New Years Eve in Füssen, Germany

Basics

• Our Childs Age: 1 - 2

• Suitable For: I would put my neck out and say any age. The gala dinner was fancy and older children may find this a little boring, but the entire package and things that are put on for you over your stay sort of make up for it

• Cost: 2020

  • 1,700 Euro – 7 nights, 2 adults and a child, all staying half board incl welcome drink, 7 course NYE gala dinner and entertainment, 1 Jan special breakfast, 4x dinners – 3 course or buffet, 1x 3 course dinner, 1x Candle light dinner, 2x coffee and cake

  • Torch and wine hike

  • Bubble bath in Jacuzzi

  • Free use of wellness and gym

Getting There

To get to Fussen you could fly to Munich and take public transport which takes a few hours, or if you hire a car, then Munich or Zurich airports would be good options to fly into. Getting there is quite easy on public transport, albeit a bit long, but with a car you are quite mobile to see the surrounding area which could be challenging without one

Füssen General

Have you heard of Füssen? Any idea of this small town or why I am suggesting it for a New Years Eve celebration? Perhaps Neuschwanstein sounds familiar? Still not?

Ok, I will tell you about it. Perhaps you know Cinderella’s castle from Disney? In fact, I think said castle is Disney’s symbol and trademark, isn’t it? This fairytale castle is actually real, and not only in the Magic Kingdom. Disney is said to have been inspired by the castle Neuschwanstein, in or near Füssen, Germany. Apart from not being pink, they certainly look similar, I guess the round tower is the give away. And the real stone-built castle is just as impressive and magical, fairytale esq as the Disney interpretation.

I don’t know a great deal about the history, it is not incredibly old, from what I understand, the King of Bavaria (Bavaria was a Kingdom and not part of Germany back in the day), King Ludwig II was a bit obsessed with building castles. He has several in this area, one, only a few hundred meters from Neuschwanstein in fact. I understand he lost a war and in his depressed state decided he needed a new castle, so began building this one. The reason it is so close to the other castle, was so his father would be forced to see the beauty of his new one from his windows.

The fairytale look doesn’t end with the outside walls. He actually had a fairytale grotto built inside the castle based on Richard Wagner’s Tannhauser. Ludwig sort of lived in a fantasy world, his mental getaway, perhaps feeling it was a better place to live than the real world.

Inside was never finished. He had spent all his money and the Kingdoms cash. There is speculation about what happened to him, it seems he went a bit mad and fell into a lake, now how close to reality that is, it is questionable. I don’t doubt the lake bit, but being mad and falling in could be interpreted as possibly being disposed of for the greater good of the Kingdom...but who am I to speculate?!

Füssen itself may be less known outside of Germany and the surrounding area, but the castle here is world famous, either the real one, with it appearing on your social media feeds “worlds best castles…” or indirectly, by knowing the pink Disney interpretation of it.

The Hotel

We stayed in Hotel Schlosskrone. This New Year Celebration I found to be probably our best value. It was really great, not just in terms of price, but all the effort the hotel made and the program available. It is either the best or the second-best hotel in town, as we stayed here, let’s refer to it as the best in Füssen. I gather they make their money in the summer time with full bookings and winter here is generally quiet, hence the good deal they offer.

The hotel is at the top of town just at the start of the pedestrian street across the road. It doesn’t seem so big from the outside, looks can be deceiving! Inside is a bar and restaurant, Italian style called Chilli’s, down stairs a wine cellar and restaurant, 2 breakfast rooms which are coffee shops and restaurants at various times of the day and it seems a historic and famous bakery, with the bakery dating from 1896 called Kurcafe.

There is underground parking at the hotel. Now... this would be my only negative, there is nothing the hotel can do, it is what it is, and having parking in historic places often means going underground, so they have done what they can. The parking has E-charging points and a lift taking guests up to reception. I know it all sounds fairly standard so far. My issue was how tight the space was. Parking spaces and each level weren’t so bad, a bit tight but manageable. Going up and down the very steep spiral ramp, wow, maybe I am just not a great driver or bad at judging the car size, but getting up and down this ramp was a tad stressful. Myself, I was unable to do it in one go in an estate car, I had to reverse on the ramp and re-align to complete the second part of it. I know it sounds ok, but combined with how steep it was and the tight space we are talking about. How I didn’t have a scrape is a mystery, I do somehow expect that was one of two miracles needed to be canonised. It is possible, but tight, you may be a better driver than me and can take this in your stride. There were certainly bigger cars than mine parked and scratch free. Good luck.

The hotel is old and historic, a bit fancy. The room was a bit on the smaller side, it was fine though, we had room for us, and at that time our son was in a cot which was in the room, as was the pushchair, so big enough for all of that. We had a small balcony, almost a Juliette balcony facing the town.

We checked in and set up the room the usual way, our portable Christmas tree was set up and the cards put up on display. We like to still make the most of the decorations and festive spirit so ensure our room is Christmassy even if we are away from our home.

As part of our stay here we had a full itinerary and package included. We had a welcome drink, food in each of the restaurants on differing evenings, as well as the New Years Gala Dinner with music entertainment. Cake and coffee in the famous bakery. They had a night-time walking tour one evening which took you around the town, seeing the sights and explaining things, it continued slightly into the countryside and up a hill using torch light for a mulled wine / Gluhwein at the top for what the hotel owners called the best view of the town and castles – remember our child was 1 at the time, and we managed with the pushchair and baby carrier, easily enough. The push chair in town was fine, the slight part going up the hill in the meadow, a push chair wouldn’t really work, you would need the carrier if you have a small child.

Our stay here was great. Yes, it represented value but it was anyway such a nice place, with the hotel owners taking pride and making an effort to ensure the guests, all guests, had the best stay and time over this period. I really appreciated this and yes, I try to find new ideas and destinations each year, however, this one has never left my mind and is always a fallback option for me if I lack inspiration one year, I know I can go here and have the best time.

Quick tip regarding staying at this hotel and grabbing supplies, like water for the room, drinks and snacks for example. Go out of the hotel and turn left, a few hundred meters is a super market. It’s a super market rather than a convenient store, you will be able to get everything there.

Füssen

The town or village is small; there is a pedestrian high street to walk along with some shops and nice buildings to look at. As if 2 castles in the close area were not enough, yes there is a castle in the town as well, Hohes Schloss. Continue down the high street and come out the other end, you find the river, cross over the bridge, all the time admiring the nice views. Head to the right over the bridge and within a very short walk, you find yourself quite by accident in Austria. Füssen, although we didn’t know until crossing said bridge, is super close to Austria, it is right there, walking distance from the town. Granted, the boarder is a mere continuation of the road you are walking along, you do not find a town or any point of interest. But still, you can say you popped to another country.

The town or village of Füssen doesn’t have a great deal to do. It won’t take long or be full of activities walking around here. A bimble along the streets, shops, the historic buildings and castle plus seeing the river and bridge, is enough. You can fill a morning or afternoon looking around town but not much more.

Clearly the main attraction here is the fairytale castle. It is maybe a bit far to walk, or we are just too lazy. Public transport will get you there, or you can drive of course, it's close, 10 minutes or so. You will be parked or dropped off more at the bottom of the hill, and the walk up the hill to the main sites and places of interest takes you past shops, bars and restaurants. You should drop by and have a drink and food or snacks, it’s nice to take in where you are and enjoy the local dishes.

My recommendation is to look up the website for the castles and book the tickets for what you want to see and do in advance. It is popular and will sell out, showing up on the day will mean you queue for a lengthy time and may still be unlucky. There are different options and packages. The main is Neuschwanstein, and this is what everyone wants to see and do. I recommend it, you are here and really should, the fantasy grotto I liked a lot and, if I ever have a castle, I will have one built in my place too! You have no end of picture opportunities from all angles walking to and from the castle, it is very impressive.

While I am singing the praises of Neuschwanstein and I am sure this building is the reason most people come to this area, I want to really stress that the other castle, Hohenschwangau, should definitely not be missed. Do not go here and just decide to do Neuschwanstein. Firstly, Neuschwanstein, it was never finished, King Ludo run out of money, it’s something like 30% built, a tour inside here gives you a taster of how impressive it could have / should have been and his artistic mind drifting off into his fantasy world, to desire and have the inspiration to design something so grand and opulent. But the reality, inside is a half-finished building site! The outside is awe inspiring, the inside with what was built and what you imagine was to come, is incredible. You should go in and see it, it is great. But do not miss Hohenschwangau, the yellow castle behind the Disney looking one.

Hohenschwangau is on its own an impressive and beautiful castle, it is penalised for being next to a better looking one. Had this castle been built on a hill somewhere with no others around for miles it would also be a famous and well-known castle, the fact it is built next door to the one that inspired Disney is unfortunate. Hohenschwangau is a large square, well kept, yellowy walled castle, behind it a beautiful lake, Alpsee, in front of it, needing no introduction, Neuschwanstein. Neuschwanstein positioned in front on purpose so Maximilian II of Bavaria, father of King Ludwig II, had to look at his son’s much nicer castle. So why should you visit Hohenschwangau if you have already done the one next door? Will you have castle fatigue? The answer is quite simple – Hohenschwangau was finished! It was a finished, and fully occupied, functioning castle and palace, literally fit for a king. King Max, had as much taste, albeit less fantasy. Inside is stunning, very nicely decorated, the interior is incredible, exterior, as said, a really impressive castle. It is beautiful.

If you do decide to come to Füssen to visit the castles, my strong recommendation is to of course visit Neuschwanstein, you sort of have to, but do not neglect and miss Hohenschwangau. You should visit both, and I would say the yellow square one is the better one to see the inside of. Neuschwanstein is most impressive from the outside, inside is more left to the imagination of what could have been, Hohenschwangau is complete.

While here you have both castles to visit, the souvenir shops and restaurants on the walk to them, Alpsee lake behind the castles. There is also the museum of Bavarian Kings, which you can buy an entry ticket as part of a combination ticket with the castles, if you choose. We didn’t go and therefore are unable to review this. Finally, you should know about Marienbrücke or Mary’s Bridge. Usually there is a shuttle bus running you up to it for a fee, or you can walk it for free. The bridge giving the best views of Neuschwanstein Castle. I suggest checking before you start the 45 minute walk that it is open. If the weather is snowy or icy I hear it can be shut, just check it’s open before heading off. You are completely in the nature here and can wonder around if the weather is favourable.

Staying in Füssen and seeing the town of Fussen itself, could be more than most tourists do, who I am sure a huge percentage of, simply arrive, and head straight to the main castles. And in fairness, there is not loads to do in this area.

The castles and town would easily fill 2 days or more. In the immediate Füssen vicinity, you can visit the river and harbour. I expect it will be dead quiet this time of year and you won’t have boat options, however, to be outside and look around is nice all the same. You can hike up to the cemetery for a view and look out at the countryside.

I don’t think you should stroll through the town, especially around Christmas and New Year, without buying, and trying, a Schneeballen! A Bavarian or actually a Franconia, traditional fried dough ball coated in just about any sweet and indulging flavour or ingredient you can think of. Apparently, there is a traditional flavour, although go for exactly what you like. The shop, Stefanie Diller Schneeballenträume in Füssen, is well prepared and well stocked, they will happily prepare a nice box with the selection of your choice, for you or for friends and family as a great gift from your trip. The Schneeballen is not from Füssen, it is from another town quite away (which we will go to for the markets and blog on one year soon), it is a Franconia thing but you do not see them so commonly. I enjoyed going in here and being told about them and what can I say, I have a sweet tooth, yes, I bought and ate them. Be warned, they are heavy, sweet and filling.

It is worth dropping by the Schwangau Castle Brewery for beer made on site and the typical heavy Bavarian beer hall food, it’s a big place with good beer options among everything else they sell and serve, this sort of beer hall, heavy food, appeals to my family, particularly in winter. They actually looked like they had a nice New Year program planned themselves, could be an alternative if you were in town and didn’t have the Gala dinner at the hotel?

Around

Füssen is a bit isolated, it is in the countryside the town itself is not buzzing with activities. If you are a city person or enjoy looking around cities, any more than a few days here to see the castles, it may prove to be too long a stay for you. There is plenty to see and do, but you will need to drive, public transport is going to be a challenge I think, to get to some of the places. And what there is, it is going to be nature, more castles, and mountains. We liked it, and filled the days without an issue.

We did visit Kempten one day. The city is ok, nothing particularly special. There are some shops here and a few sites to see in the older town area. It is not a city I would suggest making a huge effort to visit. If you are nearby, drop in, otherwise you won’t be missing much by not going. Ulm is another city option, a bit further on, but relatively speaking close by. We didn’t go, nor have I been at other times, so not sure how it is, although I have heard it’s a very nice city.

Garmisch Partenkirchen is relatively speaking close by Füssen, this is a small ski or mountain village at the base of Zugspitze, it is quite famous. The village is small and pretty, you can look around here, it won’t take long or keep you too busy. The main option is to go to the top of Zugspitze, skiing, sledging, hiking you name it, you can do it. Do keep in mind, it is a 3000m mountain, if you plan to go, dress appropriately, it’s winter and a ski resort, you will want the correct clothes. You don’t need to ski to enjoy the top, you can go for views, food and drinks, or to do some walks, if you go in a linen dress with ballerinas – you may struggle, but dressed well, and it will be a lot of fun.

From the cable car stations and car parks you can head down to a nice lake, Lake Eibsee. We did an enjoyable walk around part of this; it has the winter beauty look about it. You wouldn’t be too crazy walking it either, as we went round, there were lots of others doing the same, you may or may not be lucky with kiosks being open selling warm drinks. Just off of Eibsee is a smaller lake which has more chance to freeze and will give you an impressive sight, Frillensee.

We visited Linderhof Palace. Less than an hour drive from Füssen. Guess what? Another castle! This was King Ludwig’s smallest of the 3 he built and the only one finished and that he lived in. It is a palace not a fortified castle, really a beautiful residential palace. The drive was through country roads and we had fog coming off of the fields and meadows giving it a pretty, almost classic novel feel about the scene we were seeing. It was actually a very mild winter or period when we visited so had no issues with the roads, but be mindful of icy conditions, you may want to take extra care, if it is chilly outside, as I remember the roads being a bit twisty and turny. That said, it is a nice drive, not far to go, and through the Bavarian countryside. The main palace being a lovely building but noticeably small and manageable, you could see yourself living there, it didn’t have the feel of a huge palace with bedrooms and state banqueting halls abundant. It did however have huge grounds. I say it had huge grounds, that’s based on my city dwelling outdoor space, I am not a worldwide palace grounds specialist, so actually have nothing to compare it to! The grounds and entire estate seemed very big to me. With the well kept and perfect gardens directly in front, then around the more rugged and left to the nature grounds. If you google image this palace and the gardens, you will be left saying wow. Just remember, this is a New Years blog. It's cold with more unpredictable weather, and the gardens and grounds are not looking the same as in summer, google may neglect to show the wintery pictures. It is still nice to look around and enjoy the grounds with the little secrets they hold, for us we had this spooky type fog coming from the ground making it really interesting as we walked.

We took a short drive to Hopfensee, parking and looking around the small town Hopfen am See. It is another lake, with a nice walk around the water’s edge, and several bars and restaurants to stop by. Our pick which we can recommend was Hotel San Marco. There were 2 unusual things about this, when we stopped for food. First, we decided to eat here, in an Italian Restaurant, while we were in Germany, it’s something we try to avoid preferring to keep it local. Because we had spent a week in Germany, a break nipping over to Italy was ok we felt. I did order local wine and beer at least, if that’s a saving grace? The second unusual thing, actually we hoped to have pictures of 'Cinderella’s Castle' in the snow, these post card type images, we had arrived and it was really mild, there was no snow on the castles. And getting back on topic, here we were in the Bavarian alpine region, between Christmas and New Year – and we sat outside in this restaurant, in the sun without jackets, in T shirts and light clothes, perfectly comfortable and warm. It was odd, arguably concerning on what we and global warming have done. Sure enough, us 3, and dozens and dozens of other guests, sat in the open conservatory area of San Marco, dining alfresco actually forced to take the jacket off due to the sun being too hot on us. Truthfully, I had to find shade as I was burning. Not what you expect in the mountains in Germany in winter!

Hopfen am See, is nice, it’s a buzzing little place, in summer it must be crazy, with a lovely vibe, and in winter, it was a well known hang out place. There are play grounds for the kids to burn energy and have fun, and an easy, flat paved path to walk around the lake, parking can be challenging but possible. It is somewhere to go if you have nothing else on, it is nice, just no must see or dos here.

Finally, the last thing we did during our stay, and it was actually our New Years Day activity. Almost in Füssen itself, there is a cable car taking you to the top of the local mountain Tegelbergbahn. We went up, in city clothes, no crazy thermals, but hat, gloves, scarf, warm coat etc, just generally normal winter clothes for being outside longer than 5 minutes.

Surprisingly, it seemed Germany wanted to go up this cable car on the 1 January. The queue and the wait was a bit ridiculous actually. Not sure if that’s normal, if there is just no provision for big numbers, or if they did have technical issues when we visited. I remember being a bit cheesed off with the wait. But wait we did, queue we did, and eventually we made it to the top. The journey up and down gives you a nice view in the distance of Neuschwanstein Castle, the lakes, Füssen. And up the top you can see for miles around. We had no agenda at the top, only to be up there and to look around, to be on a mountain on the 1 January. We did exactly that. Walked a bit. Played in the snow a bit, our son enjoyed playing up there, we took in the sights, took some pictures, and eventually enjoyed a drink and bite to eat. When we had finished, we took the cable car back down to more normal altitudes. If you are feeling sporty, I do think you can walk down, and while the walk up may be a bit much, going down I don’t think is too bad and can be done quickly, or at least much quicker than climbing up.

New Years Eve

How did we start? Well, a trip to the super market a few hundred meters away from the hotel to get some local Bavarian sparkling wine, an unusual treat for us, we could actually get champagne flutes to enjoy our tipple out of, in this shop, not our typical [mouth wash/toothbrush holder] tumblers. And so with our recently purchased bottle on the balcony chilling, and us, taking a little lay down and nap to ensure we were prepared and rested for the evening, the preparations were set.

We woke, I placed my New Years Eve music mix on the travel speaker, popped the bubbles for us, and had some children’s fizz for our son, said some words, made a toast on the small balcony, and kicked off the celebrations. Getting ready, looking smart and preparing for the evening down stairs in the hotel organised event.

Heading down at the requested time, we were welcomed with a drink and shown to our table. Our son, did eat with us intermittently. He had made a friend of a similar age, and the pair could run around together. I get the feeling we got away with a lot from the staff and with the kids running around, as the children were not getting in people’s way or bothering anyone, they were not being loud or annoying, and the staff probably thought, "this isn’t bad actually, they could be a lot worse if they were not playing together". In our dinning room we had live music. The guy, who was of an age, played all night long. I found out later, he was the father of the owners/managers, a real family business, and how special they all gave up their New Years Eve for our enjoyment.

We were served a delightful 7 course dinner. Attentive staff, delicious food, well presented and all perfectly timed, with pleasant background music being played live.

As 12 o’clock approached, we were provided with sparkling wine and migrated to the street and door way of the hotel, together we counted down and saw the New Year in, and precisely at midnight, the town had erupted with private fireworks going off with revelers enjoying the new beginning, the new year.

Our son was small, and the fireworks were a bit scary for him at his age, and that’s exactly why I am blogging, hoping to help others have a great time with families. Because of our choice of celebration we could retreat further in the door way of the hotel, until the noise and crowds became comfortable again for him and he felt safe. We had picked a venue where we knew we could join in the fun, but ensure we could all feel comfortable in the surroundings and escape the moment any of us didn’t.

After midnight and finishing our drinks and desserts, seeing the bulk of the fireworks end, for us it was time for bed. We had celebrated together and all had a wonderful time, the hotel, their staff, the father playing music, made it all a very special NYE.

My view on age suitability

Just a little about my opinion for suitability for children, and when I say suitability, I do mean in terms of boredom. For small kids this is a great choice. You will all have a wonderful time. It's safe, fun, and enjoyable, the very small kids don’t know enough and usually sleep quite a lot or drift in and out of naps. This NYE would work really well.

As they get older, it may become more of an issue. It was a long sit-down meal, 7 courses, with background classical elevator style music being played, and a climax of private fireworks being set off. As they get older, I would think this may become more boring for them and keeping them occupied will be harder. You know yourself how your children are in restaurants and how or if you can mange this.

Now in terms of the trip, you are seeing castles, lakes, mountains, snow. The entire trip, in my opinion, is suitable for all ages, there is something for everyone and could be a good adventure for the family with the children being young or old. Just consider the gala dinner and if that is manageable for the age of your child or children.

On the flip side, this was a really wonderful new year plan for couples of any age. This was a great trip, and if you are without kids, it will be a lot of fun, as most, not all, but most, of the hotel guests during our stay were couples.

Take Aways

• Do not forget/neglect to visit the yellow castle, Hohenschwangau, next to ‘Cinderella’s’ this is more impressive inside and it is a great castle on its own. Do both castles while here

• Try a Franconia Schneeballen sweet

• This trip is for castle, lakes and mountain lovers