When Shane decided he wanted to run a marathon as an upcoming 40th birthday challenge, we assumed he would run the Munich marathon in October, but once we found out I was pregnant, fitting in marathon training with a newborn in late August/early September didn’t seem like a realistic option 😆. Which is how we ended up in Füssen, a small town about an hour and 20 minutes outside of Munich, better known as the jumping off point for Schloss Neuschwanstein.
The Marathon!
Shane’s current desire to run a marathon has a 12-year history. See, back in 2013, we ran the Charlotte marathon. Well, we ran part of the Charlotte marathon because it didn’t go so well. One of us (cough:me:cough) ended up spending a lot of time in the porta-potties on the route because they drank too much Gatorade when they weren’t used to it. So, we ended up walking at least 6 miles, and finished in over 5 hours, which was particularly disappointing when we were on track to finish in under 4 hours at the halfway mark.
Since then, Shane’s said he “completed” a marathon, but he’s always wanted some redemption. (I, on the other hand, was OK to leave the marathon experience behind me. 😂) So, he’s been running and running and running, which brings us to the end of July and the Füssen marathon!
Here in Munich, we’ve had really nice weather this summer—not so much rain, warm temperatures (sometimes maybe too warm)—that was, until the week before the marathon. The temperatures dropped to ~16/17 °C (60/63 °F), the rain set in, and Shane was faced with the reality that he might be very wet after 42.195 K (26.2 mi). Which, indeed, he was. It rained nearly the entire time!
Nonetheless, he finished in 3 hours and 48 minutes!
Now, he can officially say he ran a marathon. 🤩
Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau Castles
Given our close proximity to one of the most famous castles in Germany, we decided to stay an extra day and do some sightseeing after the marathon. Luckily, the rain eased up enough that we could actually get THE famous picture.
Schloss Neuschwanstein, notorious for inspiring Walt Disney and the Cinderella castle, was built by King Ludwig II, otherwise known as the “Mad King.” In modern times, Ludwig II would likely just be called eccentric, but in the ~1870s, he was considered crazy. Neuschwanstein looks medieval, but it’s not. Construction started in 1869, and the style was inspired by Ludwig’s love of medieval tales. So, he built a place where he could live in his own alternate reality. He never lived, or intended to live, in the castle with anyone else (other than his few servants, of course), using the castle for his own escapism.
Unfortunately, Schloss Neuschwanstein was never completed, as Koning Ludwig II died under mysterious circumstances after being deemed “crazy” by doctors who never even examined him. The rest of the royal family wasn’t so keen on his castle spending habits…
Anyway, as a result, you can only visit a few of the rooms in Neuschwanstein since most of them remain empty. The exterior of the castle was also never completed; construction of the chapel and several towers never even began. That doesn’t mean it’s not worth a visit, though.
The other castle visible from Neuschwanstein is Hohenschwangau. Built by Maximillian II, Ludwig II’s father, the castle was the summer residence of the Bavarian royals. Unlike Neuschwanstein, the interior is complete and can also be toured.
Logistics
So, here’s the thing. Füssen, Neuschwanstein, and Hohenschwangau are touristy places, especially during the summer (they can be visited year-round). Are they worth it? Absolutely. I put these castles in the “it’s touristy for a reason” category. Plenty of people love to discourage the castle tours since they are a bit pricey, and you can walk the grounds for free. But come on. Are you really going to go all the way there and then NOT go inside? Don’t be silly.
So how did we manage to essentially be ALONE on the Marienbrücke, where you can take that instagramable photo? Go early. We’re morning people, so this really wasn’t an issue.
You can only go inside the castles with a guided tour, and tickets will sell out. So, you should book as far in advance as possible. You can book combination tickets that include both castles and the Museum of the Bavarian Kings, which I would argue is the only way to do this.
I won’t go into all the logistics since the official ticket site provides really good suggestions on how to plan your day. However, I will say that we booked a 9:30 am slot at Neuschwanstein, which gave us plenty of time to catch the shuttle bus up, visit the Marienbrücke, and have a leisurely walk down to the castle afterward. (You can also walk up to the castle, which takes about 40 minutes, but since I was 35 weeks pregnant, we decided to shuttle up and walk down. 😆) Neuschwanstein is the more popular castle of the two, so I would recommend going there first. Especially since tour buses started rolling in around 10 am.
For the afternoon, we booked at 3:05 pm tour of Hohenschwangau. Each tour only lasts ~30-35 minutes, which left enough time in between to get lunch in the village below and visit the Museum of the Bavarian Kings, which gives a great history of the Bavarian royal family, with some time to kill. So, I would even recommend a bit earlier afternoon tour, if it’s available.
And that was our last little weekend away before baby! As of writing this, we are officially less than three weeks away from the due date and taking it easy until then.
So, until we’re a family of three…
Tschüss!
The Shwits 