Fussen - 6th to 7th of July 2011

Travelling between small towns by public transport clearly isn't that easy in Germany, another 4 trains and 5 hours of our lives from Rothenburg to Fussen. We headed almost directly south, Fussen is on the edge of the alps, and has several ski runs that are open during winter. But it's main attractions are its castles, in particular the fairytale castle built in the 19th century by an eccentric king of Bavaria.

Arriving in Fussen early afternoon we checked into our hotel and hired some bikes for a cruise through the meadows and out to a cable car that goes up the side of the mountain.Back into town via a supermarket for a few drinks and a picnic dinner (more ham) to enjoy lakeside.A very early start the following day to make our 8am booking for the castle tours. There are actually two castles almost right next to one another, the first original one, Schloss Hohenschwangau, which the King grew up in, and his pet project, the crazy disney fairytale castle Schloss Neuschwanstein. We still had our bikes for the 20 minute cruise out of town to the base of the castles and a quick walk up to the first castle, Schloss Hohenschwangau, stopping off on route for a picnic breakfast next to the lake.Looking up at the fairytale castle from Hohenschwangau.A wander back down to the base before getting a minibus up to Schloss Neuschwanstein (very thankful for the bus!). We had little guided tours through both castles, which gave us some insight into the mind of the deranged king, King Ludwig II.
Quick ride back into town to drop off the bikes and pick up our bags before getting the bus out of town.