I went back to Schloss Neuschwanstein last month and there is very steep 15 minute (very fast) walk to get up to the castle and once there you can’t see it that well due to the surrounding trees. Being winter, you could make out the castle without any problems but it’s hard to get a good photo. I still didn’t go inside because I knew I’d die of boredom but it wasn’t even worth going up the hill. I’m just glad I walked up and didn’t spend 6 euros on a smelly horse and buggy ride up the hill which took the same time as walking.

At least the weather was better on this trip so I took some more photos. Unfortunately I was still using my old crappy point and shoot camera back then so the photos aren’t that great and I couldn’t get a close up of the schloss. I don’t think there will be a third visit though.

There will be a fourth visit to Munich.

Disclaimer: These photos do not represent the good food in Munich. These meals were, umm, different.

Dusseldorf is much more upmarket than Cologne which is evident when you walk down the main street, Konigsallee. A beautiful tree lined street with all of the top designer stores. I read that Dusseldorf is the fashion capital of Germany and I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case.

As for touristy things to do, they have a cute little altstadt with lots of typically German pubs and restaurants. Around 85% of Dusseldorf was destroyed during the war but it seems like they rebuilt quite a lot in the traditional style. As a whole, the city is very modern but I didn’t see a lot of those crappy apartment blocks you see in Cologne and some other German cities. A trip up the TV tower showed just how large the city is but we couldn’t see too far as it was snowing when we went up.

Most of the time we were there, the temperature was around –5C to –8C and snowing. Lucky I had my Doc Martens on! I love the snow and think it made the city look beautiful. I’m sure in summer the city would be very green as there were trees everywhere and lots of parks and gardens. I’ll probably visit again in the summer.

Frankfurt has a very small old town which had been rebuilt after the war. In fact, it seems like pretty much the entire city was rebuilt after the war. Still there were plenty of traditional pubs and cafes and we enjoyed trying them all out It’s clearly a very wealthy city as we spotted 7 or 8 Ferrari’s and a couple of Lamborghini’s and numerous other high end sports cars. Not surprising seeing Frankfurt is the financial capital of Germany.

What I loved most about the city was our hotel! The Roomers hotel is super modern and the spa on the top floor was incredible. You could have drinks while overlooking the city and then relax in the spa, sauna, and steam room. Plus they had these heated stone bed type things and a water massage bed which was the most relaxing thing ever. A 5 star hotel and only 78 euros per night. I think that is my favourite hotel of all time!

The only good thing was the surrounding scenery which was extremely beautiful. Lakes, mountains, and fresh air…

What I remember most about Bamburg is that the hotel we stayed in would turn the heating off at 1am meaning by 3am I was freezing and had to have a hot bath to try to warm up. Why would you turn the heating off in the middle of the night in the middle of winter?