Day 15 A castle we could not see

In the middle of the nineteenth century, the rather eccentric King Ludwig II of Bavaria had the bright idea of building a very unusual castle. Although Ludwig had grown up living in a perfectly acceptable castle close by he decided that he would like to build a castle more like those of the 13^th and 14^th centuries so he commissioned a set designer to design his dream castle which ended up looking more like an operatic set than a realistic residence.

The Neuschwanstein Castle was only partially completed and Ludwig spent less than a year living there before his tragic and mysterious death, when he was in his early forties. One could imagine that after Ludwig’s death the whole thing would have faded back into the mountain but within weeks of his death the castle was open to the public and a tourist magnet was born.

It is thought that another dreamer, Walt Disney, decided to use this castle as his inspiration for the Disney Fantasyland Castle.

We decided that we would join the throng and visit this famous castle. A visit to Neuschwanstein Castle from Munich starts with a two-hour train journey and then a short local bus ride from the station. We had been warned that the crowds can make a visit to this attraction difficult, but today the weather has kept the crowds away. It was a picture postcard day – if you like snow and low visibility.

Firstly we visited Ludwig’s childhood home, Hohenschwangau Castle, with its impressive art and stately rooms. We then enjoyed a thirty-minute walk up a hill, in the snow, to the second castle. Walking was faster and much cheaper than the alternative mode of transport, horse drawn carriages.

The interior of Neuschwanstein Castle brought new meaning to the world extravagance, indeed the state of Bavaria was almost bankrupted during the building process. Woodcarvers, stonemasons, artists, mosaic tilers and others worked for almost two decades but completed only a handful of rooms.  It was indeed a grand obsession, a 13^th century styled castle built, in the late 19^th century and including state of the art features for the time such as running water, a modern toilet and even a telephone.

 

Sadly we were unable to see the full extent of the castle as snow and low visibility meant that we only saw a small part of the exterior of the castle and could not see the mountains and lake that give the castle its stunning perspective. Nonetheless we had a wonderful day and a real highlight was our mid-afternoon snack as we walked back down the road from the castle. A small stall had been set up selling hot red wine and Bavarian Snow Balls, which are like icing sugar covered donuts…without a hole. Delicious!!!