NEUSCHWANSTEIN CASTLE

June 29, 2008

Neuschwanstein Castle, Germany

We drove south to Austria towards the Alps and Reutte. Reutte is in Tyrol, Austria and was our home base while we went back to Germany to visit Neuschwanstein Castle, the castle of "Mad King" Ludwig. On our way to the castle, we passed by beautiful meadows, hills, and tall mountains enveloped by clouds. We checked into our hotel, Ernberg, a family- owned hotel. Herman was the owner, who also helped cook. Our room had a balcony where we could view the granite mountain that looked pinkish-orange against the sunlight.

The walk up to the castle would take thirty minutes from downtown and from the castle of the king's childhood castle, for those who had enough oxygen in their lungs to carry on the hike. Ron and I took the easy way. We decided to take the bus to reserve our oxygen for the stairs of the castle. Remember, there was not such a thing as an elevator in the olden times. We reached the castle in no time. From a bridge, we viewed the castle. It sat on a rugged hill. The view was breathtaking. Then, we hiked down to it. 

King Ludwig built this castle at the age of eighteen. He wanted another castle aside from the one he grew up in, to serve as his retreat. According to the tour guide, the castle's foundation stone was laid on September 5, 1869. He did not allow any visitors. Only after his death in 1886, were visitors allowed to see the inside. Since his death, the castle has received millions of visitors and has appeared in several movies.

King Ludwig, the king of Bavaria was born on August 25, 1845. He ruled Bavaria from March 10, 1864, until shortly before his death. He died in June 13, 1868, a day after a state commission declared him as insane, arrested and confined him.

After our tour of the castle, we returned to downtown and had picnic lunch by the lake, near the cliff where the childhood castle stood. After lunch, we headed for the "luge."