The fairytale castle, Neuschwanstein, was all I could've imagined it to be. Nestled on a hill, its pristine towers and beautiful surrounding landscape was absolutely stunning.
I thought I was looking at the Pixar castle as we approached, which made sense since I later came to learn the Pixar castle was modeled after it. We were all excited to get a better look but our tour with mikes bikes was first. Our lead guide, Hunter, sounded like he came straight from a frat house, but according to him he's been here in Germany for 8 years. His storry about leaving his government drone designing job with less than a week's notice to be with his German girlfriend was quite romantic, until we heard she left him 3 months later. No worries though, he's now getting married on October 12th. Hunter talked a lot about the history of Bavaria, the royal bloodline, and the mysterious death of King Ludwig ll, "the castle builder".
The bike tour itself was fantastic, a very flat path with a great view. We made a stop at a lake along the way, which offered us a chance to cool down and get an amazing view from the water. Afterwards we ate at a restaurant outside under a canopy. At that point the torrential downpour of water came. I thought we'd need a boat eventually with all the rain we got. It let up a little bit but with no umbrella I had to use my towel the whole time as I did not come prepared for the weather. The hike up to the castle was steep, but enjoyable. When we reached the top we got on the bridge for the most gorgeous view I've ever seen. A waterfall behind us we had a view of the castle and the countryside behind it. When we reached the castle the tour showed us just how obsessed King Ludwig was with the composer Wilhelm Wagner. Most of the rooms were tributes to him and his works in plays.
The trip back to the bus wasn't the highlight of the day, but it definitely was an "experience". We hiked down from the castle in the cold downpour of rain, and ran to the bus as soon as it was in sight. We were practically all drenched head to toe, but the bus ride back was just what we needed. When we arrived back in Munich we went to the famous Hofbrauhaus. The service and food wasn't great, it took me and John over an hour to get our single bratwurst that costed 9 euro. The large mugs of Fanta, traditional dancers whipping their lederhosen was the real attraction.
Finally, we headed home for a much needed nights rest to end a very eventful day.
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