Wednesday morning we left Munich in the rain and headed to Neuschwanstein (English translation - new swan stone) the castle built by (mad) King Ludwig II of Bavaria. It looks like it should have been built in medieval times but was actually constructed in the late 1880's. This is the castle that Walt Disney used as a model for his logo and the entrance to Disneyland.
Photos were not allowed inside the castle but it was dedicated to Richard Wagner's operas and was opulently decorated with paintings, gold fixtures and baroque furnishings. awhile the rest of the world was on the eve the Industrial Revolution Ludwig was spending his tax payers dollars building this fairy tale castle. No wonder they called him "mad!"
We hiked all the way up and down from the castle on a very steep road with fellow tour members - that was an accomplishment in itself.
We were lucky that the weather had cleared a bit while we visited Neuschwanstein. However, I think the surrounding mists seem to make the castle match King Ludwig's fairytale visions.
When the weather is good, this is what it looks like.
Following the tour we headed over to an adjoining park where we had a picnic lunch and all took a quick turn on a luge. What fun it was. Bob and I both zipped down the luge taking two turns each.
We then settled back on the bus and made our way to Salzburg arriving around 6:30 pm, just time to check in and join the others for a late dinner. After all that activity we were both ready for bed.
We loved Salzburg, but our run of good weather had come to an end and we had quite a bit of rain. This curtailed our touring but landed us in a nice brew pub for lunch, a bit of shopping and time to do laundry. This is a place we would like to visit again in better weather.
Shopping in the rain...
Yes, this is a McDonald's - Salzburg style
That night we went to a concert featuring only a violin and piano but the artists made them sweetly sing. So much music from two instruments! We were treated to Mozart and Bach and the violinist played with passion for over 90 minutes and never once looked at a sheet of music - very impressive.
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