D03: A MAD KING’S LEGACY

We were still plodding through Astrid’s marvelous breakfast in the semi sleep mode that always comes with jet lag when our host, Alex, said, “Today you will see the work of a mad man but he is our mad man.” We are learning that Bavarians have a sort of perverse pride in the unusual and daring and will defend it to the death. Perhaps that explains the success of Bavarian-made BMW’s and Audi’s. And Alex meant business when he said, “Los geht’s” a term I learned in Coffee-Table German that means, “Let’s go.”

The Neuschwanstein castle is a two hour drive from Schliersee and follows a route that skirts the base of the Alps. Rain was a concern but Louise introduced Alex to the American adage of, “We’ll be Ok if there’s enough blue sky to make a pair of man’s pants.” For some reason he was tickled by that simple weather forecast.

You know you’re close to the castle when you pass this old church standing all by itself in a pasture. No neighborhood walking to church here but plenty of free parking.

It’s here you get the first look at the castle from a distance so Louise and I took advantage of the view.

As we drove closer, the roadside was crowded with stopped cars, each trying to get the best camera shot before going in to the village to get in line for tickets. It was noon. Plenty of time we thought.

So close yet so far could describe the hour-long wait to purchase tickets in the village for a castle tour in English. By the time we reached the window the only available tour was at 16:55 (4:55 PM) so we broke out the sandwiches Astrid had prepared. An uphill bus ride dropped us off for a short 15 minute walk (so says the brochure) to the castle. It was all downhill…an ominous fact.

Halfway down is a spectacular overlook of the village below and a beautiful lake in the distance. It comes just as you are almost pooped out from the downhill walk.

Here is where we got our first closeup view of King Ludwig’s fantasy. Even though constructed in the 1870’s it still looks almost new. In no way a fixer-upper.

We joined the crowd inside the courtyard, all waiting for their tour number to be called. There’s not much in the way of diversions here. No souvenir shops, no kids rides and no taco stands. Best news is the toilets are free.

Alex and I took off looking for photo ops on an upper level while more practical Louise went scouting for a place to sit…also at a premium.

We looked over the parapet and saw that not only was she able to find a seat, she had a whole bench to herself…but not for long. She used that downtime to mine a whole lot of information on Ludwig.

It seems that mad King Ludwig was not really mad at all. The general populace that financed his fantasies through their taxes decided he must be crazy to spend their money on such opulence for one person.

He was not the only crazy one. We neglected to read the fine print about the physical challenges of the tour. At the very start we climbed up 163 steep circular stairs in one of the towers until we reached the third floor. From there we stumbled through Ludwig’s private chapel, his bedroom, bathroom and banquet hall…most of them quite dark. Surprising for the time, he had installed a crude form of electricity, running water and a phone system. Unfortunately, cameras or any other photo apparatus were not allowed on the tour so you’ll have to make do with word pictures.

The story of Ludwig had an unhappy ending, at least for him. At age 40 he was deposed by his subjects. His dream castle had taken 17 years to build and was not finished. After spending only 172 days in his fantasy world, he was chucked out. Three days after his deposing he was found floating in a local lake. The official word was that he had taken his own life but the local gossip was that it was an assisted suicide…one in which he was an unwilling participant.

With the tour over we made our way back to the bus but this time it was UPHILL all the way. Poor Alex had to take over the portage of my camera bag  and Louise’s purse if he had any hope of returning home. Before starting this trip Louise lamented that missing the daily regimen of our gym would put her in negative physical condition. After today’s forced march and pseudo StairMaster workout we are operating at a surplus.

Tomorrow we learn more about our hosts, our apartment and the area around Schliersee.

Auf wiedersehen.

Louise and Ray