I’d been waiting for this day for many moons.

Today was finally CASTLE DAY. Last night I prayed for a little bit of sunshine at the castle and I think we had the perfect mix of sunshine and clouds to get good lighting but no dark shadows. It was magical.
Neuschwanstein Castle was our first stop and we departed really early today so as not to miss our window. The drive was picturesque and we had a lot of different viewpoints for photos before actually going in.

I had planned to wear my pink and blue flower shirt that made me feel a little princessy. Well, I did in fact wear it, but it got burried under a jacket, a coat, and a scarf. The scarf was purchased at the castle since I forgot mine on the bus and my husband has hero tendencies and managed to find me another one at a shop. We’re pretending the scarf is the princess accessory. However, I managed to let the shirt see the castle at some point.






I have to say… normally I’d be incredibly exhausted climbing all those hills and stairs. But today had an energy about it. I’ve visited a number of castles before but this one felt really special. I felt a kind of empathy for King Ludwig II, who had it built, though he only slept in it 11 nights. He was openly extravagant in his taste and spent much of his own money have 3 different castles built. He had no wife or known mistresses and was believed to be gay (which explain the amazing taste and attention to detail). Every bit of the castle inside and out screamed luxury and art. And the vibe was more about self expression than pretentiousness. It was even said that he preferred to be alone in the castle and would dance alone in the candle-lit ballroom at night and sleep during the day.
Because Ludwig didn’t conform to what society expected of him, they declared him crazy and unfit to rule. His body was later found in the lake. Now the story is a little grey but here’s what I think happened. After calling him unfit to rule, he probably saw his death as “imminent” and planned an escape. However, in the process of trying to escape he was murdered but made to look like he committed suicide.

Anyhow. Enough about Ludwig II. The castle is situated in the forest above some subtle hills so everywhere you look is a beautiful view. We took a carriage ride to get back down the hill. The horses were so big and healthy looking it’s a wonder that they let humans control them.

On way to hotel, just after a comfort stop along the way, our bus shut off. Not one, not two, but three times. Once it started up again for good, the tour director just picked up the microphone and started briefing us on tomorrow. Like excuse me?! Are we going to talk about what just happened??
Our hotel tonight is far outside any city but very nice. It’s comfy with spacious rooms and a sauna. They let us upgrade to a room with a bath tub for not much more.

As always, Matt wanted to go exploring but the city is an hour and a half away by train and way too much money by taxi. Plus we had a scheduled dinner at the hotel at 7pm.