Vacation to King Ludwig's castles (part 2)

We slept hard that first night, probably because of all the walking and climbing up stairs. We met at 9:00 for our complimentary breakfast in Das Frühstückzimmer (the breakfast room). Oh, the choices(!): Pastries, rolls, plenty of condiments, cheeses, sliced meats, boiled eggs, cereal, granola, fresh fruit, yogurt, fruit and vegetable juices, milk, buttermilk, hot chocolate (it came in a pitcher already made!), and the biggest block of butter I've ever seen! It was definitely the best hotel breakfast I've ever had. And a great way to get some energy stored up for our day!
We left the hotel and drove about 10 minutes away to a parking area for castle tours. We bought tickets for Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau Castles then walked up the long staircase to Hohenschwangau Castle.
It has been enjoyable to read history and learn of the people and places we are to visit. It gives the places we visit more meaning. Hohenschwangau was the main residence of King Ludwig while growing up. His father built it on ruins of an older castle originally built in the 11th century. The courtyards are beautiful, and have beautiful views. There aren't a lot of pictures from the inside because nobody is allowed to take photos. Somehow my camera was placed on a non-flash museum setting and pictures ended up on its memory... Funnily, my camera snapped a picture of a bedroom and also randomly captured Christina and Matt in the full-length mirror.
The kitchens were built in separate buildings to prevent damage in case of fire (which we have learned on other castle tours must have happened more frequently than initially thought). While this wasn't the most ornate castle of the two, this tour was more informative and interesting. The views out of the windows were beautiful!
After the tour was over, we had about 45 minutes until our scheduled tour at Neuschwanstein Castle started. There are a few choices to get up the mountain: walk, ride a tour bus, or ride in a horse-drawn carriage. Of course we chose the most touristy, fun option!
It was a longer ride up than expected (which made us glad we didn't walk because we might not have made it in time) and we shared it with a cute German family.
Neuschwanstein was everything I expected it to be--just like a fairy tale! Even the view of it from the trail on the way up was breathtaking! King Ludwig was also known as the Swan King, and there are many swan carvings, paintings, stained glass windows, and other accessories decorating both castles. In part of the tour we were taken through a sort of hallway that had the bare rock of the mountain on one side, and a swan window on the other. I wish I could have gotten a picture of King Ludwig's bed. It took 14 carpenters 10 years to finish it. Amazing woodwork! But I did get a picture of the piano! King Ludwig loved Richard Wagner and built stages for him to perform his operas. There are also many murals on the walls depicting his more famous opera, "Tristan and Isolde" (also made into a movie a couple of years ago).
The throne room was outrageously decorated. Unfortunately, King Ludwig died before a throne was ever constructed, and the room has remained without. I did manage to get a picture of the gaudy chandelier!
When our tour was over, we realized, much to our chagrin, that it had started pouring. I'd really wanted to walk back down and enjoy the natural beauty of Bavaria, but we took the now-covered carriage back down.
We spent the rest of the evening at the hotel restaurant and in our room. I studied my German and read a book, Jer watched movies on the mini-DVD player, Matt read Christina's paperback, and Christina wrote stories on her laptop. It had been a great day. Jer and I ventured out for a little while to drive around, but as it was raining so hard, we turned back to the hotel, defeated. Es goss in Strömen.