Neuschwanstein Castle Art, Watercolor Paintings & Bavaria Travel
Visiting Neuschwanstein Castle in Bavaria
Neuschwanstein Castle—the “Disney Castle”—is probably Germany’s most famous castle. Maybe Europe’s. Rising above the Bavarian countryside, it sits high on a hill surrounded by the foothills of the Alps. It is absolutely beautiful and completely deserving of the hype.
Purchase the original painting & fine art prints
I first visited Neuschwanstein years ago when I was a college student. I have several really bad film photographs to prove it.
Getting to Neuschwanstein Castle from Munich
Fast forward thirty years and I returned with my then 17-year-old son. If you take the bus from Munich, sit on the left side. The castle suddenly appears outside the window, rising above the rugged landscape of Bavaria. It’s quite an introduction.
Disney famously borrowed heavily from Neuschwanstein for its castles. “Borrowed” is probably the right word.
I find this particularly funny because Disney keeps removing my Neuschwanstein paintings online, claiming I’m infringing on their copyright.
Huh?
You borrowed it from the Germans…
My son and I took a tour bus from Munich. The company tried to put us on the English-speaking bus with the other Americans.
Nope.
We had both been learning German for several years—him in high school and me at home because apparently that’s what I do for fun. There was no way I was going to Germany and then sitting on a bus listening to an English-language tour. I wanted the German bus.
Did I understand everything?
Absolutely not.
But I understood that there was an extremely beautiful castle rising above me. Good enough. Whatever was lost in translation was fine.
We had several hours to explore Neuschwanstein and the surrounding area. It wasn’t nearly enough.
I generally hate organized tours, but I hated the idea of driving around Munich even more. Germany is extremely organized and everything is well marked, but dealing with Munich traffic didn’t sound like vacation. A day tour seemed much more stresslos.
Yes. That was English-German.
Photographing Neuschwanstein Castle from Marienbrücke
My son and I weren’t particularly interested in touring the inside of the castle. I love castles, but extremely opulent rooms aren’t what I paint. I wanted landscape photographs.
So we rushed uphill from the bus drop-off toward Marienbrücke, the famous bridge overlooking Neuschwanstein. I wanted that iconic elevated view of the castle you see on every postcard.
Original painting & fine art prints available
Instead, we found a line.
A very, very long line.
Eine lange Schlange.
Literally, a long snake. Also a long line.
And this particular snake wasn’t moving.
I hadn’t planned this very well. I’m an artist. Days of the week are kind of irrelevant. I work whenever I feel like it. Or not. Still, I probably should have anticipated enormous crowds at one of Europe’s most famous castles on a Sunday in August.
Exploring the Landscape Around Neuschwanstein
Rather than spend most of our visit standing in line for five minutes on the bridge, we ditched it and went exploring.
Continue past the crowds and you can hike down toward the stream below the castle. You don’t get the famous Neuschwanstein views from there, but I didn’t care. The scenery and atmosphere were fantastic.
Bavaria is beautiful.
One note of caution if you’re visiting on a tour: German buses leave on time.
There is no messing around.
Earlier that day, our bus had left two tourists behind in Garmisch. The driver had even waited an extra five minutes for them, which I thought was exceptionally generous for Germans. They are punctual people.
I can appreciate that.
My son was understandably nervous about getting back to the bus on time. I get it. The missing tourists’ bags were still sitting on the bus—a pretty good reminder that Germans take their schedules very, very seriously.
I wasn’t worried. I am NEVER late for anything.
Eventually we made our way back down the mountain and killed some time around Lake Alpsee, safely within sight of the bus to reduce his anxiety.
Honestly, part of me wanted to miss it.
Oh no. We missed the bus. I guess we’ll just have to spend the night in Bavaria!
My son would not have appreciated this plan. He likes structure.
Me? Give me a good dinner and a couple of German beers and I’d probably sleep in the woods.
From Neuschwanstein Photographs to Watercolor Paintings
That short visit to Neuschwanstein has already turned into numerous watercolor paintings, which is exactly why I travel. I come home with photographs, painting ideas and memories that stick around long after the trip is over.
Purchase the original painting & fine art prints
For me, those experiences are worth more than having a bigger house or more stuff.
I’ll probably paint Neuschwanstein many more times.
And I’ll still remember that Sunday in Bavaria every time I do.
Ryan Fox AWS, NWS, TWSA
Ryan Fox Painting
(919) 645-8345