Neuschwanstein

We are lucky, the forecast for today was rain but we woke up to blue skies and a gorgeous morning.  Good thing too as today was Neuschwanstein day!

Before we'd even seen the castle I was a bit taken with this Japanese maple beside the toilettens J

Our first view of the castle was taken from here.....

Marienbrucke

I am not good with heights and this wretched bridge had gaps between the planks and was a bit squeaky in parts!  I walked onto it alright, but about halfway along Daniel thought it would be funny to pretend to push me over. He regretted doing that!

Rewind 30 odd years and I remember doing exactly the same thing to Mum as she paused, scared stiff in the middle of a suspension bridge, somewhere in Asia I think it was.  Anyway - now that the shoe's on the other foot so to speak I've only got one sheepish thing to say - sorry Mum. J

But - the view of Neuschwanstein from here was worth any little jitters.....

It was hard to stop snapping...

Although I really wanted to get off the damn bridge...

This one was taken from the very edge of the bridge, that way if it collapsed I'd land on the small ledge below :)

The surrounding countryside (the reason King Ludwig II chose to build where he did) was stunning...

We took a tour of the inside of the castle.  Due to budget problems and King Ludwig's early death (in mysterious circumstances at age 40) neither the castle or its interior were completed. Shortly after the the King's death in 1886 the castle was opened to the public.  It is one of the major tourist attractions in Germany and in peak season can cater for upwards of 6,000 visitors a day!

Then it was back down the hill by horse drawn carriage...

We all loved Neuschwanstein and I'm sure it will go down as one of the many highlights of our trip.

And now for something completely different.  Spied these little fellas whizzing around a lake and managed to get some semi-decent pictures of them...