Opulence of Crazy King Ludwig II (June 15th)

Today I left the beautiful and stunning Reutte. I wish we did not have to leave, but I was also excited to move onto new places and explore new lands. Our final destination was Salzburg. But to get there we would take the scenic route to Linderhof Palace before hopping onto the autobahn to Salzburg.

Yesterday was filled with Crazy King Ludwig II's palatial castle Neuschwanstein. Today was the equally opulent Linderhof Palace. This was the palace where King Ludwig actually lived. See, he actually never lived in Neuschwanstein as he died before it was finished. Linderhof is situated in a very scenic area of Germany. We took the scenic route to Linderhof, which led us by mountains, lakes, and dense forests. It was beautiful. The palace itself is based on a square, where the rooms are situated around the central staircase. The outside was quite beautiful. The building itself was opulent and highly ornamented. The gardens and fountains on each side of the palace where even more stunning. I would not mind living in this palace. At times it would be opulent, but I would feel like a king.

Linderhof Palace

The gold sculpture shoots out water. I saw it as I arrived, but then it stopped. It must be timed and only goes off for a few minutes at a time. 

We were not allowed to take pictures inside, so it will be hard to communicate how ornate things were on the inside. Each of the main rooms had a theme. One was filled with some of the finest porcelain. Not only that, but each room was partnered with a servants closet. The servants would wait in these small rooms till when they were needed, however these rooms were not heated and could get extremely cold. In Ludwig's main chamber, the table at which he sat and ate would be raised and lowered from the kitchen to his room. His food just magically appeared. I would want one of those.

Ludwig was a strange man. He was taller than the average man. He did spend a lot of his peoples money to build his palaces. He also had a strange fascination with Richard Wagner. In each of his homes he attempted to have the facilities that would allow Wagner to come play for him. However Wagner never came. Ludwig was just a bit obsessed I think. Lastly, Ludwig slept mostly during the day and studied by night. He favorite pastime was reading. So he was a strange man, but not so strange that I cannot relate.

After the tour of the palace, I travelled up through the gardens to the Grotto. All that I knew was that Ludwig had a cave on the premise. I thought that it would be worth my time to get there. I was shocked to see what I saw.  The cave was man made. Ludwig made this cave based on Wagner's operas. It came fashioned with a lake and waterfall. He literally went all out to get Wagner to come perform for him. If there were every performances in the Grotto, Ludwig was the sole audience member. He would either sit on his perch above the lake or in the boat that floated in the middle of the lake.

After Linderhof, we hopped onto the autobahn going toward Salzburg. We were going to spend two nights at the Blobergerhof just outside of Salzburg. I drove most of the way. I just really like the autobahn. Before we left Reutte, we checked with several people to make sure that we did not need an Austrian toll sticker. We were told that one does not need a sticker if you are going to Salzburg. However, at the first exit that we took to go into Salzburg we were pulled over by some officials. We were charged with a 120 euro ticket for not having an 8 dollar sticker. It was stupid, and we had to pay it right then and there. In their truck they had credit card machines...the whole shebang. We paid it and went along on our way. We thought the entire experience was stupid because only rented cars would be without the sticker. So the system attacks tourists who don't know anything. That was our only speed bump of the day. We settled into our hotel and moved into Salzburg to see a part of the city. We scoped out the places where I wanted to go so we knew where to go.

Blobergerhof

For dinner we went to the Augustiner. The Augustiner is a huge beer garden that was a former monastery. My mom's friend Rick (who showed me around Berlin) introduced my mom to the Augustiner. At home my parents have matching Augustiner bier steins. I got some schwinehaxe and some beer. The food was ok but the beer was good. When we were full we took the bus back to our hotel and called it a night. 

Picturesque Neuschwanstein (June 14th)

Today was the first rainy day of this part of my trip. The last few days have been perfect. They have been sunny, warm, but with a nice breeze so it does not feel super hot. If summer could be the weather that I had in the Alps, then I would never leave.

Neuschwanstein was built in the 19th century by Crazy King Ludwig. Castles were no longer needed, but Ludwig wanted a castle to impress those that would come to visit. Unfortunately, he died before Neuschwanstein was completed. It was one of the most ornate palaces that I have ever seen in my life.  However, to build the castle Ludwig used his peoples money.

When we arrived in Fussen at the bottom of Neuschwanstein to find a sea of tourists. I hate going to historic places to find tourists who really don't care about being there. They are there to get their picture then leave. Our tickets allowed us to have a assigned tour time. Each tour was supposed to last 40 minutes, but there were groups in the room in front and behind you. I like to take my time when I go on a tour. I am getting ahead of myself however. Most people love Neuschwanstein, but it was not my favorite.

Hohenschwangau - place where Ludwig was born

When we arrived, we took a bus up to the castle. They nickel and dime you at every turn. You pay for everything here. That is what I like the least about major touristy places. They take a historic place but disney-fy it so they can make money. They exploit the history. When we got off the bus, we venture up a short path to a iron bridge that overlooked the castle. This bridge gives the best view of the castle. When my parents where here 31 years ago, they took a picture with the castle over their shoulders. Now my mom and dad have the same picture but with their two children.

left to right: Parker, Diana, Scott, and Martina

The fog in this picture reminds me of my experience at Craigsmillar Castle near Edinburg. It gives the castle a mystical quality. 

Craigsmillar Castle Scotland

Neuschwanstein

For the tour itself we were not allowed to take pictures inside. When you leave the castle you exit through the two gift shops. Overall I was not super impressed. It was nice and I will probably bring my kids there one day, but it will not be on the top of my list. It is the honest truth. Others may be of different opinion than me, but I have stated my opinion.

After Neuschwanstein we drove to the Weisse Kirche (Wheat Church). This church is supposedly the most ornate baroque church in Germany. The outside of the church it does not look super ornate, but wait till you get inside. You have to leave feeling happy simply because Jesus rides/sits on a rainbow. On this trip alone I have seen some spectacular churches, but this one may take the cake. 

Ceiling as you walk into the church

Organ

Altar

"Taste the Rainbow"

After we got dinner at a place near the church we drove back to our place in Reutte.  When we got back, my sister and I walked around the town on our own. She went one way to make a call, and I walked another. I just wanted to walk around. I then walked back and spent the rest of the night relaxing, journaling, and reading the Hobbit.

Today just seemed like a really long day. This was the first day on my trip in Europe that I felt that the trip is getting long. I hope this feeling does not persist. I am sure it will not. Tomorrow will be a long day of driving, but I know I will feel better tomorrow.

"The Hills Are Alive" (June 13th)

Today was a day I was longing for since we had arrived in Reutte. From the moment we arrived I loved the region. I could get used to living here for a time hands down. To prep for the day, I sat outside on the deck, journaled, looked at the mountains, and ate a hearty European breakfast consisting of german bread, grapes, yogurt, muesli, and a banana. After a nice breakfast, we departed our apartment and drove to the cable car that would bring us up the mountain where we could go hiking.

I was extremely excited to be hiking in the alps. Never before had I done this. I have also not experienced these types of views before other than briefly in Colorado.  To say the least, I was smitten with Germany and Austria. 

view from cable car

another view from the cable car

Where we exited the cable car is where all of the trails begin. Naturally there were one or two restaurants with panoramic views. My dad, my sister, and myself decided to go hiking. We walked up a hill behind the cable car. My dad left us at that point and Martina and I continued on. The views were stupendous. Martina and I saw a little hut in the middle of this valley. That was going to be our destination. We had heard from Hartmut that there are huts along the hiking trails that have traditional meat and cheeses. The one thought that I had was how do they get the food to these places. There were no roads or anything, just steep hiking trails. The food could be brought up in the cable cars, but this hut was in the middle of nothing. My guess is that people have to carry it. If so, that would be some commute to work. 

The hut is the white thing in the middle of the valley

Martina and I hiked for a few hours. I constantly stopped to take pictures. Words and pictures fail to capture the beauty of the earth. Martina and I made it to the hut. They served beer and other food, not meat and cheese. By that point, Martina got a call from our parents saying that we need to come back. It was much easier getting to the hut because it was mostly downhill. Now it was most certainly up hill. Nonetheless, I relished in the challenge. It took us less time to get back that expected. Maybe it was because I did not need to take many pictures.

After we got down the mountain, we drove to Neuschwanstein Castle to purchase our tickets for the castle the following day. So this was a detour I wish that we did not have to make. According to my parents, Neuschwanstein has grown a lot since they were there 30 years ago. This is the castle that inspired the Disney Castle. Below the castle it is quite Disney-esque. It is super touristy. Not sure I like that. I like more pure, ruined castles.

When we got back to Reutte, my dad, my sister, and myself went up the mountain to Erenberg Castle. That is the lower to the two castles that sat on the mountain opposite of where we were staying. Castle Erenberg is a 12th-13th century castle. The hike up to the castle took about 40 minutes at a semi-steep incline. The hike up this small mountain was harder than it should have been. The reason being I was hiking in the alps for hours all morning.

The castle itself was made of a white stone. It was ruined and you could walk wherever you wanted. However one did not want to stray to far from the path as weeds covered every open space where the paths where not. In the weeds were poison ivy and itch weed. So falling into that could have been very unpleasant indeed. I enjoyed the position of the castle. The castle was only approachable from one side. The other three sides were situated on the cliffs of the mountain. I thoroughly enjoyed walking around in the castle ruins. It reminded me of the days I spent exploring castles in Scotland.

Imposing walls and gate

Stunning

Not much is left of the castle as you can probably see. But I much prefer this type of castle than the castle that I will be seeing tomorrow. Neuschwanstein is just too clean and pristine (because it was built in the 1800's). This is where I belong.