Castles in the German Alps

This morning we met our group and hopped on a train to Fussel, a small town about 2 hours by train from Munich. Fussel is famous for its castles, especially the Neuschwanstein, which was the inspiration for the Disney castle.

The train ride was enjoyable. We got to know our classmates a little better and the scenery was beautiful, especially as we drew closer to the German Alps. One thing we noticed was that everytime there was construction, there were cranes, even if it was just a house. Our professor's wife, who is from Germany, told us that German houses are built with concrete blocks and then covered with stucco. Because of this, houses are very expensive- a very basic house would start at about 250,000 Euro, or close to $350,000. That’s one reason why many people live in the city or in shared complexes.

When we got to Fussel we had about an hour to burn before the bus arrived. We broke off into groups to get lunch/snacks. We also found our first bathroom that charged- we knew that Europe does not have many public bathrooms and that some charged, but had not actually seen one yet. You have to pay .50 Euro, or about .70 USD, to use one.

We then started to hike to the castle. It is quite a hike- a mile up the mountain, and it was pretty warm today. As we wrappd up the mountain, the castle teased us, becoming closer and closer. We also had the beauty of the Alps to enjoy.

The castle has a fascinating history. King Ludwig almost bankrupt the country during his reign by building lots of fancy castles. This one was built over 17 years from the late 1860s to early 1890s. Imagine building a castle in the mountains at this time, before modern technology or cars! King Ludwig built it to honor a person in the oprea he liked. Ludwig lived there for only 165 days before he died under mysterious circumstances. The castle was only 1/3 finished at that time and remains unfinished today. It opened to the public for tours 6 weeks after Ludwig's death. It is the most photographed building in Germany and draws up to 6,000 tourists a day in the summer.

The pictures below do not really do the castle justice. It, and the surrounding scenery, is truly breathtaking. We paid about $10 USD for a tour and it was well worth it. We only saw a small part and were not allowed to take pictures inside, but I had never seen anything like it before. The floor in one room was a mosiac made of 2 million tiles. The chandlier in that room weighed 2,000 pounds. The kings room had so many intricate wood carvings that it took 14 wood carvers 4 years to complete it. The walls were masterpieces of art. Words cannot describe it. It is amazing, but it also made me think about the role that money and greed play in a persons faith. Most of the artwork was biblically based, and there was a shrine to Christ in the main room. I can certaintely appreciate, and did appreciate, the beauty of the castle, but I wonder if that is how Christ woud like one to spend their resources when they are people that go to bed hungry every night. That being said, it was truly beautiful, and the views from the castle were even more beautiful than the views on the way up. See for yourself:

We got back to the hotel about 9:30. We were starving and were worried about finding food, because almost everyplace is closed on Sundays, especially Sunday evening. We walked about 5 blocks from our hotel in a direction we haven’t been, and finally found a pizza place. It was good, it came with some kind of cream on top that looked like ranch but didn’t really have a flavor…it just gave it a creamy taste. I am not a big fan of the food here- it’s not bad; it’s just a bunch of meat plopped on your plate. We ran into a soldier who was stationed here and asked him what he missed the most about the states, and he said Mexican food!

We’re going to take it easy tonight. We have to meet the group at 8:00AM tomorrow (1:00 AM CST) and will visit a hospital and BMW World Headquarters. Should be an interesting day!!