31 Aug 2018
Today we made a day trip to Neuschwanstein Castle. Walt Disney made a trip here in the 1930s and modelled the Disneyland Castle on this castle. The castle was constructed from 1869 to 1886. It was never completed. This was one of King Ludwig II’s splurge on castle building that sent Bavaria into debt at that time.
The day trip will be a total of 10 hours. It takes 2 hours to get to the castle. Then there is a steep 1 mile walk up to the castle. There are coaches and horse drawn carts that will take you to the top. All of us in our group decided to walk up.
Our tour guide was great and was an absolute fountain of knowledge. She was informative and gave us this complete history of the castle. The made the trip more complete. The only thing is that the weather was not kind to us. It rained for the entire trip although it was not pouring heavy. This made photography a bit challenging as the pictures below show.
Hohenschwangau Castle is almost across the road from Neuschwanstein Castle. King Ludwig II and his brother Otto spent summers with their parents in this castle.
Neuschwanstein Castle in the fog
Pictures above taken from a bridge, half a mile up from the castle. It was raining and misty. Adds to the atmosphere of mystique.
Our guide booked those interested in a 35 min guided tour inside the castle. It was an eye opener. I would not say it was ostentatious. It is just that King Ludwig II had a real passion for detail and craftsmanship without regard to cost. We can clearly see that this was an expensive project. When the King died under mysterious circumstances (and it is still a mystery) in 1886, all construction came to a halt. Therefore the castle was never completed.
We could not take any pictures inside the castle so you have two options here:
- Google for the pics.
- Make the trip yourself.
King Maximillian and Queen Marie resided in the building to the left and building on the right housed the servants and the quarters for Ludwig and Otto. The King and Queen rarely saw their sons.
