I decided to spend my first Saturday visiting Neuschwanstein Castle. Set among green Bavarian countryside and dramatic mountains and lakes, it’s been in movies, TV shows, Wonders of the World lists – even the Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland is based on it. Oh, and did I mention it’s one of the landmarks you can build in Simcity 3000?
(Photo Credit: Wikipedia. Unfortunately, this side of the castle had scaffolding on it when we visited :[ )
Anyway, it’s a pretty famous place, and I figured I couldn’t spend 6 months in Bavaria without seeing it. The history behind the castle is pretty fascinating. It was the brainchild of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, often known as “mad King Ludwig” (although whether he was actually mad is hotly disputed). Ludwig was unloved by his parents, and had no friends growing up except for his mentally ill brother, Otto. He was also homosexual, which of course was a no-go for someone of his era and position. He never married.
He was coronated upon his father’s death at the age of only 18. In his early twenties, he had to make the decision to send the Bavarian army into an unwinnable war, and was forever traumatised by the massacre that occurred as a result. Only a few years later, Bavaria lost its status as an independent kingdom and became part of the German empire. At this point Ludwig basically stopped caring about politics and devoted his time and energy to building his castles and funding the arts. In particular, he loved the work of Richard Wagner (who was also thought to be his lover). He built Neuschwanstein Castle as a tribute to Wagner and his operas. Each room in the castle depicts scenes from one of Wagner’s works.
Anyway, I should be getting back to the present day. (Although there is a bundle more that’s fascinating to tell about Ludwig. You should find a book if you are interested.)
Since it’s a pain to get to by public transport, I went on a tour to Neuschwanstein. For company I had Archanapachi and Chaitanmam, family friends from Sydney who are currently in Munich (Chaitanmam is doing contract work here, and Archanapachi is visiting him for a month). The first stop on the tour was a bike ride to Swan Lake – yep, the Swan Lake that inspired Tchaikovsky!
Although I didn’t think the lake was that amazing (when you’ve hiked near Seattle for a few summers, your bar for what constitutes a good lake tends to get pretty high), the mist and cool weather made for a very scenic and pleasant bike ride. And Neuschwanstein looks even more fairytale-like when it’s shrouded in mist…
… ok, there aren’t any aeroplanes in Sleeping Beauty. But still!
After a spot of lunch, we hiked up to the castle itself through a gorge full of waterfalls. Beautiful!
And then, the tour of Neuschwanstein Castle itself. The tour is only 45 minutes of so, since only 7 rooms of the castle were completed before the king was forced to abdicate and then died in mysterious circumstances (see, told you there was more fun to the story). The interior of the castle is incredibly opulent, with every square centimetre covered in intricate murals, mosaics, and woodwork. Ludwig’s wooden bed took 14 carpenters 5 years of full-time work to build, so you can imagine how exquisitely wrought everything was. Unfortunately, photography was prohibited. You are allowed to take pictures out of the windows, though. If I were King Ludwig, I would find it hard to decide whether to spend my time looking at the beautiful artwork in my palace, or these beautiful views.
Overall, it was an action-packed and fascinating day in the castle country of Bavaria. It’s piqued my interest in all things Ludwig-y, and I’m looking forward to visiting his other castles and finding out more about him!
