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To be absolutely sure, we had a very, very enjoyable time during a week in Southern Bavaria. Just that one aspect of that one castle. Hoards of tacky tourists being serviced by tacky retail, sprinkle a large number of coach parties and you have got our worst nightmare. Total contrast to Linderhof which, although small, is shocking in its opulence and fascinating for its place in Bavarian history. We arrived and commented that it isn’t much bigger than our house and the went inside and we were shocked. |
And Mad Ludwig's third castle, built on an island in a lake - Schloss Herrenchiemsee is also very enjoyable or was to me and yes Linderhof - his hunting 'lodge' also.
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I have to agree that Neuschwanstein is a real low point on a visit to the area. It never had any historical value; now all it's got is tour buses and tacky souvenirs. The kind of place Europeans live to laugh at.
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You really have to read up on the history of Mad Ludwig and Neuschwanstein and then you may appreciate it more.
Ludwig got the name 'Mad' because many thought he was mad and bankrupting the Bavaria Treasury. His first two major works- Herrenchiemsee and Linderhof - were less ostentatious - Herrenchiemsee on an island in a lake and reached by boat from was meant by Ludwig to be the Bavarian Versailles and was somewhat copied on it. But it was at Neuschwanstein where Mad Ludwig let his restraints go in putting up an ersatz medieval castle with all kinds of fanciful looking aspects inside and out. It is the world's most famous castle or one of them. Neuschwanstein occupied the Prince's life and during the several years of construction Ludwig would trek up to the Marienbrucke behind the castle and sit and ponder his fantasy creation. But, time was running out as folks in Munich at the Treasury had had about enough and were going to pull the plug on it and Ludwig too, eventually drowning him in the Starnberger See near Munich. (Exactly what happened is kind of murky - just like Fredo's disappearance in a lake in a Godfather movie. And poor Ludwig - he never lived to see his fantasy castle finished and it is still not fully finished I believe. He did live in Neuschwanstein for a few weeks or so in its unfinished state. So, irony of ironies - Mad Ludwig's drain on the Bavarian Treasury is now a huge money maker for Bavaria! I'd do more research on Neuschwanstein to make a riveting tour if going there because yes you can take the mobbed tour and get the heck out but if you know about its history in some detail, it makes it all the more fun. (For example Ludwig going to the Marienbrucke and pondering his castle - I did that too, thinking I was Ludwig! |
Cool. I raised my children in Mountlake Terrace and my sons and families live in Lake stevens |
<<You really have to read up on the history of Mad Ludwig and Neuschwanstein and then you may appreciate it more.>>
Au contraire. Reading up on the history generally makes it all the less appealing. |
Agree with StCirq! Ludwig is really not someone to admire. <<For example Ludwig going to the Marienbrucke and pondering his castle - I did that too, thinking I was Ludwig!>> Not too flattering, IMO😊. |
Susan--Snohomish:)
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Au contraire. Reading up on the history generally makes it all the less appealing.>
so knowing nothing about its history makes it a tad less awful to folks like StCirq - OK but to me at least knowing about its history and Ludwig's history does not mean you have to admire him or his quixotic quest - like saying reading the history of Hitler's Eagles' Nest does not mean I have to like him. |
PalenQ touches on something that strikes me when people give their opinions. There will always be places that some people enjoy and some people do not. That is ok, but I do not understand the need to put down others for their opinions.
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