For my last day in Germany Danny had a real treat planned; we were to visit the fairytale castle of every little girl's dreams, Neuschwanstein. This is the castle which features in Chitty chitty bang bang, and upon which sleeping beauty's Disney castle is based, with its ornate towers and impossibly precarious position perched on a mountainside.
The drive across from Munich was spectacular and I half expected Julie Andrews to burst from the green hills singing "The Hills are Alive". Miles of stunning mountains and clear rivers made the winding roads an attraction in themselves. On the way to the castle we stopped to visit a town near the Austrian border, Fussen. It was similiarly family Von Trapp, and looked as though it had sprung directly from a biscuit tin scene. The shops mainly contained tourist souvenirs but it was worth the stop and a good place to eat lunch, certainly less expensive than the places nearer to the castle.
There is ample car parking up at the base of the castle so we ditched the car and lazily opted to catch a bus up for a better view of Neuschwanstein, which by this point was towering over us spectacularly. It is possible to walk however, although this takes more like 45 minutes; time we were desperately trying to save to get out of the heat and into the lake!
As we crossed onto the bridge to look over to the castle Danny indignantly discovered that the entire side onto which we were looking was covered in scaffolding! However the castle still looked stunning and entirely surreal. We stood on the bridge facing it, over an impossible steep valley. We could see for miles across the green grass, trod only by cows complete with cowbells.
Heading down we took a quick dip in the lake at the bottom of the mountain, but were keen to head up to a different lake on the far side of the Austrian border. With miles of coastline we were spoilt for choice on where to park and jump into the aquamarine, icey water. Under the blue sky and towering mountains, the view could not really have been more idyllic, with the water so clean and perfect for swimming (if you are brave enough to stand the temperature!)
