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| Neuschwanstein Castle |
Still recovering the next morning we had the choice of going back into Oktoberfest with Dax or going to the Neuschwanstein Castle with Damo I opted for the later. We met up with our driver Johhny Rockstar and headed out of Munich on the 1.5hour journey to this amazing castle.
The Neuschwanstein Castle is spectacular both on the inside and out. The castle often pictured by Disney, is the most photographed building in all of Germany and has more than 1.3 million people visiting each year.
The building of this castle actually bankrupted Bavaria during its construction. Its assembly started in 1869 and was commissioned by the then King Ludwig II of Bavaria.
It was built because of Ludwig's immoderate enthusiasm of Richard Wagner's operas - truth is he had a man crush on Wagner, and idealised his operas which was the inspiration for the castle. Ludwig built his ideal fairy tail castle and dubbed it 'New Swan Stone' or 'Neuschwanstein' after the 'Swan Knight' from an Opera of the same name.
King Ludwig II also known as 'Mad King Ludwig' died under mysterious circumstances. He was deposed from the throne under the grounds of metal illness without any formal medical examinations. He was then found drowned in Lake Starnberg the day after his deposition.
I think that he may have been killed not because he BANKRUPTED an entire country! But because he was gay, this is why 'they' coined him mentally unwell. He had no heir, no female partner, idolised a male opera singer, and had dubious relationships with other men. Given the extravagance of the castle especially on the inside, no normal straight man would go to that extreme ....
(not that I care, what ever floats your boat - but I believe that this is why he was murdered)
No more than six weeks after the Kings death, regent Luitpold (the de-facto ruler of Bavaria) opened to the palace to the public for paying visitors.
The Neuschwanstein Castle has also appeared in many movies, such as; Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Space Balls, The Great Escape and The Time Keeper, as well as in a few TV shows.
The castle is situated in the Alpine foothills near the Austrian boarder. The whole area is very picturesque
<-- In this pic I am standing on a little bridge built for the purpose of viewing the castle.
The viewing bridge is only small and is a wee bit nerve racking to go out on, especially with so many people.
You could actual feel the whole thing move every step you took and the drop down was huge.
Our group was booked into a inside guided tour of the - this was going to be amazing.
nb: if you don't pre-book a ticket it can sometimes take upwards of 4 hours to be able get into the castle if your on your own (due to the amount of people).
More than 6000 people a day visit the castle in summer!
Unfortunately we where not allowed to take any photos of the inside of the castle...
I have borrowed a few images from a friend in our group who managed to get a few sneaky photo's of the inside (got to love FB :)
The inside of the castle is amazing, the attention to detail of every aspect of the rooms are incredible.
The kings bed shown here took 14 wood carvers more than 4 years just to complete the canopy! that is insane but spectacular!
This photo is taken from a balcony from the Neuschwanstein Castle. There was a breath taking view from up there, and you could see for miles.
The Hohenschwangau Castle can be found at the bottom of the hill from the Neuschwanstein Castle, it is the childhood residence of King Ludwig II. It was constructed from 1833 until 1837, and was the summer and hunting home of King Maximilian II of Bavaria and his wife Marie of Prussia (Ludwig's mother and father).
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This entire experience was amazing!! well worth the trip out of Munich especially as the transport was included in my prize.
I had been to Munich twice now and was now finally doing some quality sightseeing that wasn't through the bottom of a beer glass :)
My liver had a day off and was happy + I got some good quality fresh air and exercise for the day.
The building of this castle actually bankrupted Bavaria during its construction. Its assembly started in 1869 and was commissioned by the then King Ludwig II of Bavaria.
 |
| King Ludwig II |
It was built because of Ludwig's immoderate enthusiasm of Richard Wagner's operas - truth is he had a man crush on Wagner, and idealised his operas which was the inspiration for the castle. Ludwig built his ideal fairy tail castle and dubbed it 'New Swan Stone' or 'Neuschwanstein' after the 'Swan Knight' from an Opera of the same name.
 |
| King Ludwig II memorial |
I think that he may have been killed not because he BANKRUPTED an entire country! But because he was gay, this is why 'they' coined him mentally unwell. He had no heir, no female partner, idolised a male opera singer, and had dubious relationships with other men. Given the extravagance of the castle especially on the inside, no normal straight man would go to that extreme ....
(not that I care, what ever floats your boat - but I believe that this is why he was murdered)
No more than six weeks after the Kings death, regent Luitpold (the de-facto ruler of Bavaria) opened to the palace to the public for paying visitors.
The Neuschwanstein Castle has also appeared in many movies, such as; Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Space Balls, The Great Escape and The Time Keeper, as well as in a few TV shows.
<-- In this pic I am standing on a little bridge built for the purpose of viewing the castle.
 |
| the very crowded viewing bridge |
You could actual feel the whole thing move every step you took and the drop down was huge.
 |
| the drop below the bridge |
Our group was booked into a inside guided tour of the - this was going to be amazing.
nb: if you don't pre-book a ticket it can sometimes take upwards of 4 hours to be able get into the castle if your on your own (due to the amount of people).
More than 6000 people a day visit the castle in summer!
I have borrowed a few images from a friend in our group who managed to get a few sneaky photo's of the inside (got to love FB :)
 |
| Hohenschwangau Castle |
The Hohenschwangau Castle can be found at the bottom of the hill from the Neuschwanstein Castle, it is the childhood residence of King Ludwig II. It was constructed from 1833 until 1837, and was the summer and hunting home of King Maximilian II of Bavaria and his wife Marie of Prussia (Ludwig's mother and father).
.JPG)
This entire experience was amazing!! well worth the trip out of Munich especially as the transport was included in my prize.
I had been to Munich twice now and was now finally doing some quality sightseeing that wasn't through the bottom of a beer glass :)
My liver had a day off and was happy + I got some good quality fresh air and exercise for the day.
Now to head back to Munich for more of the madness
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