Neuschwanstein, Zugspitze, and Drinks at the Highest Biergarten in Deutschland

To round out the weekend in Bavaria, we planned to see one of the most famous castles in all of Europe, Schloss Neuschwanstein. Later, we would summit the highest mountain in Germany and of course - have celebratory beers. Taking advantage of our location in Garmisch-Partenkirchen - Schwangau is less than an hour's drive.

Schloss Neuschwanstein viewed from Marienbrücke

Castle seen from our parking spot

Hiking to Marienbrücke

In 1869, Schloss Neuschwanstein was commissioned by König Ludwig II of Bavaria, who rarely used the residence due to prolonged construction and the exterior and interior weren't completed before his mysterious death in 1886. The king planned to finance the building with his own wealth, but as his vision and demands changed - expenditures increased, forcing him to open several lines of credit. King Ludwig II was a renowned recluse and with his compounding debt, hiding from creditors was no issue for him. Shortly after Ludwig's death, the palace was opened to the public as a means to reimburse his unpaid debt. The historical background of Neuschwanstein isn't quite a fairy tale, although; the acropolis is the well-known inspiration for Walt Disney's design of Sleeping Beauty's castle.

Boarding our chariot

Schloss Hohenschwangau about 100 meter from last picture

Hohenschwangau and Schwansee, view from Neuschwanstein

The drive there was simple and we planned to take the horse-drawn carriage instead of hiking. The walk uphill is manageable, but we thought the equine-taxi would enhance the fairy tale aspect - it didn't. In fact, Julie felt bad the horses did all the work, but their passive pace assuaged her concern. During our leisurely stroll, Julie dropped a pen on the path while fumbling around in her purse. A ten year-old boy briskly walked to catch up with our chariot and returned the slippery stylograph. Our clip was equal to that of the boy's family of four, and the father was pushing a stroller.

Halfway to Marienbrücke

Alpsee, directly opposite previous picture

A rare sight...both of us in a picture

Should look familiar....used this for the blog banner

We reached the top in ten minutes, from there, it was a two-hundred meter walk uphill to the main entrance. Before heading to the crowded courtyard, we made our way towards Marienbrücke (Marie's bridge, also named Pöllatbrücke). The bridge offers the best view of Schloss Neuschwanstein and the surrounding landscape. The brief hike is filled with serene scenery of Schloss Hohenschwangau, mountains, Schwansee and Alpsee (nearby lakes). The sight from Marienbrücke is the postcard image of the castle - we spent a good twenty minutes admiring the palace from every perspective the bridge offers. To finish our visit, we walked to the courtyard and found ourselves in a sea of people.

Entrance to courtyard

Self-portraits of builders

Looking up in courtyard

The courtyard was a beacon for tourist, an amoeba of people standing in no particular order - some were waiting for a tour, others - meandering sheep with no shepherd. Our time here was short due to the claustrophobic nature. Before leaving, we got some fresh air when we walked up the stairs to observe the waterfall below Marienbrücke (Pöllat Gorge). We returned to the horse-drawn carriage hub and would make our descent back to the foothills. Here, we enjoyed a quick lunch at a restaurant overlooking the facade.

Wish we were up there, not engulfed by the amoeba of people

Area below cut-off point was full of visitors

No access, hence it is empty

We left Schwangau and crossed over into Austria (a fairly common occurrence given our location) where we found the beautiful sight of a river and mountain backdrop. Evidently, we found a popular spot, a bridge nearby was packed with visitors and the shores of the river crowded with people. When we left, we encountered a family who brought and entire picnic table - complete with food and beer for ten. We pressed on to our next stop, the Zugspitze.

Austria

Lech River

A river with blue water...a whaaaa???

Reflecting puddle

Reaching an elevation of 2,962 meters (9,718 feet), the Zugspitze is the highest elevation in Germany, and happens to be ten-minutes away from the Edelweiss Resort. To get to the top of Zugspitze, we purchased gondola tickets form the hotel in advance - a steep price, but given the similar terrain - justifiable.

Gondola, view from parking lot

Inside Cable Car, almost to the top

Eibsee

Eibsee, view from observatory deck

We drove to the Eibsee Cable Car station and were on our way up by 15:00. Note, the last ride up is at 16:00, but be warned, this severely limits the amount of time spent atop the mountain because the last return trip departs at 17:00. Knowing we would be at high elevation, we dressed in layers, however, we visited on a day with unseasonable weather, clear skies and temperatures above freezing (it's fall/winter in Germany, clear skies are unseasonable).

I can see Austria from here

Mountains

While it appeared possible to climb to the summit of Zugspitze from the observatory deck, the time-frame to do so had closed. The mountain also serves as a ski slope - there are options for people to take the gondola up and ski down. The views from the summit are incredible - I am not sure how far we could actually see, but it was undoubtedly thousands of kilometers. The pictures are a close rendering, but not as far as the human eye could see.

Elevation marking of Zugspitze

Free State - Bavaria

More mountains

We walked around the observatory area for an hour and before we made our decent, we had to partake in Bavarian culture - drink a beer at the highest Biergarten in Deutschland (with a pretzel and pastry of course). Our beverages were cold and the food - delicious, but the hour approached 17:00 and we would have to leave. We made our way to the gondola terminal and would wait a few minutes before our descent.