Neuschwantstein Castle

The first trip I took was a tour through Alpine Adventures to Neuschwanstein Castle. The castle was built in the 1880's for King Ludwig II of Bavaria (who was crazy, I might add). It is located in the south-west part of Bavaria, about an hour and a half from Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The castle was the inspiration for many Disney movies and the castles at Disneyland and Disneyworld.

The tour left at 8:30 AM from the hotel. It is pretty sweet because I get paid to go on the tours. The first stop was in the town of Oberammagau to an original woodcarving shop. The town has been the woodcarving center of Bavaria since the 12th century. The town is also famous for the "passion play" which has been going every ten years since the 1600's. The shop featured hundreds of things ranging from nativity scenes and religious relics to little wooden full-busted Bavarian women statues (drinking a mas of beer, of course!!). I bought two wooden rosaries while I was there.

Next, we stopped at the most beautiful Catholic church I have ever seen. As you can see, the entire church was painted in beautiful murals and is completely breathtaking. Before I came here, I did not realize Catholicism is the most common religion in Bavaria.

Finally, we ended up at Neuschwanstein Castle. It is located in a gorgeous valley surrounded by beautiful mountains. It really looks like a fairy tale castle. The only downside of the tour is you only see about 25-30 minutes worth of the castle, but it is still spectacular!

After the tour we ate at a traditional Bavarian restaurant. I had schnitzel and apple strudel. Delish!!