Romantic road, a must see | Germany

When one of our hiking plans was sadly washed away by bad weather. We decided to instead make the trip more sassy and did part of the famous romantic road. The romantic road is a drive through the southern province of Bavaria and Baden Württemberg in Germany. This jaunt took us through grand castles set on hill tops, medieval fortified towns, baroque churches and on to the foot of the mighty alps.

There were people young and old dressed as per Bavarian customs. It started feeling like a movie set. Everything screen played to perfection, from the colorful dresses, the location set in the foot of alps and the radiant smiles of locals. Here are the highlights of this dreamy road trip complete with fairy tale castles.

Just a usual day in Bavaria

Our home for the trip

Neuschwanstein castle

The Bavarian king Ludwig II held the reputation of using the royal treasury funds to turn his ambitious architecture projects to reality. The Neuschwanstein castle set high on a mountain behind a panorama of alps is one such. It is also an inspiration for the Walt Disney splash screen and does look straight out of fairy tale. We started imagining ourselves in the royal castle, but were jolted back to reality seeing the queue for entry. Despite the weather, the place was super crowded with tourist and we waited for about an hour to get the tickets. While its free to explore the exterior of the castle, entry is only possible if you are on a tour. We would highly recommend making the reservations in advance to zoom past the queue line.

Hohenschwangau castle was the childhood residence of King Ludwig

Lech falls just outside the town of Fussen are a must see for the unbelievable turquoise color of the water. If you have the time we highly recommend hiking to Kalvarienberg for beautiful views of the alps. It is a short 30 min hike but is well worth the vistas from the top.

The uniquely colored stream feeding the lech falls

Schloss Linderhof

This palace is a short drive from the town of Ettal. We wrote about Ettal and how we spent an entire weekend adoring this charming town. While Neuschwanstein castle was built for Ludwig, he sadly never got a chance to live in and passed away before it was complete. The Linderhof palace is the one he actually stayed in. Its real gem of baroque style architecture with grand interiors, fountains all around the palace, meticulously landscaped gardens. The best was a chandelier made entirely of ivory decorating the room of mirrors.

Linderhof castle perfectly set on the foot of the alps and surrounded by green in every direction

There is also an artificial Venus grotto lit up by colored lights. A royal seat and a gilt boat in the shape of a shell complete the look of this famous cave. The cave is a short walk through this gorgeous tunnel of creepers.

Pfaffenwinkel

This tongue twister of a name actually means priests corner in German and true to its name is dotted with churches and monasteries small and big splattered across the rolling green meadows. The biggest among them, the wieskriche is also a pilgrimage site for the locals. It was recommended to us by a lady at the breakfast table and we were glad we paid a visit. This rococo church set in the in the Allgäu Steingaden surrounded by the towering alps had the most intricate altar, an exquisitely designed dome fresco and ornately decorated interiors.

The famous Wieskriche was under renovation

Marvelling at the painting on the ceiling

Dinkelsbühl

This is a completely fortified town with more than a dozen of strategically placed watch towers. The half-timbered houses survived two world wars going unscathed preserving all medieval architectures. Walking down the cobbled streets admiring the colorful houses, the beautiful Gothic cathedral of St. George is like going back in time.

The main square of Dinkelsbhul

Interior of the St.George cathedral, simple concrete and wood but exquisite at the same time

Rothenburg

This is the most famous medieval town bursting with super lively people and the aroma of fresh bakes calling out. The town built on the gentle slope of a hill was fortified in the past and still holds its charm. The best way to explore is on foot. Walking along the walls offers interesting perspectives of the town and views of the Tauber river.

Entry into the town is through one of these gates

the old town and watch tower in the distance

Garmisch patenkirchen

We continued to the most picturesque region south of Germany to the foot of Mt Zugspitze. A cable car ride and we found ourselves on the top of highest mountain in Germany. The summit area was completely abuzz with a restaurant, food carts, bbqs, picnic tables and even lounge chairs, talk about convenience. But if you want to experience the solace and tranquility of being on a mountain, this comes no where close. Nevertheless with unparalleled views that surrounded us we had no qualms.