Day 4
On Tuesday, we traveled back into Germany to see a few of King Ludwig’s castles. During the morning we saw Hohenschwangau Castle, which was Ludwig’s boyhood home. After a quick break and a bus ride to the top of the mountain, we toured the famous Neuschwanstein Castle. Supposedly the Disney castle logo was based on Neuschwanstein Castle. Ludwig built Neuschwanstein in the Medeival style, so it seems a lot older than it actually is- it was built from 1869-1886 (just after the U.S Civil War). The castle was never finished because Ludwig died before it was completed, and after only six weeks the castle opened to tourists. We toured 15 rooms that held their original furnishings, which were incredible! Ludwig loved operas, especially ones written by Richard Wagner, so the walls of Neuschwanstein are decorated with frescoes depicting scenes from the legends used in Wager’s operas. In fact, the most interesting part of the castle was a good size, man-made grotto (or cave) just off Ludwig’s bedroom. It is literally like stepping onto a set of Wager’s opera. After the castle tour, we hiked up to Mary’s Bridge which has amazing views of Neuschwenstein and the beautiful valley floor.
Day 5:
Wednesday morning we drove to “Germany’s greatest Rococo-style church” called Wieskirche or the “Church in the Meadow.” A statue of Christ set in a barn is said to have wept in 1738. Hundreds of pilgrims cast to see this weeping Christ and a small chapel was built around it as a result. The crowds continued to grow, so two of Bavaria’s top Rococo architects were asked to build this church. The result was a small, but incredible ornate Baroque masterpiece. Mass was in session when we stopped by, so we were only allowed in the nave of the church, but it was beautiful! Next we headed toward another one of King Ludwig’s castles called “Linderhof Castle.” This castle was where Ludwig spent much of his last years, buried in the splendor of this country estate. The natural setting for this palace is incredible- a huge park filled with lakes, trees, walking paths and surround by mountains. Whereas Neuschwenstein castle was modeled after the medieval style, Ludwig had this castle decorated in the French Baroque style, looking to imitate the grandeur at Versailles Palace. Ludwig also had an enormous grotto (cave) built to mimic the cave in Wager’s Tannhauser opera. Here Ludwig could watch his own private performances of the opera and even take a dip in the heated pool after the show. The guide told us that a crew would be informed 3 days in advance of Ludwig’s arrival and heat would be pumped into the cave and the water would be heated so that the King could enjoy perfect 74 degree weather. The first electricity in all of Bavaria was installed in the grotto for the express purpose of changing the colors of the stage lights and running the waterfall and wave machines….oh yes…I said wave machine.
We then made our drive to Munich where we found our amazing hotel and walked around downtown Munich. We arrived in the main square just in time to admire the famous glockenspiel (32 life-seize figurines which dance and joust to re-create a royal wedding from the 16th century).
