Today we visited Neuschwanstein Castle. Last time I was in Germany Neuschwanstein was an optional excursion, but we had to pay 80 Euro out of our pocket to see it. I turned it down because I didn’t want to spend that much money and I figured I would come back to Germany in my lifetime and get the chance to see it again. Little did I know, I would be returning in three years and would get the chance to visit the castle for free. I regretted not seeing the castle then, but now I’m pleased that I didn’t spend the 80 Euro on tickets!
Just like for our trip to Salzburg, we took a train to the town that the castle was in, Hohenschwangau. The town literally translates to “High swan area.” It was beautiful making our way to the small town. It was very scenic. There were snow covered Alps in the distance and it was very picturesque. It was breathtaking.
The climb up to the castle was ridiculously long and the incline up was very steep. My calves and thighs were aching. We also had to climb in the rain. Needless to say, the climb didn’t make me too happy, but it was all worth it in the end. I got some amazing pictures up at the top and the castle was really something. It was gorgeous inside.
The castle wasn’t even actually that old. It was less than two hundred years old. Whenever I think of castles, I think of medieval nights. Neuschwanstein was actually the castle on King Ludwig, “The Crazy King.” He lived in it for a very short time, before he died of suspicious circumstances. Going back to being surprised about how young the castle was, I was equally surprised when the tour guide said that King Ludwig had a phone connecting to the post office. That really put the age of the castle in perspective for me.
I am an artist, so my main take away from this experience has to do wish all the very detail oriented lavish artwork that you are able to see on the interior walls of the castle. It was beautiful, and surprisingly all done in the same style. (Naturally I assumed that because it was all done int eh exact same style that it was one person. Painting styles differentiate from one person to the next.) I was wondering how one person could paint all of these rooms with so much detail in such a limited amount of time. I asked the tour guide what artist painted the walls. She told me that the paintings were all done by 7 different unknown artists, who were students from the academy in Munich. It surprised me that unknowns were painting for the King, but when the tour guide explained why, it all made so much sense. No famous well-established artists wanted to work for Ludwig because Ludwig had all the ideas and would tell each artist specifically what to do. There was no room for creativity. As an artist, I understand why the well-establish, well-known artists wouldn’t want to work for the King. I paint for my creative freedom and pleasure. Without creative freedom, there is no pleasure. Those artists were painting something that they wouldn’t even be able to claim as “there own.” This was very thought provoking for me.
-Andrea.
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