So there are 3 ways to get to the castle. Pay to ride a tour bus up, pay to ride the horse drawn carriage up, or walk. Well the tour busses weren't running because of all the snow, and they ticket office said the carriages were pretty backed up because the tour busses weren't running. So we walked. All uphill, in the snow. :) Seriously, it was pretty uphill and the road was quite snowy. I didn't think the horses would be going, but turns out they had snow studs in their shoes and a few teams passed us up as we were walking.
The castle itself from the outside is breathtaking. The inside is absolutely gorgeous, too. But again, they didn't allow any pictures inside the castle at all. But the excesses not unlike our local Biltmore Estate are evident everywhere! This king, Mad King Ludwig II of Bavaria commissioned this castle and didn't move into it until 4 years after construction had started. His room alone took 15 woodcarvers 4 years to complete. The canopy over his bed is just art to behold. And the place had running water from a spring 150 meters above the castle. Not bad at all, in fact it was very modern! Too bad the guy only lived in it for 3 months before he mysteriously drowned in a lake near Munich. Major bummer, and that meant the castle was never to be finished. Even his throne room isn't finished. It is still missing the throne, but everything else is done, including the 3000lb chandelier!
After the tour there was a little restuarant on the way down the hill. We were starving and stopped to eat. My first authentic German meal of Bratwurst, Saurkraut, and boiled potatoes was served here. I had to laugh because Niels went totally American with Fried Chicken and good ol' French Fries and some killer German hot chocolate!
After we ate there was one last carriage waiting we decided to pay and ride on the carriage down to the parking lot. The guy I don't think spoke a lick of English. His team of horses was beautiful, as you can see in the picture below. I had asked if I could take my picture with the horses and he came over, hugged the horses very tight and then told me to do the same for the picture! Niels snapped it as the horse decided he didn't want any more hugging! But still, very fun, down to the traditional wool blanket he kept on the horses backs while they were waiting. Of course I had to see SOME horses on our trip. I was feeling deprived!
Another fun thing that happened in the carriage was there was a German couple talking to the driver about hand warmers. You know, the kind you shake and then they warm up and you keep them in your gloves? I did pick up enough German to get the idea of part of what they were saying. Then there was an asian couple in the carriage across from Niels and I. They got some of the conversation too, and then gave me a handwarmer all the way from their home! It had to be Japan or China. Of course I kept it to give to the boys, so in the end that was a very well traveled hand warmer!
The castle was a fun day which only left one more day of our trip for exploring. The next day we headed for Wurzburg, which has a lot of WW2 history. Well, it has a lot of history in general. But more on that later.
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