My favorite memory of childhood is the one where Ajji (dad's mom) would do kai tuttu (putting small morsels of food on hand) under the moonlight and captivate me with stories and fairytales. The magical worlds described in those fairytales enthralled me. I spent countless hours with my sister making up our own fairytale worlds which eventually turned into a hair pulling, kicking and name calling fight as both of us wanted to be the same character in that story. As I grew older I began reading about the origin of fairytales and was surprised to discover that cinderella, rapunzel, sleeping beauty etc were of written by german authors. Thus began my fascination with german romantic literature and I have always wanted to visit Bavaria, the setting for many of these tales.
On May 11th 2014, I finally got to visit Bavaria the place I have dreamt of since childhood. I must say my imagination did injustice to the beauty of this place. The rolling slopes, green meadows, the crisp air, flowers in bloom-- it was magical. The drive itself put me on a high.
I visited Neuschwanstein castle first, built by King Ludwig 2 of Bavaria, as a dedication to Wagner's operas. Its a half an hour walk up to the castle in the woods, with amazing views. The palace was never completed as Ludwig 2 died (or murdered) under mysterious circumstances. I took a tour of the castle, but wasn't allowed to take pictures inside. After the tour I headed to Mary's Bridge, from where I got amazing views of the castle.
I visited Neuschwanstein castle first, built by King Ludwig 2 of Bavaria, as a dedication to Wagner's operas. Its a half an hour walk up to the castle in the woods, with amazing views. The palace was never completed as Ludwig 2 died (or murdered) under mysterious circumstances. I took a tour of the castle, but wasn't allowed to take pictures inside. After the tour I headed to Mary's Bridge, from where I got amazing views of the castle.
View of the castle after the short hike
One of the walls of Neuschwanstein
Mary's bridge from the castle
The front entrance
View of the castle from Mary's bridge
Next stop was Hohenschwangau castle. It was built by Ludwig's father and Ludwig grew up over there. Both castles are on top of small mountains and have outstanding views of the valleys below.
View of Hohenschwangau castle from Neuschwanstein
View of Neuschwanstein from Hohenschwangau
Hohenschwangau Castle
Neuschwanstein as seen from the highway
My next stop was Linderhof Castle, the smallest of the castles built by Ludwig 2. The best features of the castle were- The venus Grotto and the gardens around the palace. The king built the grotto and gardens to have musical concerts. The lucky bastard! I was truly envious.
Linderhof Castle and the surrounding gardens
The venus grotto- There is a boat in the middle of the lake, where the king sat to listen to concerts
The tour of the castle, was creepy though. It showcased the eccentric artistic tastes of the king. His private room in particular was weird- filled with mirrors and inlaid gold patterns. Five minutes in the room, made me dizzy, sort of like a drug induced haze. Ludwig 2 spent hours in this room. May be it was his way of going on a high!
The king's private room! He even had chandeliers made out of Ivory!
After spending a day getting drenched in rain, I was looking forward to the warmth of my hotel room in Munich.
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