooms, a throne room, and the basics like a kitchen were completed. A room for prayer was also completed with mosaic tile flooring and a balcony view of the entire valley and a lake beyond. The views out of the windows were amazing. If the castle was completed, it would have contained over 200 rooms, both for royalty and servants, unfortunately, Ludwig only lived there for something like 172 days. He was declared insane and he reportedly died the next day under suspicious circumstances. Whatever the case, he left a legacy of amazing architecture and a love of art. It was lovely to walk around the grounds. I also introduced by companions to the wonders of Kindereggs. They are not supposed to be sold in the US, but they are a egg shaped wafer coated with milk chocolate, and inside is a toy of some sort. Heaven forbid Americans only give them to age appropriate children, but no, they had to ban it entirely from the US. Boo on us. By the end of the day we took the long train ride back to Munich, toured the Oktoberfest grounds, and then went to Hofbrau Haus again. To say that I wouldn't miss ever eating a pretzel again after this trip would be an understatement. We virtually lived off of them the entire trip. Munich wasn't exactly vegetarian friendly.... Next day we were off to Berlin, where more fun abounded.