Neuschwanstein

Still having trouble uploading pictures. May have to wait until I get home to a faster internet connection.

We drove to Neuschwanstein Castle--it's the Southern German castle built by King Ludwig that the Disney Cinderella castle was modeled after. Lots of Americans there. I don't think I've heard so much English spoken in Germany outside of the International School. I also was impressed by the reasonable cost of entry, food, parking and transportation. It's a huge attraction, but nobody seems to be out to gouge the tourists.

We didn't get the full effect since the weather was really crummy. We took a half-hour walk up hill in the rain to get to it. Maddie was a super trouper! Then they take you on this tour, so you don't get to fully explore the castle--which was incredible. It would have been nice to have been able to linger a bit longer in some of the rooms which were painted with scenes from Wagner's operas (Ludwig was a megafan) and look more closely at the ornately carved furniture. After slogging through the cold, wet weather, I wanted more castle for my effort!

I'm sure the castle and the grounds would be even more enjoyable in spring and summer, but then you would have to battle crowds. There were quite a few people there in this weather, so I can't even imagine what it must be like when it is nice outside.

The castle was only started in the late 1860's--which is pretty new for Europe. Basically, Ludwig built his dream castle, which never was fully completed. After Ludwig was diagnosed as being mentally ill, he died under mysterious circumstances--drowned while on a walk with his psychiatrist. Skip has a book about Ludwig back in the states that I plan to read this summer. He seems like a real character!

When we came out of the castle a mix of rain and snow was coming down, and we opted for the covered horse-drawn carriage to take us back down to the town. Then, of course, we had to make the gift shop circuit with Maddie. I think we might have spent more time in one of the shops than in the castle.

Today, we are headed to Legoland and it promises to be a sunny (if cold!) day.

Between climbing the church tower, ascending a castle-hill in the rain and a near-freezing day that an amusement park, I'm pretty sure I'm going to need a vacation after this vacation.