The next day, we carried on our trip along the Romantic Road a little way. We are nearing the end, but there are still a couple of highlights to see. The first is the pilgrimage church of Wieskirch (“Church in the Meadow”), located near the small town of Steingaden.
Wieskrch “Church in the Meadow”
Wieskirch “Church in the Meadow” is a beautiful church situated in a peaceful meadow, surrounded by the rolling foothills of the southern Bavarian Alps. The view of the Alps behind the building, the cows wandering around with their cowbells in the lovely sunshine – It doesn’t get more picturesque than this. It is undoubtedly a very memorable church. It is a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site and well worth a visit.
Interior of Wieskrch Church
The outside reveals nothing of the glorious and striking interior – You are taken aback by the amazing artistry, it’s just incredible. The ceiling is fantastic as it is an optical illusion. It appears to be rounded, but it is flat. There are gorgeous sculptures, paintings, gilded decorations, frescoes, statues, and marble balustrades, all of which are magnificent. It is reported to be one of the most beautiful rococo buildings in Europe.
We are not great fans of visiting churches, but this one was beautiful to look at.
Interior of Wieskrch Church
Interior of Wieskrch Church
Ceiling of Wieskrch Church
Neuschwanstein Castle
After the church, we travelled a bit further down the road to Schwangau, which is home to one of southern Germany’s biggest tourist attractions – the Neuschwanstein Castle. This world-famous castle, built by Bavarian King Ludwig II, marks the end of the Romantic Road at the foot of the Bavarian Alps.
Neuschwanstein-Castle
Also, next to Neuschwanstein Castle is the interesting but lesser-known Castle Hohenschwangau.
View of Hohenschwangau-Castle
The car park had a section specifically for motorhomes, located on the right-hand side for 7 euros. We prepared and ate our lunch before heading for the castle, enjoying the view from the car park of the castle nestled amongst the Bavarian mountains. The Neuschwanstein Castle reminded us of a fantasy world building with its peaked towers and white chalkstone walls. This magnificent building inspired Disney World’s Cinderella Castle, and he drew inspiration from it for his classic, Sleeping Beauty and the Seven Dwarfs. It is the most photographed building in Germany.
View of Neuschwanstein-Castle-from-Motorhome
The castle is a must-see and one of the most visited sights in Germany, attracting over 1.3 million visitors annually. We expected it to be a bit quieter visiting in September, but it was still very crowded. We both said that we wouldn’t like to be visiting it at the height of the season.
It was a bit of a walk up the hill to the ticket office to purchase tickets to see inside the castle. When we arrived, there was a massive queue that would have taken a couple of hours to get to the front, so we decided to go up and see the castle from the outside, taking in the surrounding countryside views, rather than bother with the inside.
If you want to see inside, you have to take a 30-minute guided tour around the castle. You can’t just wander around at your own pace, and when you buy your ticket, you have an allotted time, so you have to make sure that you get up to the entrance before that. We also read that you can’t take photographs once you are on the tour of the interior – probably because they are rushing you through.
Neuschwanstein-Castle
Neuschwanstein-Castle
It looked like a steep hill to climb to get to the castle, so we waited for a while in a long queue for the horse and cart. It was hot, and there was no shade, so after waiting a short time, we decided to walk up, as the path looked quite shady. The first part of the hill was hard going for someone as unfit as I am, but once we got going, it wasn’t as bad. I only needed a little rest on a bench at the side of the road. The walk up took about half an hour. The horse and cart do not go all the way up anyway, and that stops 10 minutes walk away from the castle entrance. We did it around the wrong way, though, and got the horse and cart back down the hill just for the experience and because by then there was virtually no queue.
Neuschwanstein horse & cart
The view from the top of the surrounding countryside was magnificent. We walked further on around the back of the castle to the Marienbrücke Bridge, where many other tourists flock to take their requisite photo of Neuschwanstein. I got a little scared on the bridge as there were so many people on there at one time, I wondered if the weight might be too much for it, as I felt it wobble a bit beneath my feet. I just quickly took my photo and got off.
Shop at Neuschwanstein-Castle
Despite the crowds, it was a lovely afternoon and well worth visiting again. When we returned to the motorhome, we wondered if we would be allowed to stay overnight in such a beautiful setting, but thought better of it and headed to a stellplatz in Füssen, which was to be our next stop at the start of the Alpine route.
Shop at Neuschwanstein-Castle
