Fairy Tales & Vacations . . . .

Schloss Neuschwanstein ~

A difficult name to pronounce for many people and not easily recognized, but for Bavarians the name is appreciated as belonging to one of the most beautiful and interesting places to visit for those who live there and for the many tourists who wish to tour the schloss – up to several thousand visitors per day in the summer months. The actual English translation of the name is “Swan Castle” - a beautiful name for a very beautiful castle.  The surrounding area around the castle is also totally in form with the looks of the castle, taking you into the past to enjoy a most unique holiday experience. 

For those of us who do not know the name, a picture of it is instantly recognizable as “Sleeping Beauty’s Castle” in Disneyland. It is indeed a fairy tale castle, which is why the Disney people used it for a model for the one featured in their park.

The castle was built in the 19th century, commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavaria. It is built high upon a hill close to the village of Hohenschwangau, which is located in southwest Bavaria.

If you intend to travel to Europe this summer, be sure to visit Bavaria and take the tour of Swan Castle – you will certainly enjoy it!

View from Swan Castle

Suitcase Strategy

It’s highly likely that at one time or another you have spent considerable time looking for your suitcase(s) at the airport or cruise terminal and found that the majority of travelers have black or the exact shade of navy blue suitcase as yours. If you’ve tied a ribbon or pompom on your suitcase for identification purposes, it is also likely that it has ripped off during the unloading process and so now your suitcase looks like everyone elses.

A friend of mine travels with two suitcases and to avoid the problem, she decided to purchase one very bright turquoise suitcase and one red one. As you can imagine, they really stand out and she is than able to get out of that airport in no time!

Bright colours such as lime green, royal purple and neon orange are starting to show up regularly in the luggage shops lately. Although bright yellow may clash with the outfit you are wearing, it’s worth it to be able to cut your time searching for your luggage at that cruise terminal after disembarkation.

You can purchase brightly coloured luggage in both soft and hard suitcase styles.