Wednesday, June 24, 2026

After about a hour of highway driving we traveled again through pleasant farming country, listening to some Wagner symphonic music. Ludwig II of Bavaria adored Richard Wagner and financially supported him when he was king.  We also cruised through the quaint town of Füssen with its charming houses and surrounded by many nearby lakes, leading Ruby to recommend it highly for a future visit as a “base camp” for exploring if one is so inclined.  Some portions of the classic movie, “The Great Escape” starring Steve McQueen and James Garner, were filmed here.

Once we arrived at our castle tour location and I saw the fifty or so tour buses and Oh So Many Cars – a couple thousand people (!!!!), well, I wanted to turn right back around and return to Füssen or Munich!

We were given sandwiches from a Munich shop and an apple along with our entry tickets.  The majority of our group opted to tour Neuschwanstein Castle.  When I saw ALL THE PEOPLE, I chose Option #2, which was a tour of Ludwig II’s favorite, the family vacation and hunting castle, “Hohenschwangau”.  I was joined by an experienced Rick Steves Tour traveler and that was because he’d seen the primary castle last year!  

I will share the guidebook scoop because it’s so detailed I almost feel as if I viewed them both!  Each of the tours lasted about thirty minutes and we were not allowed to take photos of the interiors.

Neuschwanstein Castle is often referred to as the fairy-tale fantasy of “Mad” King Ludwig (“Swan King”, also “Fairy Tale King”).  “The castle was designed first by a theater – designer… then by an architect. While it was built upon the ruins of an old castle and looks medieval, Neuschwanstein is modern iron-and-brick construction with a sandstone veneer only about as old as the Eiffel Tower. Built from 1869 to 1886, it’s the epitome of the Romanticism popular in the 19th century Europe. Construction stopped with Ludwig‘s death (only a third of the interior was finished), and within six weeks, tourists were paying to go through it.”

“During World War II, the castle took on a sinister role. The Nazis used Neuschwanstein as one of their primary secret store houses for stolen art. After the war, Allied authorities spent a year sorting through and redistributing the art, which filled 49 rail cars from this one location alone. It was the only time the unfinished rooms were put to use.” 

“The tour visits 15 lavish rooms with original furnishings and fanciful wall paintings – mostly based on Wagnerian opera themes. Once inside, you’ll go up and down more than 300 steps, keep an eye out for a spiral staircase column that becomes a palm tree.  Ludwig’s extravagant throne room, modeled in a Neo-Byzantine style, celebrates six valiant Christian Kings (whose mantle Ludwig clearly believed he had donned) under a huge gilded bronze, crown like chandelier. The exquisite two million stone mosaic floor is a visual encyclopedia of animals and plants. While you’re standing on a replica, original segments ring the perimeter. The most memorable stop may be the King’s gilded-lily bedroom, with his elaborately carved canopy bed (with a fourth of Gothic Church spires on top), washstand (filled with water piped in from the Alps), and personal chapel. After passing through Ludwig‘s living room and faux grotto, you’ll climb to the fourth floor for the grand finale: the Singers’ Hall, an ornately decorated space filled with murals depicting the story of Parzival, the legendary medieval knight with whom Ludwig identified.” (Rick Steves guidebook) 

Below Neuschwanstein is the castle I toured, “Hohenschwangau” (“High Swanland”) and is where Ludwig spent his summers as a young boy.  Originally built in the 12th century, it was ruined by Napoleon and Ludwig’s father, King Maximilian II, rebuilt it in 1830 in the Neo-Gothic style.  This castle was used by the royal family as a summer hunting lodge until 1912 and The Wittelsbach family, which ruled Bavaria for nearly seven centuries, still owns the place.

We explored rooms on two floors – the queen‘s rooms and then upstairs, the king’s. There were busts, murals, and paintings as well as lavish gifts that had been given to the royal family over the years. Swans were ever present among much of the artwork and decor. An impressive room was the banquet hall also known as the “Hall of Heroes”, depicting battles and hunting expeditions.  The interiors really were spectacular!

That apple we received with our lunch – turns out it was a “Cosmic Crisp”, a newly released hybrid developed out of Washington State University!!  It truly was sweet, crisp, juicy and delicious!!

Goodbye Germany and Hello Austria! After settling into our hotel rooms, we had a Salzburg orientation walk through the historic center, followed by dinner together at Restaurant Herzl.  Thankfully we had a ten minute walk back to our hotel, Trumer Stube.  It’s still 78°F at 10:00 pm!!