This bright, lovely morning... uh, I mean wet, foggy day... we were on our way to Neuschwanstein Castle. But first, our wonderful bus driver, who could turn this huge bus on a dime. Not kidding. He was amazing. 
Our hotel--a Best Western!! (but still no air conditioning). I did, however, sleep very well there, with my head under the open window. It cooled off a bit, too.
The Mercedes-Benz plant. Kind of looks like you could put a quarter in the top and get a car out of the bottom doesn't it? (yeah, 25,000 euros, that is)
The night before the Germans played the Turks in the World Cup, in Vienna. Guess who won? GERMANY!!! And boy, did we hear it! This house apparently likes Italy, though... or is it Spain?
OK, so we got on the busses and traveled for some time (about 2 hours) to get to Neuschwanstein Castle. It was rainy, so my 'pictures from a bus' are very foggy. I'm told there are mountains in this picture...
Here Matthew holds an umbrella for Robin. It did stop raining as we made our way up to the castle, and cleared a little bit later so we could take some pictures.
Here's the sign to let you know where to go--and you can see the fog in the background. We were told it was quite a hike up to the castle, and to only attempt it if we were in good health. But when we got there, shuttles took us up most of the way, and the rest of it was a fairly easy 5-10 minute walk to the castle. There were lots of stairs to climb inside, though, maybe that was it?
Neuschwanstein Castle was built by King Ludwig of Bavaria. He loved the fine arts, and was Wagner's patron for many years, although he was forced to send Wagner to Vienna after a time. He was raised in this castle on the nearby mountain,
with murals of great sagas on the walls. When he became king, he decided to build a new castle across the way from his childhood castle, and fill it with murals and stories as well. Here it is, rising out of the mist.
It is a lovely castle. Disney used it as inspiration for Sleeping Beauty's castle in Disneyland (and for Cinderella's Castle in Disney World as well). Here you see the forecort.
Inside the courtyard we had time for a couple pictures.
They wouldn't let us take pictures of the inside of the castle (copywrite laws), but I figured it would be ok to stick my camera outside the window and take a picture of the outside. Here you can see the courtyard from above.
After the tour (and hitting the gift shops), the fog cleared enough for some decent pictures.
Up another path, around the mountain the other way, you come upon a bridge that offers a fine view of the castle (and I'm sure of the valley below). King Ludwig would have the servants light candles in all the windows, then come out to this bridge just so he could see the castle.
Everyone says King Ludwig was crazy, but I think perhaps he was just born a century or so too late. His people forced him to abdicate, and placed him under house arrest in another of his castles (he built three, I think). A few months later he died under mysterious circumstances. Very sad. He was only able to live in Neuschwanstein (which had a different name when he was alive) for about 6 months. It wasn't completed by the time he died. The people changed the name and opened it for tours six weeks after he passed away. It has since been finished, though.
Our hotel--a Best Western!! (but still no air conditioning). I did, however, sleep very well there, with my head under the open window. It cooled off a bit, too.
The Mercedes-Benz plant. Kind of looks like you could put a quarter in the top and get a car out of the bottom doesn't it? (yeah, 25,000 euros, that is)
The night before the Germans played the Turks in the World Cup, in Vienna. Guess who won? GERMANY!!! And boy, did we hear it! This house apparently likes Italy, though... or is it Spain?
OK, so we got on the busses and traveled for some time (about 2 hours) to get to Neuschwanstein Castle. It was rainy, so my 'pictures from a bus' are very foggy. I'm told there are mountains in this picture...Here Matthew holds an umbrella for Robin. It did stop raining as we made our way up to the castle, and cleared a little bit later so we could take some pictures.
Here's the sign to let you know where to go--and you can see the fog in the background. We were told it was quite a hike up to the castle, and to only attempt it if we were in good health. But when we got there, shuttles took us up most of the way, and the rest of it was a fairly easy 5-10 minute walk to the castle. There were lots of stairs to climb inside, though, maybe that was it?
Neuschwanstein Castle was built by King Ludwig of Bavaria. He loved the fine arts, and was Wagner's patron for many years, although he was forced to send Wagner to Vienna after a time. He was raised in this castle on the nearby mountain,with murals of great sagas on the walls. When he became king, he decided to build a new castle across the way from his childhood castle, and fill it with murals and stories as well. Here it is, rising out of the mist.
It is a lovely castle. Disney used it as inspiration for Sleeping Beauty's castle in Disneyland (and for Cinderella's Castle in Disney World as well). Here you see the forecort.
Inside the courtyard we had time for a couple pictures.
They wouldn't let us take pictures of the inside of the castle (copywrite laws), but I figured it would be ok to stick my camera outside the window and take a picture of the outside. Here you can see the courtyard from above.
After the tour (and hitting the gift shops), the fog cleared enough for some decent pictures.
Up another path, around the mountain the other way, you come upon a bridge that offers a fine view of the castle (and I'm sure of the valley below). King Ludwig would have the servants light candles in all the windows, then come out to this bridge just so he could see the castle.
Everyone says King Ludwig was crazy, but I think perhaps he was just born a century or so too late. His people forced him to abdicate, and placed him under house arrest in another of his castles (he built three, I think). A few months later he died under mysterious circumstances. Very sad. He was only able to live in Neuschwanstein (which had a different name when he was alive) for about 6 months. It wasn't completed by the time he died. The people changed the name and opened it for tours six weeks after he passed away. It has since been finished, though.Here Reela and I are with Jan, our Tour Guide. There are two tour guides, Jan and Jessica, but we were on Jan's bus.
Here is the castle Ludwig grew up in, his Grandfather's castle. Next time I shall have to go through it as well.
As we were driving away, the castle appeared in the mist.
We returned to Munich, and had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, Munich. Very fun, and nice to have some americanized food, too, for a bit of a change.
My dinner companions--me, Joy, Reela, Angel, and Stephanie
What would the Hard Rock be without memorabilia?
We voted to stay in downtown Munich for a while after dinner--not realizing that all the shops closed right about the time we finished eating. Sigh. I took the time to wander around a big. This is the big gothic church where the Glockenspeil resides. Not sure why I didn't include a picture of the Glockenspeil.
The two towers that define Munich
This little cherub is going to kill that snake, I think.
Waiting for the bus.
And so ends another day of our trip.
Here is the castle Ludwig grew up in, his Grandfather's castle. Next time I shall have to go through it as well.
As we were driving away, the castle appeared in the mist.
We returned to Munich, and had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, Munich. Very fun, and nice to have some americanized food, too, for a bit of a change.
My dinner companions--me, Joy, Reela, Angel, and Stephanie
What would the Hard Rock be without memorabilia?
We voted to stay in downtown Munich for a while after dinner--not realizing that all the shops closed right about the time we finished eating. Sigh. I took the time to wander around a big. This is the big gothic church where the Glockenspeil resides. Not sure why I didn't include a picture of the Glockenspeil.
The two towers that define Munich
This little cherub is going to kill that snake, I think.
Waiting for the bus.
And so ends another day of our trip.
2 comments:
I think the castle looks way cool with the fog! Awesome! Too bad about the mountains though. They were probably pretty.
Castles, castles, everywhere! I love it! Everything looks so majestic....and I don't mind fog :o) I love the bit about the Mercedes-Benz plant, looking like you could put change in for a car. Too funny!
Hey, Dennis has been to that Hard Rock. I love those places....too fun.
Thanks!
Kris
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