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 agent had great response to questions and coordinated well to create an itinerary that met our expectations.
Bob Sunshine
1 day ago
Very responsive to all questions
Teresa Cardoso
2 days ago
Kelly and Rhenee were excellent to work with on planning our trip. The logistics all worked smoothly and everyone was friendly and on time. Our accommodations were very good, particularly the incredible Patagonia Camp in Torres del Paine! Our guides on every excursion were outstanding and made the hikes memorable! Overall we had a wonderful trip with incredible memories!
Scott Gibson
2 days ago
Adventure Life is definitely a first-class safari tour company, and our representative was Franny Friesz. First of all, she responded immediately after we contacted Adventure Life. We told Franny that we had never been on a safari, and she was more than eager to offer a mountain of information about the trip. She informed us fully about all the ups, downs, and all arounds! She even prepared a number of packages for us to review -- even after we made changes to the areas we wanted to explore. Friendly, helpful, professional, and extremely knowledgeable -- these words describe Franny, and what a wonderful trip she prepared! We couldn't have asked for better service than Franny of Adventure Life. We HIGHLY recommend her and her outstanding company! Bon Voyage!
Prima Burke
3 days ago
The staff at Adventure Life made planning my family's trip to the Galapagos Islands as easy as possible. They listened to what we were hoping to experience and made thoughtful suggestions about how to accomplish our vacation goals while meeting the needs of travelers ages 17-76! They patiently answered questions and follow up questions in the months leading up to the trip. They helped us trouble shoot and customize the trip in every way possible. The logistics involved in traveling from Boston to the Galapagos are innumerable. The Adventure Life staff helped us arrange every detail and the team they assembled in the Galapagos was tremendous. I have never done a trip this big before and after working with Adventure Life this time--would not hesitate one second in working with them again.