Castles, Kings and Luges!
Trip Start
Jan 13, 2011
1
46
60
Trip End
Jul 05, 2011
Füssen, Bavaria, Germany
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
With only one day in Fussen, we spent the whole time exploring the terrain (and cuisine). Our hostel had great bikes to rent so we hopped on and cycled the 5km or so to the castles. Amazing architecture, over-the-top Baroque decor, stunning views of waterfalls on an Alpine background, and a fascinating story about a king with more money than sense. "Mad" King Ludwig II of Bavaria grew up in Hohenschwangau castle in the 1800s, dreaming about knights and ladies, listening to Richard Wagner's opera's and hiking the nearby mountains. When he inherited the throne at 18 years old, he began an ambitious construction project: a second castle just a bit higher up on the mountain. Neuschwanstein castle is a fairytale castle, with soaring turrets and high arched windows. (In fact, it inspired Walt Disney's castle in Cinderella.) The king spent so much money on this lavish castle - and two others in different parts of Bavaria - that his starving subjects had no choice but to declare him insane and unfit to rule.
He probably was off his rocker just a bit, the castles were so extremely decadent... we're talking kilos of gold leafing!
After soaking up as much opulence as we could, we biked to another attraction, this one much less touristy, much less expensive, but perhaps even more fun! There's a metal luge run set up on the side of the mountain where the slope is gentle; kids and adults can pay just a few Euro to be towed up the hillside in a hardy plastic tobogan with a brake and then shoot down the luge track. Woohoo! We returned to our humble little hostel with funky wind-tossed hair styles and big grins.
One last night with the VWs - we went out for a celebratory feast and then settled into our bunk beds. Hello Bavaria!
