We arrived at Hohenschwangau area in late evening. Hohenschwangau castle stood right in front of our hotel. It was a pleasant evening. However, this was not the best time to visit the Neuschwanstein castle because the exterior was undergoing extensive renovation. We followed some tips from a travel guide and took a hike up the mountain trying to catch the front view of the castle, but gave up after 1 hour due to exhaustion. We then returned to Fussen, a small town by the Mt. Alps to catch a train to Munich airport.