This morning we were heading to Austria to see the Neuschwanstein Castle, a castle that was later used as a model for the Disney Land Castle. The castle was built by King Ludwig II, the king of Bavaria in the 1840s-1880s. He was a very gentle king who had a passion for building castles rather than going to war. He wanted to build seven but only saw three completed before he died at the young age of 39. He had taken his country into bankruptcy because of his beautiful elaborate castles so he was "diagnosed" mentally ill. Soon after his diagnosis, he and his doctor were called to Munich. They were later found dead in a river and the official story was that Ludwig killed his doctor and then drowned. His death is very controversial because Ludwig was never known to be violent and was also very good swimmer.
We arrived in Fuessen, Austria around 11:00am and rode a horse and buggy up the hill to the castle. The last 600 feet is too steep for the horses so we had to walk it ourselves. This was the most beautiful day of the trip. It was still about 30 degrees outside but it was a clear, bright day and the castle was so majestic. It was like a fairytale.
We weren't allowed to take pictures inside of the castle but there was a book of postcards in the gift shop with photos of the interior. Every room was dripping with beautiful art, jewels, and intricate details. The king had an infatuation with swans so one room had swans in every nook and cranny. He even had a recital hall built into his castle where concerts are put on several times a year. Ludwig unfortunately died before the hall was ever used. Ludwig's mentor was Richard Wagner, the great composer. Wagner actually lived in the castle for a few months and much of the art features scenes from his operas.
After our guided tour of the castle we walked back the hill and did a little shopping and ate lunch. Brad had a schnitzel sandwich and I had a small hamburger. While we were eating a cat wandered over for some scraps. He was so cute but he looked so cold in the snow!
After lunch we got back on the bus and drove to Steingaden, Austria to visit the Pilgrimage Church. The church was in the middle of nowhere and didn't look like much of anything from the outside. But once we went inside we realized why we were there.
The church, however beautiful, was not heated so you could see your breath. We were about to leave when we noticed that the holy water was frozen solid!
We arrived at our hotel in Salzburg around 8:30pm and ate dinner in the restaurant downstairs. This hotel actually had a bowling alley in the basement! It wasn't quite the same as American bowling but it was still fun!
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