Sunday, May 30, 2010

Page 228 – Neuschwanstein Castle

I believe it was the book Wonders of the World by Lionel Grigson that was given to me at Christmas when I was 9 or 10 that started it all. Well, that and the scene in Mary Poppins where Bert is out doing street painting and with a little persuasion and magic they all jump into the painting and go on a jolly holiday in the cartoon world. I loved that scene. I would watch it over and over and over. And so it was that when my 10 year old self turned to page 228 of this magical book and gazed upon a fairy tale castle near a lake, in the mountains, on a clear fall day, she wanted to jump right inside the picture and go explore.

Twenty five years later (how is it possible that I can even make a statement like that?!) I did go and explore that castle and it was even more magical and fanciful on the inside than I ever imagined. That’s thanks to kooky Ludwig II, the Mad King of Bavaria.

Marla and her family were visiting her in-laws in Germany at the end of May this year. I couldn’t not go see them – especially since it’s only an hour and fifteen minute flight from Amsterdam to Munich. Done.

I hopped on a flight after work on May 28th, the Friday night. Driving back to the small, nearby town of Ergolding, I noticed, of all things, topography! So unlike Holland which is flat, flat, flat - great for biking but gets variety is good. We had a nice dinner in a nearby restaurant on a lake and I had some schnitzel, white beer, and some sort of German dumpling. We capped the night off later with some Schnapps, promising start to the weekend.

The next day, Marla and I were flying solo. She left the twins with Daddy and she and I hit the road. First stop – the bakery. Coffee and pastries please. The drive south to Schwangau near the Austrian border was beautiful once we got off the concrete jungle of highways 92, 99 and 96. We drove through the foothills of the Alps which were hilly and green and stunning. It only took 2 hours to get there. I was surprised to be able to see the castle from the highway. I suppose that makes sense given how big it is. It can be seen for miles.
Once we dealt with the masses at the bottom of the hill to buy our tickets we started the hike up the hill. Other options were minibus and caleche but we opted for the walk because we had so much time before our tour and it was a beautiful day. It’s always funny when they give hike time estimates at tourist spots. They obviously aim for the average time and pad it a bit. We were up in half the time so we made sure to stop and have a white beer and some lunch.
It can be a danger letting dreams into your reality but this castle did not disappoint…although it nearly did because somehow we missed the start of our tour and were locked out until some nice woman came and let us in. We caught up with the tour and were taken in to the world of a true dreamer. The castle is fanciful and no expense was spared. The bedroom had the most intricate woodwork. The sitting room was decorated with scenes from Wagner’s operas (Ludwig had a thing for Wagner!) and over 200 swans in paintings, carvings, coats of arms and even door handles were made in the shape of swans. And through one of these doors was a faux-cave that he had built to …er…well, it’s hard to say really. There was a beautiful winter garden off of it and rumour of a trap door that he would open to listen to concert halls in the concert hall directly above. Apparently every September the Schwangau region puts on concerts in this concert hall. While most tourists think ‘wow, wouldn’t that be nice’, THIS tourist thought ‘September, eh?!…I’ll look into that’. Not surprisingly, the tickets sold out early on but I am on the waiting list. Otherwise, I try next year.

It’s sad to think that while it took years to build, Neuschwanstein Castle was really only occupied for 6 months before Ludwig was declared unfit to rule and a day later died under suspicious circumstances. Ah those mad 19th century geniuses!

The rest of the weekend involved visiting with Josef, his brother, sister-in-law, niece and nephew and parents plus their twins, Kira and Josie. Marla and I had a great visit and we’ve now added another country to our list of places we’ve travelled together. I can’t believe I have to wait 9 more months until I see them again. In the meantime, I see that Iceland is featured on Page 210….