Beautiful Bavaria

Bavaria really is one of the most beautiful parts of Europe.

Our main reason to visit Bavaria was the fabulous Neuschwanstein castle which has been on my list for a few years. So we were surprised by the many other fabulous places we discovered along the way.

Blaubeuren

We had never heard of Blauberen but it was a fantastic find. Its a picturesque small town near Ulm. It has one of the best-preserved medieval town centres in an area with many places to choose from. The Blautopf is a small turquoise lake on the edge of the village. The water is full of limestone which refracts light leading to the brilliant colour. Its small but very deep and an underground limestone cave system can be reached by diving down. Apparently it’s very dangerous but nothing would get me in anyway so that doesn’t matter.

Rothenberg Der Tauber

I googled this before we went away but didn’t realise there are several Rothenbergs in Germany so I didn’t learn much. The Der Tauber is the important bit to get the right town. The whole town is like a picture postcard. It was used in the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang film. It has a charming town square and traditional houses with lovely views. The only problem is that there are so many tourists most of my photos were of people taking photos! After a walk along part of the ramparts and a coffee we visited the Kathe Wohlfahrt Christmas shop but this one also has a Christmas museum making it even more fun.

Neuschwanstein Castle

The main reason for our trip to Bavaria was to see this castle. Supposedly the inspiration for Disney’s castle this is one of the most famous castles in the world. Its a steep climb up but there is a shuttle bus or even a horse and carriage so you only need to walk the last bit. I didn’t think the inside could possibly live up to the exterior but it did. You go on a timed tour and are not allowed to take pictures.

 

King Ludwig II made a fantasy world as he built this castle but he overspent and the banks wanted to foreclose. He reacted badly and was sectioned only to be found dead in a lake along with his psychiatrist. Some rooms were never finished but the others are very ornate with paintings and there are swans everywhere.  His bedroom was interesting with an elaborately carved bed. But even better the next room was a cave, an actual cave, made of artificial dripstone. It originally had coloured lights and a fountain and is next to a windowed balcony. He may have been nuts but he did have fun spending money!