Day 5: Neuschwanstein

Day 5 brought with it our trip to Neuschwanstein Castle. As our bus approached the castle it looked very small against the massive alps behind it, but soon enlarged as we grew closer. King Ludwig II lived there, which is basically right across the street from his father’s castle. King Ludwig II is sometimes referred to as “Mad King Ludwig” due to him acting very mentally unstable. After our bus parked we walked up a path to the castle, occasionally being passed by clydesdales carrying carriages full of tourists (we decided to take the harder route). Eventually we came to a bridge that was located in the mountains behind the castle that gave us an unbelievable view of Neuschwanstein and the surrounding rural area. After taking some pictures on the bridge we descended back down to the castle to get a tour of the inside.

The inside of the castle was stunning. The attention to detail in every aspect of the castle was amazing and I constantly found myself asking how could someone even build that. King Ludwig’s bed was crowned with a huge and extremely ornate wood carving which was inspired by Gothic style. Instead of a regular faucet in his bathroom, water came out of the mouth of a large golden swan. Ludwig loved swans which is why there are many images and sculptures of swans throughout the castle. Overall I thought the castle was really incredible and definitely lived up to the image I had of what an actual castle looked like.

After we saw Neuschwanstein we saw another important cultural site which was the Wieskirche Church in Steingaden, Bavaria. The church was designed in the late 1740’s and was truly a sight to behold. The entire inside of the church is extremely ornate and full of religious paintings and depictions.The ceiling appeared to be a picture of angels and people entering the gates of heaven. Behind the alter were beautiful multi-colored pillars and smaller detail-oriented statues. After the church we visited a small doughnut shop right outside the front doors of the church that served interestingly shaped doughnuts that were delicious (of course).