On Day 9 of our roadtrip last summer, we visited the beautiful Neuschwanstein Castle, which had been on my bucketlist for a very long time. We also checked out the charming town of Nabburg, and finally, the UNESCO World Heritage site of Karlovy Vary (or Carlsbad) in western Czech Republic.
Here’s our entire route, c/o Google Maps:
We had a nice stay in Füssen. We gave the accommodation a 10, and this was the review: “Spacious room with a balcony, free parking, very good breakfast selection. Quiet location. Slow wifi.” The view from the balcony at dawn was just amazing. To avoid the crowd, we tried to leave early for the Neuschwanstein Castle. But first, breakfast:
Neuschwanstein Castle is a popular 19th century castle standing on a rugged hill in southern Germany. It has been on films, and it’s said to have inspired Disney’s Sleeping Beauty castle. The castle was only available for guided tours during our visit, and no photography allowed. We drove to the main base, where buses and cars could park. One could also take a horse-driven carriage.
Given the limited time, we opted to see it from the Marienbrücke, a pedestrian bridge built in 1845. I really wanted to see the castle, but to me, being near it and admiring it from afar was also enough. From the base, we took the bus going to the bridge. At that time, and due to high COVID-19 cases in the popular tourist destination, facemasks were still required. From the bus stop, we walked a bit into the woods to the direction of the narrow footbridge.
A few moments later, there it was, the castle staring at me. The surrounding nature was also refreshing to see.
The castle was really huge. It would probably take a whole day to visit it, although the guided tour lasts only 35 minutes. The wait for the bus going down took a while, but it came. The trip continued, and a couple of hours later, we were having a stretch in the small German town of Nabburg. It was a quick walk, just sent some postcards, and then, we’re on the road again.
The border to Czech Republic was small, and we were told that for as long as we avoid certain roads, we wouldn’t need to pay for a toll or something. The guy at the small gasoline kiosk was very helpful, answering our queries. The map on one of the photos below show the roads where a toll sticker or something was required. We were just staying in Karlovy Vary, so we skipped that.
For the night, we stayed in a cozy apartment: the Panorama Apartments, located not far from the city center of Karlovy Vary. It sits next to the road, but it didn’t bother us that much.
As we arrived early in the afternoon, we spent some time exploring the city. Karlovy Vary is a popular spa town, although we didn’t visit any spa. It gave an impression of being a perfect place for anniversaries or something. 🙂 It was romantic in every corner.
We took the funicular to the Diana tower. There was also a small zoo and a restaurant on top, but we didn’t eat dinner there. We climbed the tower and got amazed by the views. The tower has 150 stair steps, but a lift was also available. So, that’s one thing I recommend doing in the city.
For dinner, we enjoyed some delicious stew downtown – it was a perfect outdoor dining experience. The rest of the night was spent writing more postcards. Our trip was nearing an end, but the excitement to see new places was still there for me.
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