We toured two castles in Bavaria today that were the home of "Mad" King Ludwig and his family. He was one of the last kings of Bavaria, and was frustrated by the fact that at that time the German monarchy was more of a figurehead than a ruler. He decided to spend tons of money building castles, including his dream palace Neuschwanstein, was later declared unfit to rule, and died under mysterious circumstances soon after. Hogenseangau, his boyhood home, was beautiful and cozy, if a castle can be that! The main rooms were much smaller than you'd expect. The castle had many painted walls (seccos) that depicted a romantic view of medieval court life and were striking! Then we toured Neuschwanstein, which is the castle that inspired Walt Disney. It was huge, regal, and amazingly perched high on a bluff to allow for gorgeous countryside views from any window. Unfortunately, most of the interior is incomplete because they ceased work when Ludwig died. But the ornate details in the throne room, hall and his bedroom were unbelievable! So gorgeous!
After the castles we headed by train to Munich. Our hotel is a very old building that was originally the elegant home of a wealthy family. The ceilings are 15ft and have pretty crown moulding.
We walked to the city centre for dinner and were happy to learn that this weekend is the city's birthday of sorts and there was a celebration happening with craft booths, special food and drink for sale and a really great cover band (that sang mostly in English!).
BMW fun tomorrow!
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