#5 - Not so magical

Remember that magical feeling when the Disney logo with the castle pops up at the start of one of their invariably wondrous animated films? Well, since the 1940s, that logo has taken its inspiration from the Neuschwanstein Castle, which was my destination on Friday.

I'd heard a lot about the castle and the amazing surrounds, but I probably should have held off until I was 100 per cent fit. Frustratingly, my Achilles heel tendon on my left leg was horribly swollen, the result of walking 50km over a few days in a pair of highcut Converses. It meant basically any type of walking felt like my foot was on fire. Despite the pain, I pushed through and headed out to see where Walt Disney got his inspiration for the Sleeping Beauty castle at Disneyland. It was a poor decision, and I probably ruined the experience for myself.

A large part of the castle was under renovation, and much of the base and all of the walkways were construction sites. It kinda ruined my vibe.

Neuschwanstein is located a two-hour train ride south of Munich, near the picturesque town of Fesser. From Fesser you catch a short bus to Hohenschwangau, which is the tourist town that has slowly built up at the bottom of the hill near the castle. Tourists! Tourists everywhere. As it was winter, it was very quiet but there was still enough Chinese tourists with comically big cameras to get in the way. The castle sits on a hill overlooking the town, and normally you access it by shuttle bus. But just my luck, the shuttle service wasn't running, so we had to trek up the steep hill for about 30 minutes. It was a proper miserable experience.. Finally, we get up there... only to find that they're renovating a huge section of the castle, meaning picture opportunities were seriously compromised. Oh, and they'd closed Mary's Bridge, the famous, amazing long-span bridge that offers stunning views of the castle with the countryside in the background. Bah. Today was not my day.

A close-up of the Disney Castle, as it’s known worldwide.

So, I made do from the only real vantage point we had. You can tour inside, and wander around the outside of the castle, but there was scaffolding everywhere and it really did take away from the magic of the place. While the views weren't great, at least the story behind the castle is fascinating. It was commissioned in 1869 by King Ludwig II of Bavaria, a bit of an eccentric young bloke who loved a palace. It's fitting because he was born in Nymphenburg Palace, which I explored in my previous post. By the time he carked it in 1886, Ludwig ended up building four castles, but Neuschwanstein was his magnum opus.  It was never completed internally and still isn't to this day, but it's still an impressive sight on the side of the Bavarian Alps.

Ludwig had a bit of a sad demise. His penchant for expensive castles and opulence came at a bad time. Bavaria was struggling financially, and yet he pushed on building castles, which led even his own political allies to believe he was mentally ill. He was forcibly removed from his reign as king and declared insane, and died in mysterious circumstances soon after. Ironically, Ludwig's castles and Neuschwanstein, in particular, are now Germany's number one tourist attraction and draw in millions of dollars of revenue each year.

Hohenschwangau, a small town at the base of the hill in which Neuschwanstein Castle sits, was doing a roaring trade with tourists.

I left feeling a bit deflated at my lacklustre experience at the castle, but I did have time to squeeze in a bit of a look around Fesser, which is ridiculously picturesque. A lot of the streets have uninterrupted views of the alps. Those lucky bastards.

Downtown Fesser, with stunning street views of the Bavarian Alps.

Wandering around Fesser far away from tourists and giant, expensive DSLRs set to automatic mode (ugh), I was reminded how much more I enjoy sightseeing at my own pace, away from the crowds and the tourists and the set times and deadlines. I vowed to completely minimise any touristy attractions for the rest of the trip, because I just don’t seem to get anything out of those experiences at all. Even when it's something as picturesque as Neuschwanstein Castle.