Today we visited King Ludwig II's two famous castles near the German-Austrian border, Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau. Following the advice of our guidebook, we woke early to be sure to have plenty of time to get tickets. Travellers are assigned a set time to visit each castle and reminded that there are no refunds if they miss their allotted time. The castle visits are spaced two hours apart. Though the tours are only ~ 35 minutes in duration, it was still a bit of a rush to get two young kids between the castles with bathroom stops along the way.
We started at Hohenschwangau, the yellow castle where Ludwig grew up. Our guide spoke perfect english and provided a thorough tour of each room- pointing out interesting tidbits such as the secret door and passageway between the king's and queen's bedrooms. The castle was bright and elegant with much of the original furnishings.
After the first castle, we walked back down one hill and caught a horse and carriage ride up the much steeper mountain to Neuschwanstein. This castle was only ~ 1/3 finished on the interior as King Ludwig had died young before its completion. It was immediately converted into a museum to help pay the royal family's debts. Neuschwanstein had a much darker, Gothic look and had been dedicated to Wagner, a family friend. Every finished room was themed after a Wagnerian opera. The top floor was a theater with excellent acoustics designed for showing operas. Though it never held a performance for Ludwig, it now offers classical musical performances every summer.
After our tour, we had lunch at the castle cafe and then headed up to Marienbrucke (Mary's Bridge) for a view of this Disney like castle before catching a shuttle bus back down.
For dinner we went to an incredible Italian eatery and ordered twice as much food as we could ever eat (on accident) to warm us up after a cold day of touring.
The response from Adventure Life to my first inquiry was prompt and promising. I worked with Jamie Broeckel, Trip Planner, via text, email, and phone calls- always extremely responsive and thorough with information and explaining the process to arrange a private tour for me to Malaysia Borneo. Within about week, the booking was complete and I made decisions because of Jamie's great customer service , friendly manner, and overall competence on behalf of the company's travel expertise. Now I have an itinerary, additional Trip Planner Assistants, several links for vital information for traveling to Maylasia, etc. Still many details for Sept. trip, but now the heavy lifting is done and I can enjoy the rest of the anticipation and research!! Thanks Jamie- you are amazing!!!!
Susan Campo
2 days ago
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
3 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.