Legos and Castles

Once we got to Legoland, the kids were in heaven. We stayed at the Legoland Holiday Village where even our room number was made out of legos. There were things for kids to do everywhere — themed playgrounds in each suite of cabins, a ropes course, and a 4-wheel race track. A short 5-minute walk got us to Legoland, where even more fun awaited. Henry loves LegolandWe had lost most of our first day traveling, so we wasted no time getting over there to check it out.

Legoland has several themed areas with rides for kids, play areas, shops, and everything made out of Legos. One of our favorite areas was called miniland, where there were miniaturized European cities and landmarks made completely out of Legos, including Switzerland, the Netherlands, Berlin, Neuschwanstein castle, oh and, oddly, some famous scenes from Star Wars. It was my favorite area, but I was suprised that the kids also thought it was really cool.Riding the coasters

We were lucky to have gorgeous weather while we were there, and since it was off-season there were no crowds or lines. So, even though we had limited time, the kids were able to go on every ride they wanted (several times in some cases). Unfortunately, Henry got bowled over by a teenage boy and face-planted into the pavement. But, other than that, the kids all had a blast. They also spent their hard-earned allowance money in the Lego store. And before we knew it, it was time to move on to our next destination.

We took buses and trains from Günzberg to Hohenschwangau, Germany, home of the international tourist attraction – Neuschwanstein castle. Hohenschwangau is incredibly beautiful, but it feels like a different world. We heard almost no German being spoken, mostly English, Chinese and Japanese. There are packed hotels, souvenier stores on every corner, and lots of huge tour buses. There are many South Asian staff at the hotels and restaurants wearing dirndls. Somehow, it doesn’t quite add up.

But, we had a very nice family suite in a hotel with a view of the castle, and our visit was still filled with several memorable experiences. Saturday morning, we took the kids up to Neuschwanstein on a horse-drawn carriage. We toured the castle with a lot of very friendly and patient Neuschwanstein from MarienbruckeEnglish-speaking people from America, Australia, and Britain who all thought Henry was adorable and forgave his disruptions. After the tour, we hiked over to the Marienbrücke, a stunning footbridge spanning a mountain waterfall with a beautiful view of the castle. We descended back to town where we ate lunch at an outdoor restaurant on the Alpsee, the blue lake nestled in the mountains. It was idyllic except for the previously mentioned incident at the end of the meal.

The boys were a little castled-out and preferred to stay at the hotel to nap and play with their Legos. So, Emily and I visited the lesser-known

Sunset on the Alpseecastle of Hohenschwangau. It is smaller than Neuschwanstein, but has more history as the summer and hunting residence of the Wittelsbach Bavarian royal family. We all watched the sunset over the lake and the castles, which was a beautiful way to end our German vacation.

We took so many pictures during this part of the trip. The best ones are in our gallery, which can be seen here.

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