September 22

Day 11: September 22

Nature

Neuschwanstein Castle- Nature

Today, Ella forced us to get up at 6:00 in the morning. She swore that we wouldn't regret it and that we needed to trust her because the Neuschwanstein Castle would be something we would remember forever. Despite never having gone, she was still bright and enthusiastic about the nature it surrounded and the castle's history. She taught us all about it on the two-hour drive there from our Munich apartment. The man who built it was King Ludwig II, who was the ruler of Bavaria. Since he was young when he took the throne, he was considered irresponsible. He decided to make a fairytale-like castle to escape the reality of his strict duty as a king. It took a large sum of money out from the Bavarian economy to complete the construction. Many called him 'mad' or 'swan' king Ludwig because of his unconventional decisions and personality. He was later diagnosed with what we would call Schizophrenia. Three days later he was found floating in a lake South of Munich. Many perceive this to be a suicide, but many also have conspiracies about his death. The construction of the castle was immediately stopped as soon as Bavarian officials found out about his death. They then opened it as a tourist attraction to try to gain the money that they had lost during the castle's production. It is still unfinished to this day. After hearing the history of the castle Laurel's face dropped a little, knowing now that it was an insane, dead, and young king's dream. This quickly turned around because we had arrived! As we unloaded the car of our cramped bodies we looked up to immediately see the breathtaking castle. Knowing we couldn't waste our time with our jaws open, Ella pushed us to begin our ascent towards the castle. We followed the paved path uphill through many different types of trees. The green leaves of the trees were beginning to show a hint of yellow or orange, but weren't fully changed yet. As we hiked towards our fantasy destination, we talked more about the murder of king Ludwig. With raspy voices from all the yelling the day before, we argued about whether Ludwig was murdered or committed suicide. Ella, Logan, and I thought he was murdered, while Laurel and Ellie believed that he had taken his own life. Although we had our opinions, it was settled that we would never truly know how the young dreamer died. 

Neuschwanstein Castle

Finally, we made it up to the limelight of our day. Our sore calves faded as we gawked at the structure with large eyes. It was composed of large grey bricks and smaller red bricks that arched over two huge wooden doors. On either side of the wall were two giant turrets. The entrance was almost as amazing as what we were about to experience. Upon our entry, we were met by a magical courtyard with a few bright trees that gave the courtyard even more life than the people milling around in it did. There were benches scattered all over, which we needed after that walk. After examining the interior walls of the courtyard, we all came to a conclusion that it would be absolutely insane if we lived here. Nobody, not even us, could live here because it was unfinished. Soon, we entered the inside of the mystical building by going up the stairs that were at the other end of the courtyard. Ellie led the way, or at least we let her. We came into the dimly lit room to see magnificent paintings all over the walls and ceiling. Logan asked Ella if this was actually the Sistine Chapel; she responded very seriously with a firm "no". I could see the hurt on Logan's face, even in the dim light, which Laurel must've seen too because we were both trying to hold back our laughs in the quiet space. The decor was also spectacular. There were chandeliers and gold trimmings almost everywhere you visit. We visited the massive hallways where endless statues stood. We were able to see a few rooms where incredible furniture sat dormant. After wandering for quite a bit, we decided that it was time for lunch. On our descent, we couldn't help but look back at the astounding castle we had just seen. No wonder it was inspiration for several Disney castles! We had lunch as a small restaurant called Allgäuer Stüberl that was just about a minute away. There, we feasted on several soups and salads for a light lunch. After that, we made our way back towards the castle to begin our journey in Poellatschlucht.


Poellatschlucht- Nature

Poellatschlucht River

Poellatschlucht is a river right under the Neuschwanstein castle. We began the second half of this breathtaking expedition with several bridges that Laurel did not believe to be safe. She told us later that she constantly felt like it was about to collapse or that she would fall off. Thankfully, she kept her concerns to herself until we completed the hike. On our hike we observed many types of squirrels and other rodents, which freaked Logan out quite a bit. The water trickling down on the rocks, with the castle in the background was the spitting image of heaven. On higher ground, we could see the tremendous Neuschwanstein castle in the near distance. You better believe that we took around a thousand pictures here. The scenery was beautiful and it was almost unimaginable for us to be in such a picturesque scene. 

After a long day of hiking, picture-taking, history, wide eyes, and open mouths, it was time to return back to Munich for a nice dinner and five long, warm showers.