Saturday morning we work up early to go on a tour of King Ludwick II of Bavaria's famous castles: Linderhof, Neusechwanstien and Hohenschwangau with a stop in the charming German town of Oberammergau. We went on an organized tour and we were both so glad that we did. The castles were about an hour and a half outside on Munich in the amazing Alps! We were thankful we didnt have to try and drive a car up the mountain roads....or autobahn for that matter!
Our tour bus did take the autobahn, so we can now check that off our list. It is famous because it doesnt have a speed limit and let me tell you, there are some cars on that thing that FLY, seriously, its a little scary. I included a video below of the countryside. (It is from the bus window, sorry about that)
First of all, the bus ride with the amazing views was worth it for us! We both LOVED seeing the snowy Alps. One of the most beautiful places we have both ever been. It was then, after the delicious beer and seeing the view, that we decided that we are moving to Munich (so you all better come and visit!)
We first started at Linderhof, which is very small compared to the other palaces that King Ludwig built. Its pretty much out in the middle of the Alps countryside with nothing much around. The King liked being alone, so he built this castle on old hunting property to get away.
Linderhof Palace! Sadly you couldnt take pictures inside and the gardens and famous grotto were closed but we loved seeing the inside. (If you click the link you can see more pictures). The castle contained the famous "magic table" which the King had built to be able to dine alone. The table sits on an elevator which can be lowered into the kitchen below so the King never had to see anyone. The castle is small, more like a chateau with only 6ish large rooms upstairs for the King and servants quarters on the first floor. The King modeled it after the famous Palace of Versailles in France so he had a small version of the famous Hall of Mirrors built in the castle! AWESOME! We both would love to come back in the summer to see all the amazing gardens and we agreed we could defiantly live here! (Did I mention it has some of the most AMAZING candlers I have EVER seen and over 6 KILOS of GOLD EVERYWHERE...the walls, candles, etc! Yeah, I could move in!)
A view from Linderhof!
LOVED the view! I included a video below, although it and the pictures do not do it justice.
We got lucky to have such beautiful weather!! This is one of my favorite pictures from the trip.
After touring the castle and grounds, we stopped in the small German town of Oberammergau.It was so cute! It is famous for the Passion play that half the town participates in every ten years! 2010 happened to be a Passion Play year, too bad we couldnt stay to see it. People come from around the world to see it! It was started back in 1634 when the town prayed to stop the dying of the plague by re-enacting the play. So when God answered their prayers, the town has done the play ever since!
Outside of the town, they have a Monk Brewery that makes snaps liquor! Since its "Holy" its supposed to cure everything....you know we HAD to try it! (And it know how it sounds...we are not becoming alcoholics! These Germans just loved their booze! And we loved it too!!)
Next stop was Neuschwanstien Castle!! This is the castle that Walt Disney modeled the Disney Castle after! King Ludwick had this built in the 1870s to look like a medieval castle, which he loved. He died/may have been murdered before all 100 rooms were finished. Only 17 were done that we could tour...but man, the King had good taste in decorating! No pictures on the inside either but the link has some.
Fairytale castle with an unbelievable view!
To get to the castle, you have to HIKE up a steep hill for about a mile! It wasnt as easy as it looks, but totally worth it! It was such a nice day we didnt even need our coats, even with the snow on the ground!
The view!
Neuschwanstein Castle
This is Hohenschwagau Castle which is right next to Neuschwanstein. It is the castle where King Ludwick grew up and what made him decide to build his castle here.
Beautiful view from Neuschwanstein. You can see Hohenschwagnau on the right side.
Neuschwanstien from the bottom
A cute little German car we found for Stu to drive! It was a super long but fun day! After touring the castle and making the hike back down, we headed back to Munich. We both slept the entire way on the bus. We LOVED the trip, the castles and especially the views!! Perfect way to spend a Thursday :)
Since we wanted to try true Bavarian (the "state" within Germany that Munich is in) food, we went to a neat restaurant under the Glockenspiel in the center of town. It was so crowded and the food, beer and Bavarian wine I tried was so delicious!
Assorted Bavarian Sausages, mashed potatoes and sauerkraut (which tastes totally different than in the States)After dinner, we were so tired our weary legs carried us back to the hotel. It was a jam packed but awesome day. I highly recommend it to anyone going to Germany/Europe! One of my favorite places Ive ever been!
Thanks for reading! Tomorrow (blog entry wise) we journeyed to Salzburg, Austria!!!! Love and miss you all!!
al meine Liebe
On the autobaun
View from Linderhof
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