Disney World Castle

Wednesday,  May 1, 2024

Schloss Neuschwanstein

After breakfast, we walked to the bus for our day trip to the castles of King Ludwig II.

We took a very comfortable bus on the autobahn. We were passed by more Porsches than I've ever seen. For the most part, there is no speed limit on the autobahn, but most people (who are not in a Porsche) drive at a reasonable speed. During the bus ride, our guide Adrian told us about what we were going to see today.

Our first stop was Castle Linderhof. This is where Ludwig preferred to live as he hated living in the city of Munich. At the time, Munich was a very dirty city. There was not even clean water to drink which is why they became the beer capital of the world.  This castle had lots of beautiful murals, tapestries, vases and sculptures. We were not allowed to take pictures inside. 

Our second stop was in Oberammergau. During the black plague in 1630s, the people prayed to be saved from the sickness. They promised God that they would honor Him by sharing His passion. They were spared while the nearby village was completely wiped out by the sickness.  So, every 10 years since 1634, the village of Oberammergau puts on The Passion Play. Currently, 1,000 people from the village participate in the production of the play every 10th year from April to September. Only people from the village are allowed to participate.  Currently,  this event draws over 500,000 visitors (every 10th year). 

The village has other traditions such as the pilgrimage to the top of the mountain to the cross, May Day festivities, houses painted with fairy tale themes, and cuckoo clocks.

Our guide, Adrian was dressed in traditional Bavarian clothing. 

Our third and final stop was at Schloss Neuschwanstein. This is the castle that inspired the Disney castle. This was the last castle that Ludwig built. It was never finished though he did live in it for a while,  until he was arrested and mysteriously died. 

The view from the bridge is the best for getting a picture of the castle. Dottie and I did not go to the restaurant with the group so we had time to go on the bridge. 

We had a picnic lunch after the bridge while we waited for the rest of the group. 

The tour took 30 minutes which was not nearly enough time to look at all the murals, paintings, sculptures, carvings, woodwork, etc in the few rooms that we were allowed to see. Once again, no photos were allowed.

This orange castle is the one where Ludwig grew up, his father was King Maximilian.  The castle is called Hohenschwanhmgau. We did not tour this one. 

We had taken the shuttle from the parking lot up to the castle,  but we walked down.

It was a great day with great weather.  May 1 is a national holiday so it may have been a little more crowded, but we were also able to see a couple of May Day festivals. We got back to Munich around 7pm. We walked over 5 miles today. It was a good day.