Friday, April 25, 2014

Road Trip: Neuschwanstein Castle

At the end of the work week on Friday, the conference/school ended around mid-day.   So, we planned to visit Neuschwanstein Castle that afternoon when Mike was available.  The castle is a little over an hour from Oberammergau, and it was quite a nice drive. 
 
 
 
 
 
The Bavarian Alps & the castle in the foothills

 
 
A pretty church in the valley
 

 
 
castle...getting closer
 



 
The stunning Neuschwanstein Castle
 
Walt Disney modeled his Magic Kingdom Sleeping Beauty Castle after Neuschwanstein
 

 
 
It's quite a steep walk up to the castle, so we splurged and took a horse drawn carriage with some other tourists.
 


 
 It's big!


 
Pretty facade




 
 
A beautiful day
 
 
 
We saw lots of hang-gliders & para-gliders flying over and around the castle
 

 
My loves
 


 
 
View out from behind the castle (notice St. Mary's bridge on the lower right of the picture)
 

 
Later we walked up the path you can see to get to St. Mary's Bridge
 
 
 
The Bavarian Alps are beautiful
 

 
The other castle on the right is called Hohenschwangau Castle, and it is where King Ludwig II spent his childhood.

 
The beauty of God's world is sometimes unreal

 
 
Hohenschwangau castle
 


 
 
model
 


 
Another angle of Neuschwanstein

 
 
I could stare at this all day.

 
 
The breathtaking Neuschwanstein from St. Mary's Bridge (probably the most photographed view)
 

 
And one with the family

 
 
Best Buds forever!

 
 
It is amazing to think how these castles are built on this rugged terrain!  This wasn't even a castle for defensive purposes.  King Ludwig II, sadly, led a very lonely life.  He never married or had any mistresses, so they say.  He was engaged for about 10 months, but broke it off.  He built this castle as a refuge from the public life.   Ironically, after his mysterious death, it was opened to the public in 1886.

 
 
If you look close, you can see all the para-gliders! 
 
 
 
Next up:  The city where "Sound of Music" was filmed...can you guess?

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