Beyond Neuschwanstein (WITH GALLERY)

A few years ago I described a visit to King Ludwig II’s Neuschwanstein castle thusly:

“It’s probably the most over-visited landmark in Europe, the lines to get in are often insufferable and the hike up to it is exhausting. And I’ve been through it four times.”

Since then, make that five visits.

What makes Neuschwanstein castle so compelling? Could it be its sheer fairy tale romanticism (that inspired Walt Disney’s Sleeping Beauty Castle)? Could it be the mystique surrounding the most famous ruler of the Wittelsbach dynasty? Could it be the stunning, over-the-top Wagnerian-themed décor? Or the castle’s breathtakingly gorgeous locale in the Ostallgäu region?

All of the above periodically draw me  — and countless others who keep going back there again and again —once more aboard a train winding through beautiful Bavaria from Munich en route to charming Füssen, the closest rail stop to the castle.

Get on the bus

As the train pulls into the Füssen station (the closest rail stop to the castle), make sure you’ve gathered your stuff. You may have noticed you’re sharing the train with hordes of Asian tourists. They are all going to Neuschwanstein, too. They will all take the same “castles” bus you want. Unless you want to stand crammed in the back of the bus, you need to board it first.

As soon as the train halts, grab your stuff, dash through the station and out the other side where the bus will be waiting. Traveling first-class is helpful as those carriages pull into the station first. Fortunately, most of the tourists from the Orient travel in packs and take a few moments to get organized. Your expedited charge will be rewarded once they get their bearings and descend on the bus aboard which you’re already comfortably seated.

Spend the night

Sadly, most visitors to Neuschwanstein make a beeline for the castle, run through it, and after a couple oohs and ahhs at the vistas, head back to Füssen and grab the return train to Munich. What they miss is the entire reason why King Ludwig II was so enamored with the region.

It is hands-down, slap-yo-mama, drop-dead gorgeous. It is stunning. Words fail me when trying to describe the beauty of what the regional tourism authorities dubbed “the King’s Corner.” It is one of those rarified places on earth that only improves the more you immerse yourself in it.

And that means spending the night. The two closest villages to Schloss (“castle”) Neuschwanstein and its neighbor castle, Hohenschwangau, which is where Ludwig and his brother were raised, are Schwangau and its suburb, also called Hohenschwangau. The latter lies clustered around the base of the hill on which its namesake reposes in all its ochre German romanticism splendor.

Schwangau is across the valley, about a 20-minute walk away. I’ve stayed in both towns, enjoying the quiet of the former and the evening activity in the latter. In particular, I love the cozy Gästehaus (guest house) Charlotte, run by genial Bastian family, whose breakfasts are those culinary triumphs for which the Germans are rightfully celebrated. In Hohenschwangau, the place to stay is Haus Weiher, whose proprietor, Frau Oswald, is an awesome baker.

Avoid the hoards

Markus Richter, a senior historian at Neuschwanstein, let me in on a little secret.

“We now can get a tour through the castle in less than 20 minutes,” he told me.

Neuschwanstein, Richter said, is one of the Free State of Bavaria’s most precious assets. The money generated by the tours — an average of 6,000 people a day in the summer, 1.3 million annually — helps support preservation and restoration of the province’s many other historical properties, including Ludwig II’s Herrenchiemsee and Linderhof palaces.

However, a ruler of Ludwig’s legendary stature and his world-famous castle deserve more time than the usual tour allows, which is why it is worth staying the night in the area. With your Ostallgäu guest card, issued by your guesthouse or hotel, you can buy a ticket for a special, extended tour available only to folks who linger and enjoy the region.

The tours are conducted every Monday evening from April to October at 7 p.m. Tickets are available only at the tourist information office in Schwangau.

“People can come up [to the castle] with the shuttle bus or the horses [horse carts] but the way back down they have to walk,” Richter said. “And very important, they need torches [flashlights] because when we finish it is 9.30 p.m. and already dark!”

What else to do

Two of the most memorable meals I have ever had in Germany were savored in the Ostallgäu. And I had packed both of them myself. The first was on a crisp, cold, beautiful Alpine winter’s day. We sat shivering in a school bus shelter in Schwangau, eating a lunch that included delicious cakes Frau Oswald had given us after breakfast.

The second lunch was enjoyed while perched on an outcropping on the mountainous hills behind Neuschwanstein, overlooking the castle and beyond. We had bought the hunter’s sausage, cheese, bread, juice and pastries at a market in Schwangau on our walk across the valley.

The Germans love hiking, and the entire nation is crisscrossed with public walking trails. The hills around Neuschwanstein are no exception. After crossing the Marienbrücke (Maria’s Bridge) behind the castle, the trail winds up to a gorgeous view overlooking the castles and the valley. A signpost warns in multiple languages, “Do not leave the path! Danger!”

We immediately left the path.

The more “rugged” path, which is certainly “unofficial,” but nevertheless is clearly worn and easy to follow, is preferred for its ever-changing views of Neuschwanstein. After an hour or so of hiking — and only a bit of climbing — we were looking down on Ludwig’s masterpiece.

After a day of hiking, there’s nothing like a wallow in the thermal pools at the Königliche Kristall-Therme, the Royal Crystal Spa, which was a five-minute walk from our guesthouse. Herr Bastian sold us a discounted ticket just for overnight guests, another good reason to linger in the area. During a winter visit, we found it great fun to soak in the hot outdoor pools just feet from piled snow banks! (The dash from the pools to the building, however, was awfully refreshing!)

Restaurants abound in both villages. In Hohenschwangau, restaurateurs have ample opportunity to command from an essentially captured audience stiffer-than-usual prices for their hearty regional fare, but surprisingly, they don’t. At the charming Hotel Müller, we enjoyed a filling supper at their excellent restaurant for no more than we would’ve paid in a friendly neighborhood eatery in any other small village.

Outside of Füssen, the lakeside Festspielhaus is one of the most state-of-the-art theatres in Germany. Past productions have included long-running Ludwig-themed musicals, but touring musicals and local festivals and concerts play there, too.

During September, the Schlosskonzerte (castle concerts) series takes place in Neuschwanstein’s ornate Singer’s Hall. Unlike poor Ludwig, who was arrested and — probably — assassinated before he could hear a single note in the hall, you can plunge into the music of Richard Wagner, whose works inspired not just the scenes from “Parzifal” that adorn the walls, but the entire castle itself, in a room designed specifically for Wagnerian music.

To Füssen mit Fuss

It’s a play on German. “Mit Fuss” means “by foot.” And that’s the best way to get back to the quaint town where your adventure in the King’s Corner began. More of those wonderful hiking paths continue through the valley back to Füssen. Give yourself plenty of time to enjoy the walk, which can take anywhere from 45 minutes to more than an hour, depending on which traisl you take. Then certainly allow time to stroll around town.

That elaborate trompe l’oeil style of façade painting popular in Bavaria is everywhere in evidence in the historic town, most notably on the face of the palace that watches over the community. There are also museums and restaurants a-plenty, plus loads of shops in case you want to pick up souvenirs from postcards and snowglobes to a dirndl or lederhosen ensemble.

But by immersing yourself in Ludwig’s kingdom, rather than taking the usual cursory glimpse at his castle, your most precious mementos will be the memories of having allowed the Bavarian Ostallgäu and the king’s romanticism to work their magic on you.

Click here to visit the photo gallery.

Visiting King Ludwig II’s realm

Websites (most have English-language options available from the home page):

Neuschwanstein Castle: www.neuschwanstein.com

Schwangau: www.schwangau.de

Hohenschwangau: www.hohenschwangau.de

Füssen: www.fuessen.de

Festspielhaus Shows: www.das-festspielhaus.de/spielprogramm (site is only in German)

Castle tour tickets: Available only at the ticket center in Hohenschwangau. Tickets are no longer available at the castle itself. Visit www.hohenschwangau.de and click on Information & Tickets for prices and reservations.

After-hours castle tours for guests of area hotels and inns: Mondays, 7 p.m., April through October, tickets available only at the Schwangau Tourist Information office, Münchener Str. 2, upon presentation of your Ostallgäu guest card.