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Thea has always wanted to see Schloß Neuschwanstein, the real castle on which the Disney castle is modeled.   We drove down almost to Austria on Saturday to see them.   The countryside was lovely even though the weather didn't cooperate -- mist and fog were everywhere and we even got a bit of snow.

We parked in the town of Hohenschwangau, near the castle, and took a shuttle bus up the mountain.   The shuttle bus actually drops you a ways above Neuschwanstein itself, so we had to walk back down the hill a bit.   The path was a bit slippery, which was a little stressful, but we got a nice view of the Hohenschwangau castle from above before we reached Neuschwanstein itself.

They seemed very organized in the town below, but they didn't inform us that there was no reasonable place at the castle to wait for our tour to begin.   We spent 45 wet and chilly minutes huddling in the gateway and wandering around a small courtyard.    A group of Asian women wanted their pictures taken with Thijs, but he was already cranky and burst into tears almost immediately.

They don't allow pictures on the tour of the castle, so we don't have any from inside.   The interior is also spectacular, and Thijs decided it was his job to test the acoustics of every room we entered, by cooing and making other noises.   He especially liked the concert hall!   All that hooting left him wiped out, as we made our way down the hill and Neuschwanstein receded through the fog.

By the time we reached the parking lot at the base of the hill, his batteries were recharged and he was ready to walk.

So we walked over to the information center, where they had a nice fountain.  Thijs likes fountains.