Neuschwanstein & Hohenschwangau - aka the castles that inspired Disney

A dreamy deep-dive into Ludwig’s fairytale obsession—secret caves, swan rooms, and the castle that Disney didn’t have to imagine.

Wow. Neuschwanstein.

I mostly came for the iconic photos, and didn’t know what to expect inside, but wow.

Papa Bear (as always) planned and bought tickets months ago. You need to—this place sells out fast.

Quick history:

• Built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria in the 1800s

• Inspired by Wagner’s operas and his father’s castle, Hohenschwangau

• Ludwig died mysteriously in a lake just days after being declared insane—by doctors who never examined him

No photos are allowed inside, so I take some “photos of the photo book” in the gift shop.

This castle is a fantasy—literally. It was built with modern plumbing, but designed to look medieval. Inside, it’s a blend of Gothic, Byzantine, and pure fairytale.

The Swan Room, yeh he loved swans, has a giant porcelain swan costing 30,000 Euros. There are swans on seat cushions, candelabra, and everything in between. The Swan room has paintings on rough canvas to mimic tapestries, yes in swan theme.

The bedroom is gothic style, and the bed has over 100 hand-carved wooden spires. All I can think about when I see that is, wow, that’s so ornate, I love the warm wood feel, and that’s going to be a lot of dusting!

There's even a man-made cave—just like the walk-through attractions in Disneyland. Ludwig basically designed his own theme park.

The shiniest room? The throne room. The 2,200-pound candelabra of gilded brass and designed in the shape of a crown, hanging dramatically beneath the richly painted Byzantine-style dome, says it all.

The most ornate room? The ballroom / concert room. Byzantine style with gilded columns and a carved wooden ceiling designed for acoustics. Every inch of this place is filled with story, not an inch of white wall.

Oh, and it was never finished. Ludwig died just two weeks after the concert hall was completed. His debts were massive. It’s tragic, but also... magnificent.

After the whirlwind 30-minute tour of the castle, we exit and look for slugs, and find some large ones. Baby bear’s favorite feature of the castle.

Lunch by the Alpinsee

For lunch, we sit lakeside and grab a pork belly sandwich from the only café around. The bun looks sad. And in America, it would be sad. But we’re in Germany, and it tastes like a morning baguette in Paris. I haven’t had a bad piece of bread here yet. Even the 3-day-old bread I’ve been hauling around as bird feed turned into delicious croutons on its own.

Hohenschwangau - the father’s castle

Then, it’s time for Castle #2: Hohenschwangau, the yellow one next door. This is the father’s castle—King Maximilian II, Ludwig’s dad.

We miss the entrance time (1:40pm is not 1:50pm, oops). Luckily, the guard lets us in via the back servant staircase.

This castle is also beautifully painted—no blank walls. The king’s bedroom is painted to look like a forest, and the ceiling twinkles with fake stars, lit from behind like a pre-electric sky. It's the forest-sprite version of a racecar bed.

This is where Ludwig was raised, surrounded by painted fairytales and dreamy murals. No wonder he grew up wanting to build castles inspired by Wagner and legends.

Apparently, Wagner himself and the Hans Christian Andersen, the famous Danish fairy tale author of The Snow Queen (now re-made into Frozen) stayed here as guests!

This morning, Papa Bear asks:
“If you could buy one palace, which one would it be?”
I had said the Wurzburg residence that we visited a few days ago. A Rococo-style palace, situated next to a beautiful city.

His answer: Neuschwanstein. I might change my answer too.
Baby Bear agrees—though she says there’s too much gilded gold, and she’d rather redecorate some of the unfinished rooms.

If only!

Back at our apartment for one final night, we find our own secret doors in our own “castle.” And Baby Bear opts to sleep in the “drawer” of her European pull-out bed.

Bonus photo of Baby Bear discovering all the berries of Germany, including the mysterious round red berry that’s showing up in the oatmeal.