Neuschwanstein

Here is the main reason for our weekend trip - Neuschwanstein Castle. This picture was taken from the bridge above the castle. I remembered thinking the bridge was the best part when E and I went almost twenty years ago. E still liked it, and so did the girls, but T and I weren't fans. The floor of the bridge was made of wooden boards that were popping, straining, and creaking. It didn't help that it was very windy, extremely crowded, and T is afraid of heights in general (we are working on that.) It was a beautiful view, though, and I crept out far enough to take the picture. T was brave and went much farther out to pose for pictures with his big sisters and to see the waterfall.

The view from town, and a picture of S and T climbing around the castle.

The tour of the castle itself isn't very long since only a few rooms were ever finished. S was impressed with the grotto and the winding staircase with stars on the ceiling and a dragon under a palm tree at the top. R loved the blue tapestry fabric and the secret door in the bedroom. L liked the castle, too. Whenever we entered another room she would look around and then say, "Ooooooohhh!" At one point there was a great view of the bridge and I pointed it out to T. He said, "That bridge is NOT awesome!"

We were lucky that our timing went as planned. We got there fairly early to avoid the rain which was forecast and it started to rain just as we boarded the bus to the train station. Not long afterwards the rain became snow. The whole weekend was a bit colder than was forecast. It was okay, but I did regret sending my winter coat back to the US with E.