Munich has been fun. We've (he's) eaten schnitzel, wurst, fish & MORE bread, washed down with MORE hot scholokade...delish.
Our full day excursion had us on the bus early and off to visit the royal castles of King Ludwig 2nd. After negotiating Munich's very busy morning rush hour (still in the dark - it's weird that the morning darkness extends way past the hour that our Sun rises), our first stop was Linderhof; a palace that Ludwig had designed and built to his specifications as his summer home. Arriving in winter with the grounds whitened with a light covering of snow created quite a fairytale atmosphere...so very pretty...so very cold!. Although Linderhof is quite small for a palace the extravagance of the decor is almost beyond comprehensio for a home for one man (and his servants) to occupy. Ludwig was quite reclusive for a king and mostly preferred his own company doing what he absolutely had to as a requirement of his inherited role. His waking hours were through the night when he spent much of his time eating and drinking, weighing in at about 200kg by the age of 40 when he died in mysterious circumstances.
On rejoining our bus we made our way to Oberammergau. A brief stop for some exploration of this pretty little town, made famous for The Passion Play performed only every 10 years by local citizens, for hundreds of years. Oberammergau also offered one of the best hot chocolates we've had so far.
The big bucket list tick of the day came for us at Neuschwanstein Castle. This incredible structure built on a cliff above the town of Hohenschwangau was never completed. King Ludwig only lived in the completed section (his apartment) for a little over 100 days during a 6-12 month period shortly before his death. The plans also included an apartment for Richard Wagner, Ludwig's favourite musician of the time. Sadly Wagner predeceased him.
Neuschwanstein Castle was also the inspiration behind Walt Disney's fairytale castle.
A long day and everything we had hoped it would be.
