Friday - Touring the Castles
We were feeling much better after a good night's sleep. We ate breakfast at our hotel's restaurant to save time, as we wanted to get an early start on our drive to see the Castles.
Unfortunately, we did not know where King Ludwig's castles were exactly. We got some directions from the hotel clerk, but were not real clear on the exact roads to take. I found out that the Neuschwanstein Castle was in a town called Fussen and I was told the best way to get there was by bus. John wanted to drive our rental van, so we were on or own. This was going to be an “adventure”.
As we finished breakfast, I looked out the window and saw a city bus with "Fussen - Neuschwanstein Schloß" displayed on the front. That was the bus that was going to the Castle! I told John we should follow that bus….. he said “NO, we would find it”.
We paid for our breakfast and in about 10 minutes, we were on the road in search of castles. After leaving Garmisch, I saw a City Bus, and told John it looked like the bus to the castle. I convinced him to follow it, as we were not having luck with the maps. When the bus made a stop to pick up passengers, we drove around it and saw the destination of Fussen - Neuschwanstein displayed on the front of the bus! We started to follow that bus!
Wow, what a ride! The road was winding around the mountain. It was a rainy morning, but the view as spectacular. Following that bus, took us thru small villages with lots of Bavarian houses and shops. We realized we were taking the long way to the castle, but we were going to find it!
Soon after about 45 minutes, we lost site of the bus due to the winding roads and other traffic. But.... by then we saw a small sign for the Town of Fussen. We knew we were heading in the right direction.
The countryside scenery was indescribably beautiful. Every turn of the car gave us a view that was more incredible than the last view. While watching the mountains out the side window, I noticed a beautiful large white building.... And I asked John what he thought that was. The clouds were all around the top of this mountain and it looked like a castle out of a fairy tale. Then we realized it was King Ludwig’s Castle. We had found it!
Our first view of Neuschwanstein
Turning onto the road, we noticed another Castle, lower down and to the side of the large one. This was his father's castle…..Schloß Höhenschwangau. We pulled off the road and took some pictures of the castles in the distance. What a spectacular view.
View of Schloß Höhenschwangau
from entry road
We purchased tickets to see both castles for only about 27 Euros. Our first tour was to start in 2 hours at the Schloß Höhenschwangau. We took a horse-drawn carriage up the winding road to the castle thru the forest. The morning was a little overcast but the ride was very peaceful and enjoyable. The alternative, was to walk uphill for 20 minutes……..no way
Our transportation to the castles
We wandered around the grounds taking pictures, while we waited for our tour group to start. This castle belonged to Ludwig's Father, Maxamillian and this was where Ludwig grew up. From the gardens, you had a spectacular view of the Neuschwanstein Castle that Ludwig had constructed from 1869 to 1886.
The view of Neuschwanstein from the Father’s castle was so gorgeous; you just wanted to keep taking pictures every time you looked at it. King Ludwig only lived in this castle for a total of 72 days, as he mysteriously died in 1886. Construction was stopped with only 1/3 of the rooms completed. About 6 months after his death, the castle was opened to the public for tours.
We took the English-speaking tour of the Father’s Castle (Höhenschwangau) and enjoyed it so much. The interior of the castle is so elaborate and ornate. This Castle is very much like a museum, as many pieces of the original furniture, statues, paintings and personal belongings are on display. It's a very informative and incredible tour. Unfortunately, no photography or videotaping was allowed. But a trip to the souvenir shop corrected that problem. I bought the video tour showing 3 of Ludwig's castles. Unfortunately, this Castle wasn’t one of them.
We walked on the small, down-hill road to the Castle park’s entrance and village in about 15 minutes (where we had bought our tickets) to take another horse-drawn carriage ride up another steep, and even longer winding road to the Neuschwanstein Castle. This would have been a 30-minute up-hill walk. The horse-drawn carriages made a lot of sense to me and at 5 Euros each – this was a bargain. (They also have small buses available.) This tour was scheduled at 1:50 pm and we made it with about 30 minutes to spare.
The view of this castle, looking up from the park entrance cannot begin to prepare you for the size of this building. It's so HUGE. John remarked that it was as big as the hotels in Las Vegas! It definitely required as much walking.
Tours are scheduled in German and English. Other languages were available, with the use of a hand-held narrative devise. The tour showed us about 1/3 of the rooms in the Castle, as these were the only ones finished by the time King Ludwig died. We saw his bedroom, which took 14 woodcarvers four years to complete! The workmanship displayed throughout the entire Castle is incredible. You can understand how they worked for 17 years on this building when you see the intricate walls, ceilings, chandeliers, and carvings. Another spectacular room was the Throne Room. Complete in every detail, except there was no throne. King Ludwig never had it made before he died.
After leaving the castle, we ate a delicious lunch at an outdoor- cafe in the village outside the castle. Then we walked downhill for about 30 minutes, taking pictures all the way. The forest surrounding the castles is beautiful, so John was taking lots of scenery shots with his new digital camera. I plan to use these pictures for screen savers on my work computer to remind me of my trip all year round.
By this time it was almost 5 pm and we were driving back to Garmisch. Suddenly, we noticed the road leading to another castle belonging to King Ludwig called Linderhoff. We thought they might be closed for tours, but decided to find it so we could just take more pictures.
Amazingly, we just made the last tour. It was given in German, but they gave us a book of the English script of what the tour guide would say.... Approximately. It worked. And even better, this castle allowed photos with no flash. John took some pictures... As you can see here.
Linderhof was the only Castle that was completed during King Ludwig’s lifetime. It was his favorite residence. This royal villa, in the style of “Versailles” and the surrounding gardens and fountains are a tribute to the French King Louis XIV. From the Vestibule to the Audience Chamber…. To the Royal Bedroom…. To the dining room…. To the mirror room and many other rooms– you waked thru in total amazement at the beauty. Everywhere you look, there are no “plain” walls or ceilings…… all surfaces are adorned with exquisite paintings, mirrors, silk wall-coverings and gold painted ornamental plasterwork.
After the tour, John hiked uphill to see the Venus Grotto- an artificial dripstone cave made for King Ludwig in 1876. That steep 15-minute hike did not work for me, so I went to the Palace Gardens to take more photos and some video of the exterior of the castle. These gardens, complete with terraces – laid out in Renaissance style….. and fountains, pond, statues and beautifully manicured flowers and plants, were a delight to view. It's impossible to stop taking photos of the surrounding gardens and area. Everywhere we look.... Castles, lush forests, mountains, gardens.... It's breathtaking.
We were one of the very last visitors to leave the Linderhof Castle Park. We drove back to our hotel on the winding, mountainside roads by 7:30 pm. What a long and exhilarating day!
After another gourmet meal at the hotel's restaurant, we were ready for more sleep.
Tomorrow, we planned to go the “top of Germany”, to the Zugspitze.