Fairytale Castles in Germany!! Plus Beer Houses in Munich!!
The river cruise portion of the trip is over, but not the trip itself. We are taking a private transfer from Vilshofen to Munich with a stop at one of the 44 castles in Bavaria. Trausnitz Castle is about the halfway point between the two cities and we were ready to explore! You are dropped off in the parking lot and have the option of walking through the gardens or the street to the castle. Walking up to the castle, you can see the true size of it… it is massive! And it is extremely windy up here… because, of course, the castle sits on the highest precipice in the area. Once you make it to the courtyard, the wind magically stops and you can buy your ticket (5,50€) which includes a 4 page detailed information sheet about each area of the castle, and you can begin your self-guided walking tour.
Duke Ludwig I of Bavaria, founded the castle in 1205 and until 1503 during the Late Middle Ages was the residence and seat of government of the dukes of Lower Bavaria. From the Early Modern Age it served as the residence of the Bavarian ducal heir. This was a fascinating place to visit! There is a chamber of curiosities which in the 16th century was an early museum with artifacts and preserved animals from around the world… and some interesting pieces of art… you have to just see them for yourself. I found other ‘curiosities’ as well such as a horoscope that appeared to be devouring a child and an alter made to relics (in case you don’t know, relics are a piece of a person like a bone fragment). The architecture was beautiful and the views down into Landshut are breathtaking! I love how most of the buildings in this town, including the castle, all have the same orangish tiled roofs.
Once we made it to Munich, and after a rest, we took a walk to the Glockenspiel… what is that you ask? It is a magnificent and elaborate mechanical clock set into the steeple of Neues Rathaus (New Town Hall). It was completed in 1908 and has 43 bells and 32 life size figures that reenact two stories from Munich’s history. The presentation takes about 15 minutes and is done 2-3 times a day depending on the time of year. We caught it at exactly 5pm (I literally ran to make it on time) and it was beautiful. My favorite was the knight scene and when it was jousted from it’s horse, the entire square wowed at the sight! Afterwards, we took a stroll through the city and saw many beautiful buildings in this area. Also nearby was Hofbräuhaus, one of the original beer halls! We grabbed a table for some drinks, food and great live music.
I am a Disney girl at heart and when I found out I had the chance to visit the actual castle in Germany that inspired Walt Disney to shape Cinderella Castle in Magic Kingdom, I was there in a heartbeat!! Schloss Neuschwanstein is a two hour train ride from Munich and is an all day activity that I was really looking forward to. We met our excursion group at 9am and walked together to the train station. The ride was beautiful… especially when the Alps become visible! We pass through picturesque German village after picturesque German village! You can tell each town or village by the church spire at the center. Once we made it to the last stop of the train, a bus picked us up for the rest of the journey.
The first look at the castle was just beautiful! It sits high up on the base of the mountain with the Alps spread out behind it. The small tourist area of Schwangau is a grouping of restaurants, cafes, souvenir shops as well as the museum and ticket buildings for the castles… yes there are TWO castles here! King Ludwig II grew up in Schloss Hohenschwangna and dreamed of his fairy tale castle… which he built when he grew up just up the mountain. We walked the town, grabbed a bite to eat and walked to the lake. The views of the lake and both castles are spectacular from the town. But then it was our turn to go up the mountain. We took the shuttle bus up (it is a steep climb) and then walked the rest of the way up to the bridge… and WOW!! On one side of the bridge, you have incredible views of the castle and the other looks up to the snow covered Alps with a waterfall below. This is the perfect picture spot! It was a magical day and I could see why Walt Disney used this beautiful castle as inspiration.
We ended our day… and our trip, back in Munich for one last dinner. Our tour guide recommended Augustiner Keller and it did not disappoint! Very similar to dinner last night, there was a live Bavarian band, beer and lots of good food! This was one of the best meals of the entire trip and was the perfect ending to my trip to Europe. Until next time…
Пікірлер: 71
To me this has been the best and most enjoyable Vlog series you have done.
@EECCTravels
2 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoy it! I loved this trip!!
What a great 👍 trip. Germany 🇩🇪 is on my dream list . And uk 🇬🇧 and Ireland 🇮🇪
Loved your trip through Germany, it brought back many memories of my time there. I was stationed in Germany for 18 months when in the Army. I visited the Octoberfest 3 yrs running, 1968, 1969, and went back in 1970. Loved the country, loved the people, loved the food, and loved the BEIR!. Thank you for the memories. Oh, love your travel videos, and Jason is a lot of fun. He would have loved the beer.
I agree that this has been the best, most informative, and very enjoyable Vlog series you have done!! Really excellent work!!
Oh my goodness, the scenery, the swans & schnitzel😍
@EECCTravels
2 ай бұрын
YES!!! ❤️
Thank you for bring us along your trip you did à great job loved all your historique info made me traval with you ❤
You explain things with a good amount of detail that does not get tedious. I think you should visit Japan, Korea, Namibia, and Argentina.
Just seeing the alps in your video made me cry!! Stunning!!!
@EECCTravels
2 ай бұрын
It’s so beautiful!!
I’m glad you got to have a good time in Munich. I actually lived in Germany for 4 1/2 years and my husband‘s last duty station was in Bad Aibling and on long Saturdays We would take the train from where we were in Bavaria to Munich to spend the day.. the Neuschwanstein castle was also the inspiration for the beauty and the beast castle that the beast lived in.
@EECCTravels
2 ай бұрын
Oh that is interesting! I had not heard that before.
The Glockenspiel knight who wins is Bavarian. The other knight represents the House of Lorraine. The couple in back of the knights are the groom, Wilhelm V, Duke of Bavaria and the bride, Renata of Lorraine.
What a adventure
You do such a good job of giving the history of each location you go to.
@EECCTravels
Ай бұрын
❤️❤️thank you ❤️❤️
Being of German decent these vlogs of Germany are such a delight to watch thanks for sharing
@EECCTravels
2 ай бұрын
Glad you like them!
My hubby & I just got back from Munich a couple of weeks ago. We did a walking tour with Radius & our guide recommended Augustiner Keller also! It was warm so we got to sit outside in their beautiful beer garden. We loved the restaurant so much we went back the next night for dinner again!
@EECCTravels
2 ай бұрын
It was the best meal! And such great atmosphere!
Beautiful views and great tours! Safe travels home!
I was in the Marines and visited the second castle. Being proud Marines we decided to walk up that steep winding road to the castle in the hot German summer. What an idiot I was. Luckily they had that beer hall halfway up. That yellow castle is pretty cool too. It actually had running water in some rooms. Bought a handmade coo coo clock in the village at the bottom of the hill.
My father was stationed in Germany - I’ve been there and done that. What a special experience I had as a child of a military man! Thank you! I loved seeing it again! By the way … the Neu is pronounced as noi as in the word noise.
I enjoyed these vlogs! It seems like you’ve been there for a long time… but I’m sure you spaced out the vlogs!
@EECCTravels
2 ай бұрын
Yes they are spaced out. The trip was 11 days total.
Warm beer. We went to Germany in 1991 to visit all the castles we could and cathedrals. We saw Cinderella‘s castle but we couldn’t find the road. We didn’t have cell phones or GPS on those days. But we saw it high up on the mountain/hill across the fields.
A lot of times you can find a really good Spoetzl at Aldi’s I don’t know the name brand but it comes in a bag.
*sigh* Can't wait to go back and see Munich properly. My traveling companion wasn't feeling well when we were there so we didn't get to see too much other than Neuschwanstein. Had to eat out alone one night because he was zonked out in bed, plus...he will not eat a sausage. hahaha. Welcome to your German roots! Have fun discovering your ancestors! I'm still trying to work out if mine were from Bavaria or from the Black Forest region of Baden-Wurttemberg. Tracing ancestry is sometimes mind boggling! Not a big Disney fan per se but we here near Anaheim know our castle. Sleeping Beauty castle is based on Neuschwanstein. I know, I know, I'm being pedantic. LOL
When you said stuffed animals I had to look again. I was thinking stuffies lol. I’ve been to Munich multiple times and really love being there.
One of my favorite trips was Germany. I don’t know why it’s not a popular vacation spots! Nice people good beer and food🇩🇪
@EECCTravels
2 ай бұрын
Totally agree!
You should extend river cruise along Danube river with more beautiful landscapes to see. So you can dock at Regensburg (where we lived long long years before moving to French-Polynesia), one of the oldest cities in Germany. History of Regensburg goes back to roman times A.D. 79. Inner city of Regensburg is UNESCO World Heritage.
I was in Schwangau and at the castle in 2001. Absolutely beautiful area!! If I could live there I would!!
This has been such a wonderful vlog series. I hope you return to Europe and do another river cruise.
@EECCTravels
2 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it! I definitely want to do more river cruises!!
::waves::: looks fun!
Wienerscnitzel is traditionally veal. And it’s pronounced “noy-shvan-stine” Sorry. The old German teacher was cringing. Beautiful spot
Being of German descent myself, I've been to Germany three times, visiting very distant cousins through genealogy research. We enjoyed each trip, and yeah, we went to the tourist trap of Neuschwanstein on our first trip, that's a one and done, and Linderhof I thought was better. Anyway, Bavaria alone has hundreds of castles(over 800) and castle ruins, as do the other states of Germany. THe whole country has thousands., and I'm happy that I've been to a few dozen. The churches are beutiful as well, especially the catherals(Dom) along the Rhine.
@monikaliebold4225
2 ай бұрын
Schloss Neuschwanstein is by far not a tourist trap. It is one of the most famous castles in Bavaria with great history behind. Even for people living in Bavaria/Germany it is a spot to visit when travelling in own country. And prices for visitors are moderate - 18 Euro (19 USD) per adult. Persons under 18 years are free. Electronic audio device in foreign language is provided. If you have time, visit three castles in this area - Schloss Neuschwanstein, Schloss Hohenschwangau and Schloss Linderhof. There are combination tickets available for these three castles.
@mikefromholt8791
2 ай бұрын
@@monikaliebold4225 Yeah, no....I've been to Linderhof, Hohenschwangau and others in B-W, R-P, and along the Rhine...Neuschwanstien was the most touristy. Is it beautiful? Yes,.Is it historical? Only recent history compared to other castles in Germany. I've been to ruined castles such as Burg Stienberg, Krautheim, and Kaiserwerth, all semed more fascinating and magical to me than Neuschwantein. But, that's my opinion after visting Germany on multiple trips.
Great video ❤❤❤❤
Thank you for video - was fun to watch, especially about my city of birth Munich and famous Hofbräuhaus.😢 I'm now a bit homesick to my beloved Bavaria. Btw you should put in at your Vlog information link to Schloss Neuschwanstein as you already have done for Burg Trausnitz. Greetings from Moorea (sister island of Tahiti) in French-Polynesia 🌴 🏖 😎 🇵🇫 🇫🇷 🇪🇺
Wow!!! This series of videos has been marvelous. Thank you for sharing.
@EECCTravels
2 ай бұрын
Glad you like them!
Really enjoyed these videos. Great job😊 side note. We always thought we were mostly German. Found out we were only half German and mostly English and Norwegian 😂
Are you sure the Wiener schnitzel was pork? Most is veal. Loved following your tours 😀
@monikaliebold4225
2 ай бұрын
To explain: Wiener Schnitzel is definitively veal - the name "Wiener Schnitzel" is a registered brand name. Therefore if you read "Wiener Schnitzel" on a menu, it has to be veal. If you read "Schnitzel Wiener Art" (translated: Viennese Schnitzel), then it is definitively pork.
@karenoverfield4870
2 ай бұрын
Thank you for explaining that! Super helpful 👏🏻👍🏻
Great vlog series! I am definitely going to make it to Europe soon!
@EECCTravels
2 ай бұрын
You should! I have loved each trip to Europe!
You and Jason need to go to Germany and rent an RV. There are short and one day boat rides on several rivers. I have been on ones that are on the middle Rhine ( between Koblenz and Mainz ), Mosel from Cochem, Neckar ( from Heidelberg ) and one I haven’t been on which is on the Danube from Kelheim to Weltenburg Abbey which has been brewing beer since 1050 !
@EECCTravels
2 ай бұрын
That would be incredible!!
Cranes exist since antiquity.
Pronounced - New-shwan-stine. :-)
True wiener schnitzel is made with veal, not pork. However most is pirk and is called Schnitzel Wiener art
@stevebartley628
2 ай бұрын
pork, not pirk 😂😂
Im gonna give you an assist on some german pronunciations. In german the W makes a "v' sound and a V makes an 'f' sound. So take the word Volkswagen, Its pronounced Folks-Vog-en. Which translates to 'the peoples car'. A castle in german is called a Schloss (shloss) and Neuchwanstein is pronounced Noysh-Van-Stine. Another thing to take away is that sometimes a double S is written as a double S for latin character set, but its a place holder for a character called an Eszett which (lets hope the character comes through on here) looks like ß
@EECCTravels
2 ай бұрын
Thank you for this!!
@eriksmith2567
2 ай бұрын
@@EECCTravels Oops, I forgot to cover the IE EI combination. They don't have the I before E except after C rule. Its a silent blend where the second letter makes the long vowel sound. So EI makes the long I sound like when you drink out of a stein. Whereas IE makes a long E sound such as Auf Wiedersehen [ ouf vee-duhr-zey-uhn ] or Bier. That IE-EI rule comes up a lot.
I have a question……..how did these towns survive the allied bombings? The towns were easy to see because in your own words, they were each marked by the church’s tall spire.
@monikaliebold4225
2 ай бұрын
A lot of towns and cities, especially in metropolitan regions suffered hard from allied bombing. In the countryside it wasn't quite as bad. There were made great efforts to rebuild towns and cities.
@kathe992ilo6
2 ай бұрын
@@monikaliebold4225 thank you.
@monikaliebold4225
2 ай бұрын
@@kathe992ilo6Sorry, I forgot to name so called "Trümmerfrau" = rubble woman. These women were also to a great extent involved with rebuilding. You can found online with term "Trümmerfrau" a lot of information with rebuilding.
Could you give us some costs for this trip?
How accessable were the castle tours?
@monikaliebold4225
2 ай бұрын
Burg Trausnitz is partly accessible. The guided tour is not suitable for wheelchairs. The floors are only accessible by stairs (approx. 30 steps per floor). There are some steps within the rooms. Flooring is partly uneven. To rooms of Chamber of Art and Curiosities at Burg Trausnitz there is access without steps via lift - length 140 cm (4,6 ft), width 100 cm (3,3 ft). Doorways are at least 80 cm (2,6 ft) wide. Schloss Neuschwanstein is accessible. You should book tour in advance with tour operator or directly as place for wheelchairs might be limited due to fire and safety reasons. Unfortunately it is not allowed to drive up to castle by car. There are designated parking places at Hohenschwangau. You can go with foldable wheelchairs up to castle within a horse carriage. Drivers will help with boarding, but there is no ramp. Note: Electric wheelchairs are not allowed in horse carriage. At the end of ride there is a distance of approx. 450 m (1500 ft) to castle on a tarred road with gradient up to 15 %. Other possibility direct to entrance of castle: Vehicle of Bavarian Red Cross. It is only possible on Tuesdays and Thursdays between 10 am and 12 noon (safety reasons). Btw you found information with all castles in Bavaria and Germany online, most of them are bilingual. Hope, this information is helpful. Greetings from Moorea (sister island of Tahiti) in French-Polynesia 🌴 🏖 😎 🇵🇫 🇫🇷 🇪🇺 - born in Munich and lived long long years in Bavaria 🇩🇪
@EECCTravels
2 ай бұрын
Not very… one of our friends with us has knee issues and she made it through but it was tough. There are stairs so no wheelchair access.
Love your videos i’m interested you did the DNA test. What is the rest of your background reveal?
@EECCTravels
2 ай бұрын
Me and Jason have very similar DNA with both of us @60% English. We also have Scottish and Irish.
@dorothyraab9186
2 ай бұрын
Wonderful!