Day 11: What royalty does with money

I started pretty early today on the Neuschwanstein tour, which turned out to be more than just that castle. The tour was booked through Munich Walk Tours, but was a bus tour operated by Gray Line tours. We started off driving to Linderhoff Palace, the home of King Ludwig II. Unfortunately, there were no photos allowed inside the castle, but I took quite a few outside. Ludwig built several castles to pass his time, As he became king at age 18 and it appears the pressure, lack of power and stress took its toll on him, as he became reclusive, retreating to an isolated dream world in his homes in the mountains.

The entire Linderhoff Palace was heavily lined with gold, the 22-24 karat kind. Elaborate tapestries lined the walls. The entire palace, albeit a small one, was dedicated to French absolutism and represented the power that Ludwig could never have. As such, there were actually no portraits of the king or his family in the house. It's interesting to note that today,  June 13, was his deathday, so there was a single flower placed in his bed chambers, the largest room in the palace.

The King also lost all his teeth at a young age, and wanted privacy while eating, so in his dining room, there was a table that would drop into the room below for the servants to serve food, and come back up. It's sort of magical. The Hall of Mirrors also housed the king's vase collection and an ivory chandelier that took 4 years to create. I bought a small stack of postcards for the interior, so I have some stuff to show when I get back.

I met a nice couple from Texas and a guy from Ohio while on the bus. We all had lunch together before heading up to Neuschwanstein.
There are no photos allowed at Neuschwanstein either, but on the way out, many were taking photos of the relatively modern kitchen, so I did the same. While the castle was designed as a medieval castle, note that it was built in the 19th century, so there was some modern tech inside, including an early telephone. This palace was much simpler and there was a lot more wood and a lot less gold. There was a throne room, but the throne itself was never built, as the king had died before then. The bedroom was surprisingly modern, complete with a personal washbasin, flush toilet, and chapel. There were, however, gimicks to entertain the king, including an artificial cave. Again, I bought some postcards for the interior, and some aerial photos for the angles that I could not take.

There was another castle that wasn't part of our tour, but one of the other guys and myself bookedit up there near the end of the tour to get some pictures before the bus left. We made good time, as I did my tourist shopping before I went into the tour. The walk up to Neuschwanstein was listed at 40 minutes, and I did it in 15-20, so I definitely had a bit of time.

I had dinner at Augustiner am Dom, as their beer is quite addicting and I can't seem to find the beer halls for the other 2 of the Big 6. Pork seems for be the meat specialty around here, so I stuck with that. I bought the Augustiner glass, and they wrapped it in newspaper for me. The tour guide said, they always choose the best one available for you, although it's not brand new, but at 3.5 euros, it's a steal. The Hofbrauhaus beer mugs cost a fortune.

I don't think I've commented on my hostel yet. Although showers are still shared, it's a lot better here in terms of cleanliness and atmosphere. The water is clean too, as it's quite close to the Alps, so I'm doing tap water for this location. Tomorrow is another early start to Salzburg, so I've got to get to bed. More updates tomorrow!