The drive from Italy through Austria was incredible. I was completely awestruck by the Alps. I really didn't remember/know that they were so beautiful and huge. I was really tired on the drive and it was hard to stay awake, but I really didn't want to miss anything. And Matt, well he was like a kid in the candy store to be back in his mountains. We tried to get as many pictures as we could - some turned out better than others, but it was fun to take so many. The best part was watching the sunrise on the mountains and seeing them turn red. It was breathtaking!
HD went back to sleep just as we were driving through Innsbruck, Austria - about an hour and a half from the castle. We arrived at Neuschwanstein at about 12:00 pm. We bought our tickets for the 1:45 English guided tour. We had some time to kill so we enjoyed the walk (1.5 km) up the hill to the castle. Matt had HD strapped to his back and I think we enjoyed the walk as much as we did. I had butterflies in my stomach as we got closer and closer to the castle. I was so excited. We got to the top of the hill with time to spare so we enjoyed lunch and made it to the castle just in time.
Ready for the "hike" up to the castle.
The tour was okay. HD didn't love being in the carrier, but we couldn't let her run around, so she endured (sometimes not so quietly). We didn't hear a lot of what the guide said because we tried to stay one room behind so as not to bother the other people in our group. Luckily there were other kids in the group (making noise, too) so all the dirty looks weren't geared at us.
However, we did enjoy looking at the several rooms and the ornate decorations. It really is an incredidble castle. The decor is phenomenol and the size is overwhelming. And the view was gorgeous! I could handle a view like that from my bedroom window.
The princess looking out over her kingdom.
View from the back of the castle.
And the front.
The princess looking out over her kingdom.
View from the back of the castle.
And the front.After the relatively brief tour, we spent some more time on the grounds taking pictures and letting HD run around a little bit before heading back down. HD was pretty tired and fell asleep in the carrier (this time it was on my back) by the time we got to the bottom of the hill. We settled back into the car to head back south to Zirl, Austria.
It was another gorgeous drive back through the German Alps. Matt loved driving in the hills but wished he was driving an Audi or a Ferrari...maybe next time. HD was wide awake for most of the trip so we watched Shrek to pass the time.
We checked into our hotel at 6:30. Matt found Hotel Tyrolis on the internet and it was a great place. HD was particularly excited to get to RUN around. From the time we arrived until we left for dinner an hour-and-a-half later she literally did not stop. She went between the two rooms, into the bathroom, and back. It was so fun to watch - you could tell she was a ball of pent up energy just wanting to burst. And we let her.
By the time we went out for dinner we were too tired to explore so we settled for something familiar and fast - McDonalds. Not usually my favorite place to eat, however, this McDonalds (in Innsbruck - about 10 minutes from our hotel) is the nicest McDonalds I have ever seen. Complete with modern square seating and benches, low tables, low lights, a McCafe and a fireplace (I wish I'd had my camera). It was gorgeous and super, duper clean. And it was actually a surprisingly refreshing meal after a very long day.
After dinner we headed back to Zirl for a night of much-needed rest.
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