Shortly before Christmas, we accidentally drove through Füssen on a trip to Austria. I am glad we did because it was one of the most beautiful towns I have ever seen! So, we booked a spontaneous weekend trip for February and spent 48 hours in this beautiful town.
Arrival.
We wanted to explore as much as we could in the 2 days, so we got an early train. We dropped our bags straight at the hotel to allow for maximum sightseeing time.
The lady at the hotel was kind enough to provide us with a ticket that allowed us free travel on the local public transport. This saved us a €15,00 bus ticket for the day.
We decided to go into town for a coffee before we headed into the mountains to see the castles. We stumbled across this tiny, beautiful Italian Cafe called Caffe Lucca. I had quite possibly the best coffee since arriving in Germany, along with a Cannoli – my favourite Italian snack!
Fairytale Wonderland.
Full of caffeine and sugar, we hopped on the next available bus to Hohenschwangau and spent almost 1 hour in line to purchase tickets to the famous Neuschwanstein Castle. We then took a gentle stroll uphill to the entrance.
Neuschwanstein Castle is truly breathtaking. Ludwig might have been a bit crazy (allegedly…) but he sure knew how to build a castle! A German friend of mine said that even for locals, every time you see the castle is like the first time.
Admittedly, the tour seemed short for such a grand castle. However, we had to remember that it is only partially completed. We also had the MOST boring tour guide with absolutely 0% personality, which was a huge negative for me.
Aside from the above, what we did get to see was completely stunning and we learned a lot about a man that we had never really heard of before so all in all a wonderfully educational trip!
We took a rest stop at the side of Alpsee, which is without a doubt my favourite spot in Germany so far. We had visited the lake from the Austrian side in the aforementioned visit above and had fallen in love with it then. With a backdrop of the Bavarian Alps, this little lake sits at the edge of Hohenschwangau and is beautifully quiet and peaceful. Perfect for reflecting on thoughts and clearing your head.
Back in town.
We made a pit stop back in Füssen for some food and drink, then headed straight for bed, exhausted from the day’s adventures.
The following morning, we hunted down a Backerei Konditorei for a Butter Brezen and then began to wander around Füssen itself.
The town really is as wonderful as I thought it would be. Many of the buildings have got incredible paintings on them and the architecture itself is stunning! The Stadt Apotheke stood out as the most extravagantly decorated building.
As we strolled around, we stumbled upon a Reptile Zoo, bizarrely situated in the middle of an industrial park. Tickets were cheap, so we decided to take a look around and discover some weird animals!
Finally, we strolled back through the park on the edge of town and made our way back to the train station, with a pit stop for our traditional town/city magnet!
Despite it being a short visit, it will definitely not be the last time we are in the Füssen/Hohenschwangau area.
If you are visiting Bavaria, I would put it up there at the top of your list! And if you would like some help when visiting the area, might I suggest this post by Living in Stuttgart blog as well as the official website for Füssen.
Bis zum nächsten Mal! (Until next time!)
If you like this post, see my other travel diary for Nürnberg!