Capturing Neuschwanstein

27 thoughts on “Capturing Neuschwanstein”

  1. I’m so glad you were able to get the view and photos you hoped for! Even though the bridge was open when I visited, it was a cold and rainy day and the fog was too thick to see 3 feet in front of you, let alone the castle in the distance. It was still a memorable experience, but definitely gives me reason to return. :)

  2. Hi justin! I’m so glad I saw ur blog! It’s inspiring and helpful! And I get what u mean when u go to a place expecting great pictures and deal with some unexpected things so u don’t get the pictures u want…..But then in the end you end up with awesome ones! I also just researched that the bridge is closed so that’s a bummer but after reading ur post I’m a little hopeful to possibly also get some good shots of the castle. I have some questions for u. Did u rent a car and drive around the area? Or did U train/bus? We’ll be coming from Munich. Also is Hohenschwangau and Linderof in close proximity? Can you walk them? And how is the parking, is it full/difficult to find? We plan on going end of March. Is the drive (roads) to get to these places pretty busy/safe, etc. Oh and it is best to go in the morning for better lighting? Sorry for all the questions!

    1. Hi Ellen! Yes we rented a car through EuRopcar in Freilassing, Germany. We stayed in Salzburg, Innsbruck, Schwangau, Fussen, and Heidelberg, and drove to all of our destinations. It is definitely best to have your own car rather than to rely on public transport because it gives you so much more freedom to go when and where you want, and in the end, is probably about the same in cost as it would be for bus and train tickets! We arrived in Munich as well – took the train to Freilassing, rented our car there, then drove into Austria. In the city of Schwangau, both Neuschwanstein castle and Hohenschwangau are very close to each other, and easily walkable between the 2. I’m not sure about Linderhof, as we didn’t go there. There was ample parking in the town – it is a very tourist heavy area, so they make sure and have plenty of parking available. It’s a very small village, so you can’t miss the massive parking area. We stayed at a hotel just below the castle, so we just parked at our hotel’s garage. The roads on our way there were very safe, easy to navigate, and extremely scenic the whole way! Be prepared to stop along the way at the pullouts for photo ops :) In March, your best bet will be to visit in the afternoon, as in the morning it takes the sun a while to rise above the mountains that surround the area, so the castle will be in shadow until the sun peeks out. Hope that helps, let me know if you have any other questions!

  3. We also visited Neuschwanstein last month with the same glorious weather you had. Thank you for your picture from your hike up the mountain. We will add it to our pictures for our trip. After we completed our visit by about 2 pm, we drove to the Linderhof castle through gorgeous Austrian forests and lakes; Linderhof is small but very beautiful inside. Too bad you didn’t get to see it. And I agree that travelling by car is the best to see the surrounding country side, including be able to find beautiful places while driving that are not shown on normal tourist maps.

      1. Is it possible that we could get for our personal trip files digital copies of those two hillside photos? (We also were in Salzburg for Christmas; it was just lovely.) Thanks.

  4. Hallo Justin!

    really amazing pictures! congrats!

    i was thinking on visiting Neuschwanstein from Stuttgart this Saturday (sunny sunny day after snow week), but i just discovered that the Marienbrücke is closed…it was really disappointing!

    The idea was to arrive early to the castle and enjoy the outside views (don’t interested on the interior tour) between 10-13h, and after that going to Zugspitze (1h ride) for enjoying panorama views on the same Saturday afternoon before the sunset!

    I would need some kind advice :) at what time did the sun started lighting the castle when you were there? is it too early between 10-13h? do you think it deserves the opportunity of enjoying the sunny day with the snowy landscape, even if the Marienbrücke is closed? is it easy to reach an alternative viewpoint like yours? (maybe there’s too much snow and its more difficult…)

    Many many thanks! i’ll be waiting for your answer :)

    Best regards,

    Victor

    1. Hi Victor,
      I would say it was around 13 – 15h that the castle was illuminated by the sun, just a very short window of opportunity! It was completely free of snow when we arrived, and I feel that if there is a significant amount of snow on the ground now, the view point we found might be inaccessible or dangerous. It was very much off the beaten path and right on the edge of a massive vertical drop. You might find your day better spent at the Zugspitze and the Tegelbergbahn (where you can also get good views of the castle from the cable car) if it is a lot of snow on the ground. If it’s not too snow covered, I’d say it is worth it! That’s my thoughts on it anyway!

  5. Oh, the fairy-tale castle that I never can remember the name of!
    I’ve always wanted to go but I’m afraid that when I get there one day it might not be as good as I have imagined.

  6. One of the most photographed castles in the world is Neuschwanstein. I for one am glad they are fixing that bridge. as a person who has been on the bridge when it’s jam packed with people i can tell you there was movement in the bridge and it did not feel overly safe. I quickly got off there after taking a few pictures. Great find for you and your amazing pictures

  7. I would have been doing the same thing as you..searching for a way to take the photo! It can be such a bummer to visit a place only to find out something you wanted to see is closed or under renovation. I’d really love to visit Neuschwanstein. Any word on when the bridge will reopen?

  8. While I love the sentiment and emotion you capture in this post, it pains me that the pictures are taken with a phone camera.

  9. Thanks for the directions! Very useful. At the moment the marienbrucke is under construction (again), and everything is closed off, however, it seems that once forgotten, secret trail had become a second marienbrucke. Many people climb over/under/through the wooden fence or shove the construction fence aside to get to this lookout ridge. I was here yesterday and saw at least 50 people doing that in just 15 minutes time. So it seems it has become the new selfie spot.

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