Our Trip Blog

The Events of Tuesday, July 12, 2011

                This morning required a 6:30 am wake-up – an incredibly early morning for us – so that we could be ready to leave by 8:30. It was all rush, rush, rush through our morning routine, and we were out of our apartment in the basement by 8:09. Great.

                After driving to the village of Hohenschwangau, we parked in P4, also known as the Alpsee parking lot, named after a nearby lake. Knowing we had plenty of time before our tour at 11:20, we wandered slowly to the ticket office and picked up our tickets. Next, we meandered through a few gift shops, trying to kill time. Ambling further, we suddenly found ourselves at the edge of a beautiful lake. The water was somewhat curious; at the shore, it was crystal clear, then it gradually faded to turquoise, then aquamarine, and then a deep, deep blue. This lake’s waters were almost (but not quite) as beautiful blue as Crater Lake. Wandering further around the lake to a tranquil beach, we waded in the shallow, cool waters, glad for an excuse to soak in the natural beauty all around us. Tiny silvery fish inhabited these waters, so we thanked them for sharing their home with us with crumbs from a hunk of bread from Dad’s backpack. Soon, the lake's ducks came along, also wanting an easy meal, so we fed them too.

                When the chunk of bread had disappeared, we walked slowly up to Schloss Hohenschwangau. This was Mad King Ludwig's boyhood home, the hunting lodge and summer residence of his father, King Maximilian I. Still waiting for the time of our tour to arrive, we explored the outdoor grounds of the palace: the marble bath, a Madonna and Child well, a fountain in which a bronze duck statue gargled water in its throat, and a massive marble fountain supported by four lion statues.

                Finally, it was time for our 11:20 tour! Maybe such an early wake-up was not so very necessary after all! Our tour guide, Selena, spoke the facts about the castle in articulate English, but with a strong German accent. Maybe we are just "all castle-d out", but this castle barely impressed us. It seemed we had heard it all before; though a beautiful castle, there was nothing really new.

                The only extremely impressive feature of this castle's interiors were the wall paintings. These gorgeous, emotive Romantic works of art were mostly portrayals of Greek legends and famous operas by Wagner. Some scenes recalled famous epic battles, but bloodless, because blood, guts, and gore were against the rules of Romantic art. As Selena put it, "They all died of heart attacks."

                Best of all were the wall and ceiling decorations of Mad King Ludwig's bed chamber. On the walls all around, fair maidens relaxed in a mystic forest or bathed in cool ponds. Above, on the ceiling was an expanse of dark blue, decorated with golden stars (actually holes in the ceiling) that could be illuminated by gas lamps from the above floor. There was even a “moon”, a round circle of light with a disc that could be moved to show different phases of the moon. Also on the ceiling was an image of the Virgin Mary, bedecked in cascading blue robes, holding a sleeping baby in one arm and a dead baby in the other. There was also a white owl flying at her feet. It was beautiful and expressive, but somewhat odd.

                At the end of our tour, we strolled down to the car to pick up our lunch. Next, we hiked up the neighboring hill to Neuschwanstein Castle. This ascent was supposed to take forty minutes, but our climb only took us 22 minutes. Hot and sweaty, we gratefully sank down on the cool grass in the shade of a tree for a rushed picnic lunch before our next appointed tour time arrived.

                After checking our bags, we lined up for the tour, and then climbed up lots of stairs to meet Herr Guha, our tour guide. After a short introduction, we climbed up lots more stairs to continue the tour. The first stop, Daddy’s favorite part, was the throne room, decorated in Moorish style, in the form of a chapel of church to this king who thought himself above God. The place was full of symbolism about kings and rulers being higher than the disciples and God. Next, we toured Lindsey’s favorite part, the king’s bedroom. The top of His Majesty’s immense canopy bed was covered with elaborate Neo-Gothic walnut carvings. One of the most unusual rooms (and Mom’s favorite room) is called the Grotto. A fairly convincing artificial cave, complete with waterfalls and stalactites, the Grotto embodied a cave from Wagner’s opera “Tannhäuser.” An added benefit was that this room was deliciously cool, so we lingered a bit here. The last stop of our tour was the concert hall. This opulently decorated music room had two stages, but our guide informed us that the whole room was actually a stage. Because the breathing of other people distracted Mad King Ludwig from fully enjoying a public opera, he had his own opera theatre in his very own palace and he was an audience of one. The artists filled the entire floor, and the king watched from a private balcony up above.

                Climbing down, down, down on a spiral staircase in a castle turret, we passed through three gift shops before arriving at the castle kitchen. This was Mom’s favorite part, especially the hot and cold tap water, the first of its kind. It was the only thing she remembered of the whole tour from the last time she visited Neuschwanstein Castle with Daddy in 1993. Actually she and Dad were a little disappointed with the tour. It was much shorter, not as informative, and twice as expensive than the tour they took 18 years ago.  

                Finally coming to the ausgang, we exited through a cool whitewashed tunnel into the hot July sun. Abby’s favorite part of the whole castle was the exit tunnel, because the walls were cool and moist, like a cave.

                Next, we hiked up to Marienbrücke (Mary's Bridge) for a breathtaking view of both castles and the colorful surrounding countryside. After taking in the gorgeous panorama, we sat down on a cool stone wall in the shade and snacked on sandwich cookies.

                All too soon, it was time to find our way down to our car. After careful study of the map, we set off on a wide gravel path, virtually untouched by other tourists. Finally, we were all alone.

                Back to our parking lot in a jiffy, we drove to our next attraction of the day, the luge. This luge was in the middle of a major sports and recreation center at which we could probably spend all day. However, we focused on the luge, purchasing two share-able six-ride cards, which would allow for two rides for each Taylor. After riding our plastic sled up the hill on a funky cable system through the wildflowers, we slid down the metal slides extremely fast! It was fabulously fun, and no one got hurt. Best of all, this fun experience replaced Dad’s unpleasant memories of his last luge ride.

                After we had driven home, we entered our apartment to discover that a package had arrived! This was the answer to our electricity problems! Excited, we quickly plugged in our new converter and began charging our laptop, but the fuse blew. We were so disappointed!

                Next order of business: Ben, Dad, and I went shopping. We purchased groceries for the next few days and a tube of German toothpaste for me! We came home and prepared a dinner of sausages, pretzels, sweet mustard, and purple sauerkraut!