Neuschwanstein Castle

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One of things that I wanted to see when I decided to come to Munich was Neuschwanstein Castle. The reason for this was that it was the castle that Walt Disney's Sleeping Beauty castle was based on and my brother Kenneth (Banga) loved Walt Disney Shows, especially "The Wonderful World of Disney" that was shown when we were kids.

We had an early start - it seems to be the story of my life at the moment ! It was a long drive, about 2 1/2 hours I think and about half an hour in to it it started snowing slightly. By the time we reached our first stop it was really snowing !! We had a quick look around King Ludwig's smaller castle "Linderhof". The grounds were very beautiful even though they were

We continued on our journey, passing through small quaint Bavarian villages before stopping at a village called Oberammergau. This is quite well known for it's craft works, especially wordworking. The snow kept falling and it made for a very "magical" scene. In the bus again, and by this time I was really getting hungry ! I started a conversation with a young couple sitting behind me. This turned out really well because when we got to the area where the Neuschwanstein Castle is we had quite a bit of time before our castle tour started so they invited me to have lunch with them. We ate in a typical Bavarian restaurant built out of timber with huge wooden beams. I had knuckle of pork with sauerkraut (?? spelling ) and potato dumpling, washed down with a beer of course!! It was delicious but way too much and I couldn't finish it.

We then made our way to queue up for our horse carriage ride to take us to the castle. Thank heavens we didn't decide to walk, as it was up a steep windy road.

We didn't have nearly enough time to really look carefully and to really appreciate the extravagant atrwork and woodcarvings. This seems to be an issue on most tours now, they just push you through and don't give you nearly enough time to take it all in. For instance, the carvings around the top of his bed canopy took 14 woodworking craftsmen 4 years to complete it. It was so intricate. We weren't allowed to take photos in either castle for "copyright reasons". Personally, I think it's because it's a money making venture and they want to sell you the books and postcards!

All in all , it was a really good day, I know that I was seeing it through Banga's eyes and he would have been so excited to see snow falling and to be seeing a place that was the model for something that he loved so much.

Magical !!


Today would have been his 42nd birthday, and I'm glad I got to spend it with him in spirit.

Happy birthday Banga, I hope you had a great day, you family loves and misses you very much

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Photos

Covered in Snow
A statue covered in snow

Bavarian Village
A typical souvenier store

Church
A church in the vicinity

Neuschwanstein Castle
Appears like magic

Disneyland?
Fit for a King!!

View from Window
A view from inside the castle looking through the window

Comments

[sissy]

wow, great photos, looks dammed freezing...get a snowboard!! one thing is for sure the chocolate wouldnt be melting off Bangas monte's, theyd be frozen! chat soon love sis

[Barb]

fantastic
I am glad you got your camera working, these photos are fantastic!! You are fitting so much in, but it does seem a shame that you can't 'stop to smell the roses' so to speak. Even though it looks so cold it still looks magical :-)

[Jill]

Magical!
Truly magical especially with the snow! So glad you got a camera charger to be able to take photos for you to keep. I hope the American couple sends you copies of their photos too. I really wanted to meet you in Singapore tomorrow but work has been so busy that I am working long hours. I hope you had a good flight to Singapore and you'll warm up from the snow, do lots of shopping and get ready for the long flight back to Sydney. Love Jillx