The Romantic Road to the Castles

Roman emperor Claudius constructed a major road connecting Rome to its Northern boundaries. This road, the Via Claudia, was the main trade route of its day. Flash forward to today's time, the road is still around, but now used for tourists. The Romantic Road, runs from Wurzburg in the north to the Disney castles in Fussen in the South. We left Rothenburg Tuesday morning and traveled along the Road for the better part of the day, stopping at other Medieval towns along the trip. Stops included Dinkelsbuhl (pictured above), Nordlingen, and Lansberg. We tried to bypass the larger towns such as Augsburg.

As we were closer to the Southern end of the Road, the Alps came in to play. It was definitely one of the most breath taking views of our loves. The towns and views in the South where exactly what you imagine when you think of Bavaria. Fussen itself was beautiful. Built along a major water route and at the base of the Alps, you can imagine the view. There is a former Roman Castle that overlooks the city to provide protection. This was our nicest hotel by far and the food was good. Found my favorite beer in Fussen, Konig Ludwig Dunkel, but doubt it can be found in the US. Shopping was poor here, little too touristy for our taste.

The main attraction of the area are "Mad" King Ludwig's Castles (Konigsschlosser) in the Alps. There are three castles in the area and two are the main attraction. Ludwig was a Bavarian King in the 1800's. The first castle was his family's Summer retreat, Hohenschwangau. This was the more interesting of the tours and definitely more intimate and informative. It was a smaller castle and not what we expected.

The larger of the two, Neuschwanstein, was his dream castle. This was the model used by Walt Disney to design Cinderella's Castle in Disneyworld. The castle was only partially finished and only lived in for 172 days. However, the exterior was completed and it is an amazing view. The tour left a little to be desired. 60 people ushered into each room for a whopping total of 30 minutes (total, not each room!). Needless to say, you leave scratching your head. All in all, even with the rushed tours and constant souvenir shops, the castles are an unbelievable place. The views from the Alps are amazing and one of our best meals at a sausage stand at the base of the hills.

From here, we left an drove 15 minutes away to the Wieskirche, Pilgrim Church, which is Germany's greatest Rococo-style church. The exterior of the church is rather boring, but the interior is breathtaking. It was constructed in the middle of a meadow overlooking the Alps and dedicated to all Pilgrims. From here we drive into the Alps......