If you want to read about King Ludwig and his romantic castles, here is a link to Wikipedia's discussion of the man and his obsession with the stories of myth and fairy-tale celebrated in operas of his time. He built his castles to have physical places reminiscent of famous operas, hence the idea that the road that connects all his castles is the "Romantic Road."
This is how Wikipedia begins its treatment of the man, his life and works:
Ludwig II (Ludwig Friedrich Wilhelm; sometimes rendered as Louis II in English) (25 August 1845 – 13 June 1886) was king of Bavaria from 1864 until shortly before his death. He is sometimes referred to as the Swan King in English and der Märchenkönig (the Fairy tale King) in German.
Ludwig is sometimes referred to as Mad King Ludwig, though the accuracy of that label has been disputed. Because Ludwig was deposed on grounds of mental illness without any medical examination, and died a day later under mysterious circumstances, questions about the medical "diagnosis" remain controversial.
Ludwig is best known as an eccentric whose legacy is intertwined with the history of art and architecture, as he commissioned the construction of several extravagant fantasy castles (the most famous being Neuschwanstein) and was a devoted patron of the composer Richard Wagner.
Our journey is simple: walk up to Neuschwanstein castle and take photos until it is too dark to do so. The walk is over an hour, with at least a 500 foot elevation gain.
Before we get to walk to Neuschwanstein castle, however, Hohenschwangau castle briefly pops into view from the road:
The town of Hohenschwangau is the place where one gets tickets and can get a ride and guide for both castles. Naturally I was too late for either, knew I would be, and was fully prepared to hoof it to Neuschwanstein. Here is part of the trail up:
About two-thirds of the way up is a small hostel with a restaurant and a view up to the castle (our first clear view on the trail, except that I did not see it on the way up, was looking down too intently, so here is that view on the way down in the pitch-dark):
The first view I had going up the trail was this one:
I hurried past this point to continue up the trail to the Marienbrucke (Mary's bridge) from which the best views were reputedly possible.
On the way up to that bridge I was pleasantly surprised by this view back to Hohenschwangau castle and its dramatic setting:
The town of Hohenschwangau lies below the castle, and Füssen begins by those lights to the far right:
Next stop is the Marienbrucke, and it is time to go to a second page.
Go to second Neuschwanstein page
Berchtesgaden and the Königssee
Just some photos from Austria between two parts of Germany
The Dachau concentration camp memorial
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