I'm hoping to do the Neuschwanstein and Ehrenberg castles in a one day trip from our home base near Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Any tips on how much time I should allot to Ehrenberg? (We're hoping to do an early blitz through Neuschwanstein and don't plan on dwelling on it too much.)
I should also mention that we're 4 young-er adults, one of whom isn't big on hiking but who could be cool with spending extra time in the museum or reading outside while the others hike to a higher point. Thanks!
We just returned from Neuschwanstein area. While we could not visit Ehrenberg due to rain Neusch.. should not be rushed it is wonderful and magical. Maybe your friend could stay longer at Ludwigs castle or consider reading, sipping coffee and watching the nearby paragliders
soar thru the skies over this beautiful and tranquil area. We relaxed over a long lunch about 10 min from castle area.
I was there in 2001 and did both of these sites in one day. We spent the morning at Neuschwanstein (pre booked an early morning tour) and the afternoon at Ehrenberg. You have to hike to Ehrenberg but we still had plenty of time to enjoy the view and the snack that we brought with us. I liked putting the two together because of the contrast. Ehrenberg is ruins, Neuschwanstein is the oposite. Notes from my journal: We arrived at 9 to pick up our tickets for a 10:00 tour of Neuschwanstein. We pre-booked the tickets but allowed time to walk up to the castle and still be on time for the tour. The tour lasted about 40 minutes. Afterwards, we hiked up to Mary Bridge (beautiful views of the castle and area) We then drove to Reutte and stopped at a grocery store for food and then hiked up Ehrenberg. I wrote "it was a short, but steep hike" (my husband and I hike all the time, so our short might seem "medium" distance to others) Afterwards we still had time to go back to Fussen and walk around. I don't remember feeling rushed at any of this so it is very doable. I know they have done a lot more work around Ehrenberg, so there might be more to see there now. When we were there, there was no museum or anything so your friend should bring a book. Have fun.
We went after doing Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau first thing in the morning. We didn't go all the way to the top. We hiked to the first set of ruins and wandered for maybe an hour or hour and a half. We looked up the trail to the second set. It was really steep and we wanted to go on the luges before they closed so we headed back down.
If I had to do it again, I would go to the top (it turned out the luges had closed the week before, we were there in mid-October).
If you do include the upper ruins, plan a half day. Is your non-hiking friend okay with you being gone for three or four hours?
I don't 3-4hrs is a good thing...but I bet we all four would go up to the first castle at least. That last 'steep' section is likely to be boycotted by at least that one person...ha! Thanks esp. Connie for the time details, helps a lot!
You need to allow far more time than you expect to use because of the large amount of walking involved in each location.
There is no way for any of us to estimate the amount of time for you.
I know it's hard Carl, that's why I'm looking for pointers. If a lot of people post and say 8hrs there wasn't enough, then I know something. Something is better than nothing, and that's what I'm shooting for.
