After our action-packed Danube River Cruise, Stephanie and I went to Munich for Oktoberfest!! :) But first we took a day trip from Munich to Neuschwanstein Castle, located in the heart of breathtaking Bavaria. We explored charming Bavarian villages and marveled at some of the most gorgeous countryside I have ever seen in my entire life.
Neuschwanstein (Noy-Schwan-Stine) Castle was Walt Disney’s inspiration for Sleeping Beauty’s Castle at Disneyland! We got to take a tour of this magnificent palace.
Here is a link to the exact cruise we took.
We booked a tour with Pure Bavaria Tours. I highly, highly recommend them! This tour was definitely one of the highlights of our trip. The owner and tour guide is Mario. He picks you up personally at your hotel and drives you through scenic Bavaria to the castle. Along the way we stopped for breakfast in a tiny, ultra charming Bavarian village.
We enjoyed decadent pastries from the local bakery.
There was plenty of time for us to stretch our legs and explore this gorgeous village.
Such a beautiful place to spend the morning eating pastries in Germany!
He also took us to the historic Wieskirche cathedral.
This was honestly one of the most beautiful churches I have ever seen. Look at that ceiling!!
Photo via Stephanie
The church is quietly nestled in the foothills of the Bavarian Alps.
This insanely gorgeous farmhouse is nearby. There were the cutest, friendliest cows grazing in their front yard. They all had on cow bells, and it sounded like the most beautiful symphony of wind chimes I have ever heard.
We hopped back on the bus and made one more stop for these gorgeous scenic photos of the Alps.
This was totally my kind of tour!! ;)
From here we could see the castle off in the distance.
Next stop… the castle!! We took the bus up the hill to St. Mary’s Bridge, which provides the perfect overlook of the castle.
Photo via Stephanie
The shade makes my eyes look kind of weird here, but I had to get my picture taken with the castle!! :)
As we walked back down the hill to the castle, we had a gorgeous view of the valley below. Pictured here is Hohenschwangau Castle. This is where the king lived while he was building Neuschwanstein Castle.
This view seriously took my breath away.
Sleeping Beauty’s Castle!
The castle had incredible views of the village below!
I can’t imagine waking up to these views every day.
We had plenty of time to explore and wander on our own to take it all in.
We made our way to the castle when it was our time for the tour.
We couldn’t take pictures inside, but here’s one last view from the outside. I would totally live in that tower!
After the castle tour we walked down to village to explore.
We walked to the crystal blue lake from the picture above.
From here we had a closer view of Hohenschwangau Castle.
We worked up quite an appetite after castle-gawking all day, so Mario took us to an organic cheese farm for platters of Bavarian cheese, sausage, and fresh baked bread with homemade butter. Everything was phenomenal!
We ate outside on picnic tables in the gorgeous sunny weather. This was our lunch view!
There were little baby moo cows all around us jingling their tiny cowbells!
We had stunning 360 degree panoramic views all over this mountain village.
Breathtaking.
This was one of the best days of our trip! Highly recommend Mario and Pure Bavaria Tours!
Moo! We got back to Munich in the late afternoon with plenty of time to grab dinner and head over to our first night of Oktoberfest! More to come soon! :)
So beautiful. This castle truly looks magical. And the nature around is just as beautiful. Thank you for sharing! :)
Hi Amanda! We are headed to Germany in September for Oktoberfest as well. Do you know the name of that organic cheese farm you visited? My husband and I would love to go there after the Neuschwenstein Castle. Thank you!!
It was Schönegger Käse-Alm. Here is the exact {GPS Location}. Have so much fun!
Thank you so much for the info girl! We are headed to London and Munich this summer and we are starting to plan now! We are definitely going to make reservations with Mario to explore and see the castle!
I absolutely love reading your travel blogs!! We are going to visit the castle in September! Do you remember what town and bakery you stopped at for breakfast pastries? And where did you see the cows?? (We are staying in Fussen) Thank you!!
Wow, thanks for the detailed information. We live in Germany and I’m planning to take visitors on this itinerary in a few weeks. Any idea of the name of the cheese farm or the little village it was in? It looks great!
Here it is! :) Scönegger Käse-Alm GmbH — https://goo.gl/maps/DGPfZtHBoyM2
Hello! How did you photograph the cathedral? Did you use a wide-angle lense or fish eye?
Wow… great entry, the photos are gorgeous, hope that Mario will be available next month for when I go to Munich, thanks for the recommendation!
Wow, your photos are gorgeous! Looks like you went on a beautiful day, too! Cheers,
Sharlie
http://hiddeningermany.blogspot.ca/
p.s. To “Jenn” who posted above, the castle tour is really short, only about half an hour. However you usually need to line up for another half an hour to get in, and you need to hike up the mountain from the parking lot below, so schedule at least 2-3 hours in total to see the castle. And there is actually another castle in the city below that many in fact prefer over Neuschwanstein. Hope that helps you!
Wow, your photos are gorgeous! Looks like you went on a beautiful day, too! Cheers,
Sharlie
http://hiddeningermany.blogspot.ca/
This post is amazing! It looks absolutely stunning. My boyfriend and I are driving from Munich through Bavaria in September, so this was really helpful. We will for sure be going to the castle – how long do you think we need to explore?
We are going to Munich this year and are going to take your advice and book a tour. Looks amazing!! Can’t wait. We are only going to be in Munich for two days, so one day will be spent on the tour and the other at Oktoberfest. Awesome!
I was there 2 weeks ago :) I recommend you also castle Linderhof. it’s smaller but really pretty, it’s about 20 km from Neuschwannstein castle. It’s in the middle od the mountains. Amazing :)
Again, I have to comment. (I have nevere commented on a blog like this before, but I HAVE to!) Your Pictures are truly amazing, and I had been debating the Castle visit (also how to get there, tour or just go by ourselves) And you have made my decision so much easier. Looking at your pictures and hearing about your tour was amazing, and I can not wait to go, and will for sure be booking through the tour you guys went on!! Again, I must find out what camera you are using!!
Oh my!! I am so jealous! My hubby and I were stationed at Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany for 3 years several years ago and we took a trip to the Neuschwanstein Castle, but it was rainy and foggy when we went. You had some awesome views and clear weather! But it was still one of my favorite trips ever. I didn’t like Germany at first, but when we started traveling, we grew to love it. It is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. I don’t know if I’d ever want to go back to live there, but I’d definitely LOVE to take a couple of weeks and visit new places there and revisit some places we’ve already been. I get a little nostalgic looking at all your photos of Germany. And the food….I miss it!!
This is where I grew up and my most favorite part of the world! LOVE all of these pics, beautiful job!
The scenery and castle are stunning; and I love the little moo cow. He is so cute. I am going to have to seriously look at planning a trip here in the future.
Im going next year for Oktoberfest and I think this is exactly what I want to do. Pics look awesome! Thanks for sharing :)
Looks like you guys had AWESOME WEATHER! Great pics. I’ve been to Germany a couple of times now and I’m dying to get down to that castle! It looks like it came out of a storybook.
Looks gorgeous!!!
The castles and churches are just gorgeous. They truly are fairy tale!
This is on my bucket list. Your pictures are gorgeous and now moved it up the list.
Wow! Gorgeous photos! The entire post just was jaw-droppingly gorgeous!!!!! Wow!
This post took my breath away – from the castle to the bakery treat ;) And that cathedral? Unbelievable!
Your pictures are gorgeous! Sleeping Beauty is my favorite Disney animated movie. I need to see that castle in person.
Ben has a poster of the castle that he LOVES!! I don’t like it because it’s a framed poster – but I too ADORE the castle itself. It’s super high on our list of places to visit in Bavaria, so maybe we will have to go there and I can get us some real photos to hang up. It would be so special – you’ve totally got my travel bug on high alert Amanda!!
Oh, wow… wow!! Just amazing photos. I have a friend who did a semester in college somewhere near the castle, and he has told us often how much he loved visiting. So high on my list! As is a river cruise… we only done ships in the Med (Seabourn), but I’m eager to move inland a bit on a river and watch the scenery pass by. You have me inspired!
Wow the Wieskirche cathedral looks like a painting!!!
I love Bavaria and this castle! We lived in Germany for many years and this was a fun day out for us, we have the same picture of our family on the bridge in front of the Castle. You’re lucky you got such lovely weather while you were there – gorgeous photos, looks like you had an amazing time!
Each one of your pictures completely stole my heart away! Stellar trip!
Wow– that castle! So beautiful! I’ll have to add this to my “places to visit” list (or perhaps my “places to live?”).
I think I seriously fell in love with you when I read, “little baby moo cows”! That is exactly how I refer to calves except I may throw in an ‘itty bitty’ on occasion (after the word little, go ahead and say it…I bet you smile =o). Too bad that poor baby was being fitted for braces…HA!
Seeing this just solidifies my desire to go back to Germany. Feels like home to me!
I visited this castle numerous times when I lived in Germany. It never stopped being absolutely breathtaking. I love your pictures of the cows :)
Oh wow!
Your photos would sell me anything.
SQUEE!!!! This looks so beautiful. Glad to hear the tour was good. It seems like a tour would definitely be the way to go especially when you don’t speak the language.
What views!