Fairy Tales Can Come True...

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FUSSEN Day 38

Today I entered every little girl’s dream world, so much so that Disney modeled his famed castled after it. All it took was a two hour train ride to Fussen and then a 10minute bus to Schwangau, which is a small town near Austria. This castle is the imagination of one King Ludwig, aka. Crazy King Ludwig. He decided that he wanted a castle built in the theme and in dedication to his favourite opera writer Wagner. The castle, Neuschwanstein, is dually themed between Wagner’s stories and swans. Instead of getting an architect to design the building crazy Ludwig turned to a theatrical designer. Although the castle was not finished, due to Ludwig’s sudden death, the rooms that are completed are absolutely brilliant.

Each completed room has fully painted wall panels that depict different scenes from Wagner’s operas. The detail and colour is magnificent and you literally do not know where to look next as it is a complete visual overload. In the king’s hall there is gold painted everywhere along with depictions of Jesus and the 12 apostles. Everything is glittery and bedazzled. The King’s bed is so ornate and extravagant it is hard to even describe to you, as there was no photography allowed within the castle walls, the top of the bed has the carvings of many gothic towers and apparently took 16 carpenters 4 years to complete. There is even a grotto throughout one hall way that was built in, based on a scene from… ok you can guess… one of Wagner’s operas.

So I have decided that my home will one day reflect a similar crazy imaginarium akin to Ludwig’s brilliantly eccentric castle! Everything bedazzled, gold guild on all open space, every inch of every wall a painting from a theatre performance that I have enjoyed, my bed will have a gaudi inspired carpentry piece built into the canopy, instead of swans I will have dogs sculpted and painted and carved into little places, and even a grotto (simply cause I like them). Don’t you all wish you could come live with me?

I like crazy Ludwig. I don’t know why he should be considered crazy for making a castle that can do nothing but bring joy every time you are near it. Oh I so wish I could have taken pictures so that you can all see how insanely wonderful it was inside. But, alas, it is trapped inside my mind.

Back to the hostel afterwards because it was getting pretty cold.

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