Schwangau, Germany - Day 1
Monday, April 8, 2024
Today was our final morning on the Sun Princess cruise ship. Andi and I set our alarms for 6:00am so we’d have time to pack our bags and eat breakfast on the ship before disembarkment at 8:00am. Most people set their suitcases outside their staterooms the night before and allow the cruise ship staff to transport their luggage off the ship to a secure baggage claim area in the port terminal, but we didn’t feel that was necessary since we only brought carry-on size bags with us. Plus, we like being in control by keeping our luggage with us.
It’s been a nice break from packing and unpacking our backpacks every few days while on the ship! Back to that adventure travel life we go …
It would’ve been smart to have room service breakfast delivered to our room prior to departing the ship, but we didn’t think about placing an order until it was too late to do so last night. The Eatery buffet was packed as people prepared to depart the ship this morning, so Andi ended up getting coffees and donuts to-go from the International Cafe before we left the ship at 8:00am.
Quite a few passengers were staying on the ship for another leg which meant that the exit points of the vessel weren’t busy at all. We simply approached the gangway, scanned our Princess Medallion badges one last time, and walked off the ship into the port terminal. All four of us were so sad to leave. Good-bye Sun Princess! We had a wonderful 10-day cruise through the Western Mediterranean.
Andi arranged for the same private driver who brought us to the cruise port terminal 10 days ago to pick us up this morning. Thankfully, he’d pre-booked this because it appeared that other passengers who didn’t have pre-arranged rides were having a hard time catching taxis at the port terminal in Civitavecchia. The cruise port terminal is 57 km, or about an hour’s drive, from Rome and a lot of taxi drivers don’t like to detour that far away to pick up passengers.
In a private SUV, our transport to Rome’s international airport was smooth and comfortable. Next stop: Germany!
Germany is top of Tory’s bucket list places to visit, and fortunately Andi was able to make the logistics work for our European itinerary. She’s had her heart set on seeing the Neuschwanstein Castle in southern Germany ever since she learned about it in school last year.
Our only travel plans set in stone are airline tickets booked for Tuesday, April 16 departing Paris, France, to return home to the USA. This gives us about five days to spend in Germany before we need to make our way toward Paris. What do we plan to do while in Germany? Well, we don’t really know exactly. Today, we flew into Munich, Germany, and then rented a car at the airport so we could drive south two hours to the Neuschwanstein Castle.
Andi and I ended up checking our bags on the flight from Rome to Munich because it was free on Lufthansa Airlines. To be honest, I was a little panicked letting our luggage leave our hands at the bag drop counter. We’ve carried our bags to so many different places the past two months that it just felt weird not having them with us. I hoped they’d make it from Italy to Germany without issue.
Our flight from Rome to Munich was a smooth one; Lufthansa is a really comfortable airline. Once we landed, the kids and I waited for our luggage at baggage claim while Andi went ahead to the rental car area. We didn’t have a car reservation, so he wasn’t sure how long it’d take and wanted to get a jumpstart on the process.
Our checked luggage arrived just fine — phew! When Tory, Aden, and I exited the main terminal, we saw Andi standing on the other side holding a name sign and pretending to be a shuttle driver. This made me laugh!
Andi wrapped up the paperwork for our weekly car rental. Boy, is Germany expensive! This vehicle was, by far, the most expensive car we rented during our European adventure. The only rental car option Hertz had for us was an all-electric Pullstar 2. Neither Andi or I have ever rented an all-electric car before so this should be interesting!
By now, it was 2:00pm and all four of us were hungry. We decided to have lunch at the airport before heading out on a two-hour drive south to Schwangau, Germany. We picked a restaurant called Airbrau at the Munich Airport.
The food menu looked delicious to all of us! After spending the past two weeks in Italy, and Spain and Portugal before that, I think we were all ready for some new flavors. Not that the pizza and pasta or tapas we enjoyed there weren’t amazing because they were. But, German food sounded so comforting.
We ordered four Bavarian pretzels (a must-try in Germany’s South Bavarian region!) as well as two plates of classic white sausages with sauerkraut and potatoes.
How about this menu offering?! Last meal (Hangmans lunch)
We loved the classic pretzels, white sausages, and sauerkraut, though we all agreed that the pretzels could’ve used some melted cheese or spicy mustard for dipping.
After we finished our meal and paid our bill, we located our rental car in the airport parking garage and began our journey south to Neuschwanstein Castle. The bustling city of Munich quickly gave way to the peaceful Germany countryside. It was a beautiful drive, and the landscape reminded us so much of home.
Half-way into our drive, Andi and I were both getting sleepy so we decided to stop for coffee. I searched Google for a cafe close to the highway and found a place called Ihle Baker’s in the town of Füssen. The cafe was nestled in a strip mall next to a grocery store, a sporting goods store, and a department store. I couldn’t get over how much it felt like being in the United States; more than anywhere else we’ve traveled in Europe.
Inside the cafe at the ordering counter, Andi and I fumbled our words ordering coffees and pastries in the German language. Yikes, we don’t know any German words at all! The young woman behind the counter flashed us a big smile and asked, “English?” and then proceeded to repeat our order back to us in perfectly fluent English. The only thing lost in translation was the meaning of an “iced” coffee. The employee delivered our order to our table, presenting me with a coffee-flavored ice cream sundae. Not exactly what I had in mind, but oh well, at least it tasted good!
Now caffeinated (kinda), the four of us piled back into our Pullstar 2 rental car and drove the remaining distance to the town of Schwangau. This small German town is where the famous Neuschwanstein Castle is located. Andi booked us one night’s stay in the family suite at the Hotel Weinbauer in town. Our suite included two joined rooms connected by a bathroom. The hotel’s decor was dated, but it was very clean, and had a restaurant inside which serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner. There’s also a large spa/sauna in the hotel basement.
It’d been a long travel day and we all wanted to lay down and relax, but we knew we needed to capitalize on the short amount of time we have to spend in Germany. The weather was sunny and pleasant outside this afternoon, but rain is in the forecast for tomorrow and Wednesday. It was now or never to see the castle.
The Neuschwanstein Castle was so pretty; we could see it right from our hotel. It was a quick walk into town, or a few minutes drive away. We asked the hotel front desk for instructions for the best way to see the castle, and the employee tried her best to explain to us in the few English words she knew. We weren’t really sure what she was telling us. In the end, we decided to take our car to a trailhead Andi read about which touted a panoramic view of the castle at the end.
The castle is positioned on a German hillside, so a bit of a hike is necessary for anyone who wishes to visit. Andi and I pieced together later that what the hotel’s front desk worker was trying to tell us is that there’s a shuttle bus that runs from the town parking lot to a bus stop near the castle entrance. It didn’t seem to be running at this time in the evening, however, but good to note. After all, 1.4 million people visit the castle every year so there has to be a semi-easy way for people to get there besides walking approximately 45 minutes uphill as we did.
If only we understood what all these signs were directing! German words may as well be written in gobbledygook.
Our panoramic viewpoint hike led us up the steep side of the mountain following a dirt trail until we reached the Marienbrücke (Mary's bridge) spanning Pöllat Gorge. The kids were not pleased about the strenuous incline walk, and honestly I couldn’t blame them. We were all really tired from our long day of travel. Remember, we were just in Italy a few hours ago! Nevertheless, we persevered to our destination.
The only reason Tory wasn’t complaining alongside Aden was because this destination was her idea!
As we rounded the corner to the entrance of Marienbrücke — oh my goodness! — we were all taken back by the splendor of the castle. The sight of it is straight out of a fairy tale. “See! I told you it was worth visiting,” Tory exclaimed as the four of us stood there marveling at the architecture. It made my heart especially happy to see her pride in bringing us here.
We made it! Behold, Neuschwanstein Castle.
We gazed at the castle for quite a while and snapped several pictures of ourselves on Mary’s Bridge. It is said that this castle was Walt Disney’s inspiration for Cinderella’s castle, and it’s easy to see the resemblance. The architecture is so different than all the historic castles we saw throughout Portugal, Spain, and Italy.
From Marienbrücke, we walked toward the castle following the paved road which led back to town.
The scenery surrounding the castle was simply gorgeous as we descended the mountain. Walking downhill sure was easier to do! We made our way back to our vehicle parked in one of the public lots in no time. The lesser-known Hohenschwangau Castle can be seen in the distance.
There were several restaurants and cafes along the path to town, but nothing was open during the off-season. Andi and I decided to go back to Hotel Weinbauer and see if we could grab dinner there.
Maybe we were slap-happy by this point in our very long travel/adventure day, but we got such a kick out of this “exit” sign written in German. “This way to the aus-FART” Aden kept saying over and over, taking full advantage of the liberty to use potty-talk in context.
We made it back to Hotel Weinbauer around 7:45pm and walked into the restaurant just as it was closing. “Oh, we’re closing early,” the waiter said, “we’ve been so slow all night. But, do come in, please!” and so we did. Andi and I were thankful for his kindness because there wasn’t anything else open for dinner in town.
The four of us found a table and quickly made dinner selections from the menu before the kitchen closed for certain. Andi picked a pork cutlet for his meal, served with a side of warm potato salad. I ordered chicken with mushrooms and spaetzle. We asked for an extra plate to share a portion of our two proteins with Aden. Tory ordered a bowl of pumpkin potato soup, but didn’t end up eating much of it.
The warm German potato salad was to die for — I’m still dreaming about it! All the food flavors were so tasty. We really liked the pork schnitzel, too.
After dinner, the four of us returned to our hotel suite upstairs. Tory and I were exhausted and ready to relax in bed, but Andi wanted to check out the sauna in the basement of the hotel. Aden decided to join him. They returned an hour later & reported it to be the cleanest, most sanitary spa they’d ever visited. In the first few hours of visiting Germany, it’s apparent they are a very orderly and tidy culture — everything has a place and well-thought out plan.
Another thing Germans are known for are their beer gardens, and there happened to be one directly outside our hotel room window. A small crowd of rowdy guys were outside drinking beers well into the early morning hours which we didn’t exactly appreciate. Ear plugs to the rescue, once again — a must-have travel accessory.
Tomorrow, the weather looks downright crummy with temperatures forecasted in the low 40’s with snow flurries. Therefore, I don’t think we’ll hang out in this area of Germany for long. We happen to be about 10 minutes away from the German / Austria border, so Andi and I plan to make a quick drive across the political border (our 10th country visited this trip!) before making our way further north toward Frankfort. No hard and fast plans, so we’ll see where the wind takes us tomorrow.
So far, we’re really enjoying our time in Germany!
