Day 35

I can’t believe this trip is almost over. Just under a week left to go. I guess it’s good because it’s snowing outside right now, and I’m not prepared for this type of weather. We woke up in Fussen yesterday (day 35) and got ready for our day. We had a small breakfast of bread and jellies and then headed off into the city. We had a little bit of time before our bus left for Hohenschwangau so we walked around the city for a bit. The sky was a little cloudy and it was cold out so we headed over to the train station. We boarded our bus and started the journey to Neuschwanstein Castle. After a quick 15 minute ride, we were at the base. We went and bought our tickets and opted to hike up instead of taking the shuttle. The walk wasn’t too bad. It was lengthy but not super steep. And it was cold outside so I didn’t overheat. We made it to the top about 45 minutes later and walked over to the Marienbrucke (Marien Bridge) for an incredible view of the castle. The sun was low and the castle was somewhat in shadow, but it was still beautiful. We spent a while up there taking pictures and looking down at the waterfalls. There was even snow on the distant mountains. It was getting close to our tour time, so we left the bridge and started walking towards the castle. We stopped for pictures along the way and I just couldn’t get over how crazy it was that I was actually here at Neuschwanstein. Just like Hallstatt, I had a Neuschwanstein puzzle. So I felt like I had been looking at this image forever, and now I was finally here. We walked along the grounds in one of the courtyards and noticed strange tile patterns. King Ludwig II started building this castle in the 1800s, but when he died suddenly, all construction work was stopped so the castle remains unfinished to this day. The stonework on the outside was going to be the foundation of the castle chapel, but it was never completed. It was finally time for our tour. We went inside the castle and waited patiently for our guide. She came and started telling us the history of the castle and of King Ludwig II. The castle has 110 rooms, but only 16 were completed at the time of King Ludwig’s death. We were fortunate enough to see all 16. We started off with the servants’ quarters. And surprisingly, they were pretty nice. I can only imagine what the rest of the castle looked like. We headed down the halls and up the stairs until we came to the throne room. It was one of the most beautiful rooms I have ever seen. The paintings were incredible and depicted scenes from Europe’s 6 great kings. There was also a giant chandelier in the center of the room. It was made of brass and gold and weighed over 1 ton! Then there was the floor. The floor was a mosaic and consisted of over 2,000,000 individual pieces. Can you imagine how long that took to make!!?? The only thing missing from the room was the throne. It was never built. We left the throne room and continued to King Ludwig’s bedroom. That was almost as nice. It took the builders 4 years to complete this room because of the intricate carvings everywhere. The top of the bed was made in the style of the gothic churches. There was even a wash sink by his bed that had water running and everything. His toilet was probably the most intriguing item. After he was done using it, he would stand up and it would flush automatically! I didn’t even think that technology existed in the 1800s! We were told that King Ludwig II only stayed in his castle for 172 days before being arrested in his bedroom at 4 am. He was charged with being mentally insane and unable to rule Bavaria. He was found dead later that day and it was ruled a suicide. However, it would be very difficult for such an excellent swimmer to drown himself in waist deep water. There was also no water found in his lungs. So I guess it’s open to interpretation now. We left the kings bedroom and saw his study and dining area. Also very beautiful. The next room was a little more peculiar. It was a room made to look like a cave. There was even a secret door somewhere on the “cave” walls. This room was used to prove King Ludwig’s insanity. We left the cave room and went to the singers hall. Because the castle is just over 120 years old, none of the inside artwork has ever been restored or repainted. So we were looking at all original paintings! The room was beautiful and I left wishing I could stay there forever. The tour ended here and we were allowed to go back downstairs to have a look at the kitchen. It looked very modern. It probably would fit in at many restaurants in today’s world. After we left the kitchen we went back outside and saw that the sun was higher and the skies were clearer. We hiked back up to the Marienbrucke and took plenty more pictures. The view of the castle was incredible. I would have to say that this was one of my favorite places on the entire trip. After a good 30 minutes, we left the bridge and started the hike back down to our bus stop. We took an alternative route that led us through the forest and the waterfalls. It was really pretty. We made it back to Hohenschwangau just in time to take a few more pictures and to make our bus. We arrived in the city around 2 pm and saw that the clouds were coming in. Wee raced around to take some pictures before it started raining. We saw the town hall and Hohes Schloss, the city castle/palace. It was very beautiful. After our race around the city, we decided it was finally time for lunch. We stopped at the grocery store in hopes of finding something good to eat. I picked up some nice soup and then we headed back to the hostel. We were disappointed when we got back because the kitchen was locked. I guess that meant no lunch for me. Thankfully I had a snickers bar to hold me over. We relaxed in the hostel for a bit and I even got to read a magazine! Good Housekeeping, or something like that. It was nice to feel like I was back in the real world for a bit. I might have even dozed off for a bit. Around 5 we left to hostel to go back out into the city. Still no rain, but the clouds were covering the sky. We walked along the city streets and saw all of the colorful buildings. I even managed to snag some postcards. I was pretty hungry by this time, but we were holding out for the kitchen back at the hostel. After an hour or so, we finally headed back only to learn that we were not allowed to use the kitchen. So that meant we had to go back out into the city again. This was getting frustrating. We made it back onto the main street and as luck would have it, there was a nice Chinese Restaurant. Sadly, that’s where we went. I don’t know if I can even eat Chinese food again…at least not for a while. After my dinner of fried rice, we left and went back to the hostel. The internet was pretty bad, so no Chuck or Dexter. But I did get to upload some pictures. Other than that, we called it an early night. But I did wake up this morning to snow outside! So I’m excited for day 36.