No, I'm not done writing my China trip, I just think it's a good time to take a throwback to my first solo trip, so, I'll get back to China later :p So, exactly last year, today, I visited Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria, Germany.  Why I highlighted the visitation to the so-called Fairy Tale Castle, because it was on the top of my bucket list!

Look at that!! Neuschwanstein Castle <3

Actually, I went to Munich, Bavaria, in mid April, spent two weeks there, alone.  It wasn't easy to get the permission from my parents, I lied about the solo trip, told them I had a friend accompany me instead.  I'd never left the country by myself before, so it's a big deal for them.  Me personally, I wasn't worried at all, because Munich is known as one of the safest city in Europe.  Why Germany?  Germany is on the top of my bucket list.  The first time I went to Germany was in spring 2014, but only for a super short time, because I purchased the Euro Trip Tour Package from travel agency.  After that trip, I just knew, in order to explore this country more, I had to plan my own trip and I didn't mind going solo.   I wanted to see Germany, soon!  Why the obsession? Man, I speak German, it'd be weird for someone who speaks the language but never been in that country, duh.  But it's more than that, I do have huge admiration for the country, which most people think I'm weird.  Germany is so underrated compare to its neighbor countries, Germany has beautiful landscapes and magnificent castles too, and also interesting cultures!

I decided to spend around 2 weeks in Munich. Why Munich?  I am a fan of  FC Bayern München, the city is nearby Füssen, where Neuschwanstein Castle is located, Allianz Arena, BMW Welt, Olympia Park, Marienplatz the city centre, and being the capital of Bavaria makes it really easy to travel to the neighbor cities.  I spent 5 days to explore the city, then traveled back and forth to the neighbor city such as Füssen, Nürnberg (Nuremberg), Regensburg, and Rothenburg ob der Tauber.  

All the cities that I visited while I was in Germany in 2015, are all remarkable.  Nuremberg is unique and rich in history with its distinguished medieval architecture including the fortifications in its Altstadt (Old Town);  Rothenburg ob der Tauber is astonishing small town in Bavaria, with its beautiful medieval town wall.  Each city was magical, Deutschland is wirklich wunderbar! 

Though, I chose to highlight my visitation to Neuschwanstein Castle.  It has been a dream to visit this place, well, all place in Germany is a dream to be honest.  Anyways, Bavaria has this cool day/night train ticket that you can purchase on ticket machine at any train station.  Bavarian Ticket allows you to travel and explore all region and suburbans in Bavaria (check the website here) runs by DB or Deutsche Bahn.  It's applicable for all public transportation. Super cool! I gotta praise the transportation system here. It's easy, organized and quite cheap.  With that Bavarian Ticket you can explore all Bavaria day/night with starting price €25.


That day, when I went early to the Hauptbahnhof (Main Train Station), so I thought I did some errands first.  Then, I miscalculated the time and missed the train to Füssen.  I thought the ticket was for one time only, thank God it's not! I just had to wait another 1 hour for the next train, it'll take 2.5 hours to Füssen :) Schloss Neuschwanstein is the main tourist object in Füssen, so everybody who got off the train, will surely go there, unless they lives in Füssen.  So, from the train station, I took the local bus to the castle's tourist ticket office.

Schloss Neuschwanstein is located in the village of Hohenschwangau.  Hohenschwangau Castle is located below Neuschwanstein Castle, it is the childhood residence of King Ludwig II of Bavaria.  You can visit it too, if you have plenty of time, as far as I know is the tour to both castle ends at 16:00.  


That day, the shuttle bus which usually takes the visitors up to the castle wasn't operating due to the road maintenance.  From down there, you can see the castle, so I thought, let's just take steep incline, let's climb it.  It was written, to go up there by foot, it'd take around 35-40 minutes. Haha! That day I wore, my favorite Adidas Stan Smith Wedges Boots, the heels was around 4 inches, and my feet were already tired from all those walking at the train station and all.  I still climbed with that shoes anyways, there's no other way if you want visit the castle.  It took only 15 minutes to the castle, but then I realize, this isn't the place where people take amazing shots.  It's only halfway to that place, that place is Marienbrücke, a small bridge, where I took most of the shots in this trip.  I couldn't explain how I feel when I got up there, it was really painful for my feet, though I was still grateful for the amazing weather that day. No! I mean, it was amazing to be there, it was amazing to see the 'Disney Castle' with my own eyes. There was a path to go even higher to get a better picture of the castle, but I didn't go, because the pain was just too unbearable.

Haflway to the Castle

 

From Marienbrücke, and yes those are love locks ;)

Visitors' favorite photo spot

After struggling going down the hills :p

Building on the left is the Ticket Office, and that tiny thing up right is a pinch of the 'Disney Castle'

The castle itself, the interior is amazing, it has a lot of stairways, so really, wear something comfortable.  I spent 2 hours there, then went back to catch the train.  Steeping incline was rather easy, but going down felt more like a torment, it felt like walking with nails on both of your heels and balls of your feet, not to mention my knees is crying.  Yeah, I walked down very slowly, step by step, that a couple who passed me by asked "Bist du okay?" Geez, I felt I spent more time going down than going up.  But overall, it was an interesting experience, that's the kind of feeling when you finally got what you want, and you got it with effort.  Satisfaction.  I didn't have enough time to visit the other castle, Hohenschwangau Castle, but still a great time. Will I go back? Hell, yeah!

I wish I can tell more about my trip to Bavaria, but I feel it's too outdated, since it was last year's trip.  This trip, the whole Bavarian trip, was one of the best trip in my life so far.  I traveled solo for the very first time! I did it!  I took the pictures all by myself using Gorillapod; people were staring at me when I mount it, like they'd never seen it before.  Below are some of the pictures I took during my trip, of course I have posted them on my instagram.  Solo traveling is not scary at all, it's easy, you can manage your own pace, you can talk to the locals you met at the train station and anywhere, in case you get lonely :p  Is it still weird if I like Germany?

Marienplatz, Munich

St. Lorenz Church, Nuremberg

Regensburg Cathedral

 

Stachus, Munich

Inside the city wall, Rothenburg ob der Tauber

Rathaus, Rothenburg ob der Tauber, still inside the city wall

Plonlein, Rothenburg ob der Tauber; what a cute adorable city, right?!

Michaelskirche, Munich

Allianz Arena at noon, perfect weather!

Ah! Mia San Mia! <3

The Diana Temple in Hofgarten, Residenz Palace

Residenz Palace

Schloss Nymphenburg