Mad King Ludwig II - Monday, June 28, 2010
We left the Heiss farm this morning around 8:30 and set the GPS for Fussen, Germany. Just outside the city are located 2 castles inhabited by King Ludwig II. One, the most elaborate, known as Neuschwanstein Castle, was built by him in the the mid 1800s in an effort to match the style of Midieval Castles. Situated high above the valley floor, we parked and walked 15 min. uphill to a bus loading station. The bus took us up to within 20 minutes of the castle and we had to walk up the the steep path the rest of the way on our own. We were put on a list for an English speaking tour and then waited over 1 ½ hours for our number to come up. Inside we were not allowed to take pictures but a guide showed us through on a 35 min. tour showing Ludwigs living quarters, various chamber rooms and lastly the kitchen. The woodwork was mostly hand carved elaborately from Linden wood in the area. He was forced to abdicate the throne because of his behaviour (thus the nickname MAD) and took his own life they figure a few days later. The castle was never completely. It was interesting but the walk up and back was quite tiring. Another castle built by him named Hohenschwangau sits just across the valley facing Neuschwanstein - not as elaborate but he lived in H more than N because of his untimely death.
On our way back to the farm we made 2 more stops. At the Wieskirche (White Church) we saw again the elaborate paintings on the carved ceilings. It has changed in the past 8 years with a number of small stores outside the Catholic Church selling food and mementos. Inside people sat quietly in the seats - some sang a hymn - some gazed upward at the intricate paintings depicting much of the life of Christ and Church activities.
Stopped at the Echlsbacher Bridge which spans the deep rushing river gorge and the Ammer River far below. The vantage point we had visited in ‘02 was mostly grown over by natural vegetation making the view less spectacular.
After a brief stop for groceries, we returned to the farm to make supper.
