MICHELLE: NEUSCHWANSTEIN

We headed south to Neuschwanstein castle and the Garmisch area to begin our 5 day road trip. The Disneyland fairytale castle built by King Ludwig II in the late 1800's is set against the Alps. The views are outstanding and our weather was perfect until we got to Garmisch and had rain:) We walked up the steep hill to the Marienbrucke bridge for one of our favorite views.... and had a picnic of cheeses, breads and smoked salmon;) The tour inside Neuschwanstein was amazing with the beautiful carved wood, gilded paneling, wall paintings, Meissen porcelain swans, an artificial stalactite cave and Gothic furnishings which were all based on Richard Wagner's operas. This picture on the right is of the lake and the Hohenschwangau castle where King Ludwig spent part of his youth. We spent the night in a nice Gasthaus close enough to walk into Garmisch. We think we found the restaurant where Suzanne and Erik had a great dinner in April;) Tomorrow on to the Italian Dolomites.