Swan Eye Spy in Hohenschwangau Castle

Sunday morning after our Easter egg tricks with the coffee cups, R smiled really wide as he tucked his magic chocolate-producing paper doilie in his pocket. He said that he knew the doilies weren't really magical, but he kept it just in case. We were then off for another car ride to the Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau Castles in Fussen, Germany.

This is Hohenschwangau Castle, our first stop. Hohenschwangau Castle holds 30 minute tours relating stories about Maximilian (the father) and King Ludwig (his son), who built Neuschwanstein Castle. Maximilian built Hohenschwangau in 1832 over the ruins of a medieval castle. We're unsure of the number of stairs and ramps ascending to each castle, but as we're quickly getting accustomed to, we each got our "European stairmaster workout" in for the day and it's called sightseeing.

We couldn't have asked for more beautiful weather!

Swans accentuate the decor of many rooms in Hohenschwangau and J instantly became involved in a game of eye-spy as soon as our tour guide related that information to us! A favorite animal among the family, the swan became their symbol. He claimed there were over 200 different swans in the rooms of the castle within the paintings on the walls, fabric on chairs, decorations on chandeliers, or just swan figurines. We're not really sure of her final number, but it definitely kept our 5 year old interested!
You can see Neuschwanstein Castle from Hohenschwangau Castle, and King Ludwig kept careful watch as it was being built through the telescope in his dressing room.

Unfortunately his castle was never finished. We took a carriage ride up to the castle since we had senior citizens and children with us. He only finished 1/3 of the project before his questionable death - suicide or murder? However, the finished parts were extravagant with his crown room decked out with marble and tile floors and a chandelier made to look like a king's royal crown. Too bad I couldn't have sneaked a picture!


Can you see the resemblance to Cinderella's castle in Disney's Magic Kingdom? Supposedly this was the inspiration for it!
After enjoying our German feast gazing at the castles and sunset, K punched in the address on the GPS for our next hotel that night. We were exhausted and ready for bed, but our TomTom said it would take 3 hours to drive to the hotel. How did we make that mistake? We were supposed to be staying close to the area. We finally figured out there is another Hotel Miximilian 3 hours away in another city, and I accidentally had written down their address. Fortunately we had booked the correct hotel only 20 minutes away. How ironic that when I hung up with the sweet lady from Hotel Maximilian only days earlier while making the reservation, she didn't ask for a credit number to hold the room like in the US, but said she trusted me that we'd be there to fill two rooms Sunday night. We wouldn't have wanted to miss the sweet family that owned this hotel (not to mention the 20 minute drive instead of 3 hours). They were very family oriented and even had a trampoline to keep my two kids smiling - as if we hadn't gotten enough exercise the last two days!