Neuschwanstein Castle is Germany's most photographed building. It's really not that surprising now is it? Look! Like it's right out of a fairy tale. In a way it sort of is. Neuschwanstein was Walt Disney's inspiration for Sleeping Beauty's castle in Disney Land. That fact was a good lure to excite the girls about our road trip. It worked. They were excited.This castle was commissioned by King Ludwig II of Bavaria. He was a great admirer of the composer, Richard Wagner and had the castle built in Wagner's honor. Building began in 1869 and was still not completed in 1886, the time of Ludwig's death. Poor Ludwig only spent 11 nights in his precious castle. Because of Ludwig's untimely death only 1/3 of the castle interior is finished.
The castle tour takes you through the finished rooms. The girls were so perplexed that the throne room didn't have a throne. Ludwig died before one was built. We also got to see Ludwig's treasure box. Sadly it was empty. My oldest and I inquired about the contents and were told they are housed in a museum in Munich.
The whole castle experience was great. We took a horse carriage up to the castle and enjoyed the glorious autumn foliage along the way. After our tour we hiked up a bit further to Mary's Bridge for a great view of the castle.
View of the castle from Mary's Bridge
A quiet moment on the carriage ride 
The castle is set against rugged mountain terrain 
View of Hohenschwangau Castle (Ludwig's boyhood home) from Neuschwanstein. 
Mary's Bridge
Horse Carriage 
Walking to Mary's Bridge
Walking to Mary's Bridge
5 comments:
I was there a couple of years ago. It was one of my best memories of the trip. Did they elude that Ludwig had a crush on Wagner and was secretly gay. That's why he never married. I loved his bedroom!
Oh I'm glad to hear you took the carriage ride up. My friends and I thought we'd be thrifty and save money by walking up to the castle.. WRONG by the time we wheezed our way up there we were so dead that we couldn't really enjoy our selves. Needless to say we paid to ride the carriage back down.
Some Bridge. Wonderful Castle.
lovely photos. mom
Wow, that is breath taking. I definitely want to see that one day. Gorgeous. Was there a princess bed?
This is one of my fondest memories of Bavaria. Crazy King Ludwig almost bankrupt the country with his castles, but now, with all the tourists he doesn't look so crazy, does he?
I slipped on a patch of ice while we were there and fell, which broke my record of never having fallen down as an adult. To this day, it stands as the ONLY time I've fallen since I was 15. Just thought I'd share that. =)
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