We had a week of time after departing Adelboden before our apartment was ready for us in Slovenija, so, we decided to take a road trip to the Czech Republic to see Prague, which we have always wanted to see, and two other small towns that were put on our list of places to go after we watched movies that were filmed there. Upon mapping our route from Adelboden to Cesky Krumlov, the first Czech town we planned to see, we discovered that we would be cutting through the southern corner of Bavaria and the Romantic Road region. Neither of us had been to see Schloss Neuschwanstein, near Fussen (probably the most famous Bavarian castle of them all: Walt Disney used it as the model for Cinderella’s castle which presides over his Magic Kingdom) for years so we decided to make that our first stop.

One of the perks of having a loose itinerary is that you are free to make last minute changes or additions to your plans. One of the drawbacks is that if you decide to visit a popular tourist location during high tourist season, you may end up sleeping in the car. We arrived in the Fussen area in the evening and, as they say, there was no room at the inn. Any inn. We ended up spending most of our night driving around trying to secure lodging, finally ending up stopping at a McDonald’s so we could use their free wi-fi and finding a great little family run guesthouse at Reutte, Austria (Fussen is right next to the Austrian border, so it wasn’t that far). It usually works out in the end, it’s just often a huge pain to get there!

The next morning we headed into Schwangau, the town over which Schloss Neuschwanstein presides from its commanding post on top of the hill. This was less of a town and more of a small circus given all of the cars and tourists walking the streets. I don’t know why anyone would visit these places during high season, it is seriously annoying! Nevertheless, we secured a spot in the parking lot and, given the high heat and humidity of the day, quickly decided not to walk up to the castle but rather pay for a ride. It was a wise decision. We needed to be on the road for Cesky Krumlov soon so rather than stop for any castle tours we decided just to climb up to Neuschwanstein and walk across the nearby bridge that gives one the best side of Neuschwanstein (and is probably the bridge from which most of the photographs you have ever seen of the place are taken). A tour of the interior of Neuschwanstein is actually a bit of a disappointment since it was only partially completed at King Ludwig’s death.

Schloss Neuschwanstein, along with several other very elaborate castles in Bavaria, was the project of King Ludwig II of Bavaria. King Ludwig ascended to the throne at the tender age of 18 after his father’s death. Neuschwanstein towers over Hohenschwangau, his father’s castle and Ludwig’s childhood home. Think there was any psychological component to his deciding to built a much larger castle overlooking his father’s? Hmmm . . . .

Unfortunately Ludwig was very private, extremely shy and eccentric, and did not like many of the activities usually required of a head of state, such as large formal state functions or social occasions, which caused tension with his cabinet. He much preferred a quiet life of fantasy pursuing creative projects. Ludwig was an enormous fan of the composer Richard Wagner and it is likely Ludwig that we can thank for some of Wagner’s best known works, including the Ring cycle (Die Walkure being part of that – I must insert the obligatory “Kill the wabbit, kill the wabbit!” reference here). Without Ludwig’s support, Wagner likely would not have been able to compose and premiere these works. One example of Ludwig’s grandiose, elaborate, and eccentric projects is at Schloss Linderhoff, another of King Ludwig’s castles. He had constructed on the grounds a Venus grotto, lit by electricity (this was in the late 19th century), in which he would have opera singers perform Wagner’s works while Ludwig was rowed around in a boat shaped like a shell. Eccentric? Definitely. Crazy?

King Ludwig used his family’s fortune to build the castles and pursue other elaborate projects and as such was heavily in debt. Instead of economizing as his financial ministers advised, he continued to borrow heavily and undertake even more elaborate and opulent projects. Before Schloss Neuschwanstein was finished, King Ludwig’s cabinet had him declared insane. They undertook to compile reports of his eccentric behavior through the aggregation of gossip and interviews with his staff, and then had four psychiatrists who never even examined him declare him paranoid and unfit to rule. Poor Ludwig managed to keep them from arresting him for a couple of days (the local police and peasants defended him – he was loved by them and was known by a Bavarian phrase that translates as “our darling king”) but they eventually cut off all of his support and took him into custody. He was found dead the next day in shallow waters of a lake, along with one of the doctors who had signed the medical report against him. His death was officially ruled a suicide by drowning, though by some reports there was no water was found in his lungs – there are conflicting reports as to whether an autopsy was even performed. To this day, no one knows what actually happened to him and his descendants won’t agree to allow him to be exhumed and examined with modern technologies. Theories include speculation that he was going to escape with the help of some loyalists and was killed in the attempt, or that he wanted to commit suicide (he had spoken of it often in the preceding two days) and killed the doctor when he tried to stop him (the doctor had a huge gash across his forehead, and his lungs contained water), or that both of them were murdered by the ministers or by the family to make sure no future threats to rule were made. His cousin and one of his closest friends, Empress Elizabeth of Austria, said “The King was not mad; he was just an eccentric living in a world of dreams. They might have treated him more gently, and thus perhaps spared him so terrible an end.” In a sad footnote, Mad King Ludwig’s elaborate projects have now paid for themselves many times over in tourist dollars.

When Larry and I got into the bus and went up the hill, and over to the bridge with the incredible view, we were greeted with quite a sight. Words cannot describe so I’ll just include the video below (click ‘play’ button to view):

Umm, yea. Completely buried in scaffolding. The side that faces the valley was not, as you can see below, but that’s not the shot that we wanted. We wanted to get some classic shots from the bridge, with the valley spreading down below.

While I won’t go so far as to stay our side trip to Neuschwanstein was a waste, it definitely wasn’t satisfying either.

We decided to drive for a spell on the famous Romantic Road, and stopped in Oberammergau for a drink and a walk. Oberammergau is the city that hosts the famous Passion Play depicting the life, crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ every 10 years (the next one being in 2010). The tradition began in the 1600’s when the village was being ravaged by the bubonic plague. The inhabitants vowed that if they were spared the plague, they would perform this play every 10 years. The death rate went from 1 person in October 1632 to 20 people in March of 1633 to 1 person in July of the same year. The villagers believed they were spared and kept their part of the bargain by performing the first Passion Play in 1634. With very few exceptions, it has continued every 10 years since (now being performed on every decade ending in 0). Nearly half the members of the entire town participate in the play (more than 2,000 people have some role in the production). It is a 5-hour play beginning with Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem and ending with his resurrection. There is a 3-hour intermission in the middle for dinner – thus, you have a total performance time of 8 hours. It goes from 2:30 to 10:30 pm and will be performed from mid-May until early October next year. Book your tickets now folks. Around a half million people attend every year.

Oberammergau is also famous for the tradition of woodcarving and for the frescoes, known as Lüftlmalerei that adorn many of the houses in the town. They are beautiful – it makes the whole town look like a fairy tale. We had a great time taking a brief walk to stretch our legs and admire the shops full of woodcarvings and the beautiful frescoes on the buildings.

And now, on to the autobahn and a new country for both of us!