Neuschwanstein Castle

So we finally decided to take the plunge and actually go to Neuschwanstein Castle and take the tour on the inside.  We headed out on a bus trip early in the morning.

As we were leaving the fog was deep in the valley.  I thought it looked really cool!!  We didn't know if we were gong to get rain or sunshine.  We were all hoping for sunshine!

Our first stop was a woodworking store.  They have some of the best woodworking around.  There were so many beautiful works of arts.  I really liked the nativity scenes, but I wasn't ready to invest in one yet, because with the prices they were it is an investment.

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Next we headed to Pilgrimage Church of Wies.  The big church in the background was built in 1745.

This was the first chapel. Maria Lori was given a figure of Christ for private devotion.  It was originally used in the procession on Good Friday, but they thought it was too plain to use after that, so they gave it to her.  On June 14th, so went to pray in front of the statue and she say tears coming out of the statue's eyes.  So this little chapel was built in 1740 and the figure was placed on the altar.  The pilgrimage to Christ in the Meadow grew rapidly so they needed more space.

So on August 31, 1749 the figure was carried in procession from the Chapel to its new altar in the Choir.

Such beautiful artwork in the church!!!  Unfortunately a church service was going on so we couldn't walk around.  But still breath taking!!!

We then took a stop in the restaurant next to it and Michael had a pretzel as big as his face and AJ had a fresh made doughnut!  They were both delicious!!!

Then off to Neuschwanstein Castle and the next adventure!!!

So we had some time to kill before our tour, so we decided to go hiking for a little bit.  The boys decided to take the road less traveled up the side of the mountain, in the mud and rain.

Here Sarah and the kids were trying to throw rocks all the way down and try and hit the river.  I am not sure if any of them every did hit it.  :-)

And we were off again, this time on a real trail!

Beautiful views up there and I love the way the fog was still hanging in the clouds.

The boys found a worm on the trail and were checking it out.  Ari held it, but didn't like it very much.

The castle from a view point along our hike!

I love this sign, they were all over the place basically telling you how dangerous it was to get off the trail.

The kids at the castle!

The waterfall from the bridge and the sun decided to come out and shine for us!

A panoramic view of the castle and surrounding area.

Next we headed into the castle itself.  This is a bust of Ludwig who had the castle built and died under suspicious circumstances.  Had the palace been completed, the palace would have had more than 200 interior rooms, including premises for guests and servants, as well as for service and logistics.  Ultimately, no more than about 15 rooms and halls were finished. 

A view from inside the castle - I am good looking at that everyday!

The inside of the castle was amazing!!!  This was one of the many paintings on the wall that we saw throughout the castle.

This was his bedroom and it took 14 carpenters four and a half years to carve everything in his room including the top of his bed that you see in the picture above.  It is hard to see, but so intricate.

This was a family painting and there are swans all over the painting.

I loved the top of this staircase - made to look like a palm tree in the night!!

This was called the enchanted forest and was a huge painting in the Hall of Singers.

These were the servants quarters - they were really nice and each had their own bed, sitting area, etc.

The white swan is one of the most famous pieces in the castle.  It is worth millions.

This was a painting in the throne room, which is kind of funny because the throne was never completed.  But you can see in the top left of the painting you can see the other castle that Ludwig wanted to build and never was able to.

You can see in the corner that there is a telephone there.  It was one of the first of its kind and it connected this castle to his parent's castle on the other hill.  The palace was fitted with several of the latest technical innovations of the late 19th century.  Among the telephone lines, it also had a battery powered bell system for the servants.

The largest room in the palace by far is this one, the Hall of the Singers.  It is designed as an amalgamation of two rooms of the Wartburg.  The Hall of the Singers and the Ballroom.  It was one of the king's favorite projects for his palace. 

The kitchen equipment included a Rumford oven that turned the skewer with its heat and so automatically adjusted the turning speed.  The hot air was used for a central heating system.

Further novelties for the era were running warm water and toilets with automatic flushing.  As you can see the faucet is a swan.

This was the head cook's office.  He had a separate one because he also had administrative responsibilities: drawing up lists of deliveries and writing receipts and menus.

This was another part of the kitchen, it was huge and only used for two years.

This was Ludwig II's parent's castle where the other phone was.  After a late lunch we headed back to the bus and Garmisch.

There is always a big party over labor day weekend so we decided to stay and partake.  One thing was a bouncy castle and boy did the kids have so much fun on it!!!

Next AJ and Michael decided to do some sumo wrestling.  It was so funny!!!  AJ did have the height on Michael and was able to knock him down a few times.

The sun was coming out and it was turning into a wonderful evening!!!

Where else can you find beer crate stacking?  The boys were so excited about it!!!  The both did really well!!  AJ stacked 17 before he fell.

Michael was able to stack 11!!  It was harder for Michael because the crates were so big and he had to stack them while staying balanced.

Then David's turn, he did really well also, up to 13!  It was a lot harder than it looked!

Then after that a water balloon toss.  The boys didn't make it too far, but they had fun doing it!!!  It was really a fun filled, long day!!!   I think we all were looking forward to sleeping in the next day!