A Land for Fairy Tales

Every traveller to Europe has castles on their bucket list, especially those, like me, who come from a country where castles are not something they will come across. We picture turrets, moats and forests predominately from films and storybooks. Our first exposure to this creative world of castles is with Disney movies as a child. When I visit my German friends I am always astounded that they don’t know about the “Disney” castles right on their doorstep. One friend lives only an hour’s drive away but has never explored King Ludwig’s castles or the surrounding forests and lakes. The Disney logo is designed upon Neuschwanstein Castle with its precarious cliff top location and towering turrets, and is an iconic beauty of Bavaria.

King Ludwig was a very eccentric man with an obsession for creating his grand Neuschwanstein Castle. With two castles under his belt and the third – Neuschwanstein – on the way, paintings inside the unfinished castle show evidence of a fourth castle in the making. The tour of Hohenschwangau Castle at the base of the mountain – Ludwig’s home before commencing his turreted masterpiece – gives you a sense of how mad he really was, and the guide will have you intrigued and in good humour throughout the tour. There is a fine line between insanity and pure genius as Ludwig undertook such a huge architectural and engineering challenge of building his dream castle. Sadly the castle is incomplete due to his early demise. Some of the empty floors have now been finished in a modern style and the space is used as a café and gift shop rather than the grandeur and extravagance of Ludwig’s dreams.

Although the castles themselves are the main tourist attraction and draw thousands to this small area of Bavaria on the border to Austria, it is truly a land of fairy tales. The dark woods and clear lakes and the historic Bavarian architecture: homes of mystical creatures such as nymphs and the wicked old witch, enticing Hansel and Gretel into her lair.

The fairy tale atmosphere of the area is the perfect setting to indulge in hiking and cycling with many trails to suit all levels – especially in the summer months. An early morning hike up past Neuschwanstein Castle to the bridge and beyond is well worth it. Heading up the mountain before the first buses of tourists arrive is an experience not to be missed. At a brisk pace we began our ascent up the main trail to the castle, feeling as if we were characters in a fairy tale out on a new big adventure: a quest to save the kingdom and defeat sinister creatures lurking in the darker more eerie corners of the surrounding forest. We giggled and jumped as we let our imaginations run wild. Passing the main entrance, we ventured further up the mountain behind the castle. A painter was set up on an outcrop taking in the castle from a new angle. We wrapped around the outcrop and found the bridge. Here you know you are in the right place with its perfect aspect overlooking the castle that melts into the cliff it is built upon, the turrets breaking into the early morning light. A perspective you cannot receive anywhere else. There are trails down to the creek below where there are swimming holes to refresh on a hot day. The trails don’t end at the bridge they continue through the mountain wrapping around and twisting this way and that. After spending many hours exploring all it had to offer we began our descent through the swarms of freshly arrived visitors for a well-earned breakfast and to tell the late sleepers what they missed.

Not being keen cyclists our group decided to opt for a half day of cycling along one of the easier trails that looped around some of the lakes in search of the perfect spot for a picnic lunch. The sheer beauty in every direction stunned us. We were all grateful we opted for the easy trail as our legs turned to jelly up the first and only long subtle hill before a body-loving descent to the small village of Hopfensee, which is home to a swimming lake. Not bold enough for a swim and deciding it was not quite the perfect picnic spot, we circuited the lake and in search of a more adventurous unmarked trail back to Hohenschwangau. Naturally we did not take a map so were soon lost. With the entrance to the valley in clear sight, we never seemed to gain any ground towards our desired destination. A pair of German cyclists soon picked us up and escorted us back with that all too familiar and wonderful German hospitality you receive across the entire country. With many left and right turns we were glad they stayed with us until we were safely returned to a trail just outside Füssen. Then we found it. The perfect picnic spot! Through an opening in the trees on the side of the trail lay a beautiful sun-filled meadow nestled at the base of the mountain towering above. After a relaxing and magical meal in the sun, we endured the final leg of our journey back into town to return our bikes.

Our bikes were rented from Hotel Villa Ludwig Hohenschwangau for €15 for a half day. You can pick up a map from most tourist information stands or hotels in the area, however, the trails are very clearly marked and you will only get lost if you try to be adventurous and take a short cut – but around the next bend there is always someone helpful willing to help out. Who knows maybe the next fairy tale will feature your adventure …