MUC: Neuschwanstein Castle

Hello Everybody!

Now that I'm on reserve on a regular basis, I've been doing more sightseeing, since I never know when I'll be able to get back to these great int'l layover cities. This time in Munich, I decided to go see the Neuschwanstein Castle.

Here's the Google Maps Satellite Image of the Castle town.

Transportation
Bus Tour:
You can try a bus tour if you get in early enough. Our trip arrived at the hotel after the Neuschwanstein bus tours left. If you are there in time, I'd try the Mikes Bike Tours tour of the area.
Rental Car:
If you can rent a car and you have a few people to go in on it with you, then it's not a bad deal. However, prior planning is a must. You can rent at either the airport or the Hauptbahnhof (Main Train Station). The Hilton Concierge did not believe we'd even be able to get a car, and if we did, we'd pay around €200. So, after hearing that, we did not even try.

Train:
This is the option we went with. Although the travel time is more, the price is great, and you can eat and drink on the way up and back. If you are travelling alone, get a Single Bavaria Day Pass for €19. It is good for any DB train and any Bavarian bus. The group rate which is good for up to 5 people is €30. The S-bahn (subway) all day group rate is €9. So, for about €40, you're totally covered for transportation coming and going for up to 5 people. Buy the Gruppe Karte (group card) at the Hauptbahnhof.

One note with the group card though, is that you must all travel together! You won't be able to split up, so be sure everyone agrees on the itinerary and amount of time at the castles. If you do decide to split apart from the person holding the group ticket (or if it happens unintentionally) you must purchase your own ticket.

If you can research the Deutsche Bahn schedules ahead of time, you'll be in great shape. Departure station is Munich Hauptbahnhof, and the arrival station is Füssen. If you change the arrival station to Hohenschwangau, the DB website will include the proper bus connection to get you to the castle town. There are no direct trains to Fussen, so you'll have either one or two stopovers. Try to avoid the two stopover trains if possible. The train ride is 2.5 hours start to finish (which includes the little layover in Kaufbeuren). Give yourself about 4 to 5 hours in Schwangau to tour the two castles. Then you can plan your return trip. Bring your wine and cheese and enjoy the view! (between naps...)

The busses in Fussen depart and arrive on the back side of the train depot.

Taxis from Fussen to Hohenschwangau will cost €10 (but they'll only carry 4 people)

If you want to rent a bike, you can either do that at the Fussen train station (there is a little mountain bike shop right next door) or you can rent on in Munich and bring it along. If you choose to bike up there, let me know how it goes so I can add the comments.

Once the bus drops you off at Hohenschwangau, you'll want to walk up the hill to your right. There is a ticket office there to purchase the castle tours. They give the tours at specific times, so just be sure that it all falls in line with your planned train/bus schedule.

Unfortunately, due to the time constraints of one person in our group, we could not take the next available Neuschwanstein tour (€15). We had to settle for a tour of Hohenschwangau tour (€9). The walk to Hohenschwangau castle was easy, but be prepared for a 40-45 minute walk up to the Neuschwanstein Castle. There is a shuttle bus that goes to Neuschwanstein every 20 minutes, and you pay for that on the bus. There are indeed signs pointing you to all of these things, but a picture map is worth many words:


Enjoy your trip! Let me know if this post helped!

Hohenschwangau Castle

FCO: Rome for a Day

Hello Folks!

Tim here blogging from Rome. This was my first time to Rome, and I had a wonderful visit. Although, one visit does not make me an expert, I do have some tips to share with you.

My objective on this layover was to see the Colosseum. I was fortunate enough to have a great day with excellent visiblity. It was a bit hot, but manageable. Be sure to bring water with you. Keep the bottle, because there are a few fountains to refill at along the way. The water was fine and I did not have any problems.

I had a tip from a flight attendant to take a hop on- hop off bus tour to get a feel for the city, and then tour from there. I took her advice, but I'd have to say that the bus tour did not suite me for that day. I went with Ciao Roma, and the bus stop is right across the plaza from the Hotel Barberini. It cost €15 and has headphone based (provided) multi-lingual descriptions of what your riding by. However, it was quite a hot day. The bus is not air conditioned, and the roofless top got a bit toasty. Also, the bus stopped too frequently and each stop you will wait for about 10 minutes. When it finally made it to the Colosseum, I hopped off, and never hopped back on. After looking at the map, I would have been better off just to walk. The bus tour would be better on a cooler day, and would probably be nice if you did not have a set objective with limited daylight.

See the end of the post for my recommended first time walking route to see the Pantheon, Colosseum, Forum and Palace.

Word had it that the tours of the Colosseum are worth it. Plus, you get to buy your ticket without having to stand in line. I totally agree with this. The tour cost 20, and it got you admission to the Colosseum and the Palace (a 12 value). So it cost you only 8 to get a guided tour and you did not have to stand in line to buy the tickets. Well worth it!

After 50 minute the Colosseum Tour, you got free time to walk around, and then meet the next Palace tour. The Palace Tour is cool, especially on a good day. You'll get great photo ops and walk away with an appreciation for the early Roman architechtural prowess. The coolest vantage point was on the north end of the palace where the elevation gave you a great view of the Forum and Colosseum.

After the 1 hour Palace tour, I walked through the Forum and headed home. The Forum is not a single building, but a collection of 'city center' sctructures. You can really imagine the area bustling with politicians, philosophers, tradesmen and merchants.

After that, we walked back to the Hotel. The flight attendant that I was with, started to recognize one of the streets, and then led me to the Trevi Fountain and the Pantheon. The Pantheon was one of the structures that I had wanted to see, but now it was evening and the Pantheon was closed. I'll have to to that next time...

First Time Recommendation
Here's what I recommend for a great First Timer walking tour of Rome. I wish I had done this itinerary instead of the bust thingie. Live and learn...
From the Hotel,
Head to the Pantheon via the following map.

Note the small alley-like streets. At night, they bustle with restaurant activity. If you find one you like, try to get back there for dinner. There are a few Gelato (ice cream) joints along the way also. Hey, you're doing a lot of walking, right?

Spend a few moments to realx at Trevi fountain. This is also a big tourist attraction.


After the Pantheon, head to the Colosseum. Here is a map to orient yourself. I left out recommending a route on purpose. Just take your time, enjoy the sights and sounds as you head to your next location.


The best views of the Forum and Colosseum are from the Palace overlook. You have to pay to get into the Forum and Palace area. As I said before, it was included in my Colosseum tour price.

This is the view from the southern terrace of the Palace. Here you can see the Circus Maximus . I don't have a photo of that since it is now just a dusty public park.


So, I hope this helps your visit to Rome. You may have other objectives for your visits, but if you're not sure what to see in the time of a typical airline layover, this might be a good place to start!