Day 9
We went to Nueschwanstein Castle!!! This castle is basically where Disney got his idea for Cinderella’s castle. We took the train ride to get there again. Taking the train is awesome because you get to see the countryside, but also the real German life outside of a major town or city.
It took two hours to get there plus a bus ride. However there is also a vertical hike up the mountain and with my foot it wasn’t possible for me to do. Instead, I took a horse and carriage to the castle…sounds magical and oh so wonderful right? Not really, it a tourist thing in the town. On the ride up to the castle I went with Johnie. Unfortunately there was a bunch of young kids – so a lot of crying on the way up, but it was worth it.
Nueschwanstein Castle!
The castle is amazing – especially from the outside. You think that inside would be magnificent too, but the castle was never finished. Lugwig II died under mysterious circumstances and the Nueschwanstein castle construction was put to an end at his death. Only a few rooms are completed, which the tour showed parts of. The finished parts of the castle were amazing- for lack of a better word. We weren’t allowed to take photos inside the castle, but the memories of this place will last. There was so much artwork and detail put into a single room that it just sticks with you once you have seen it.
The view from the castle was just as awesome. (We were allowed to take photos from the castle of the outside). You can see the town down below or to the Alps. The castle is basically on a smaller hilltop that brings you real close. I had originally imagined the Alps to be like the Appalachian Mountains – not true. Unlike the Appalachians, the Alps are mostly rocks and peaks and sporadic trees and some how this mountain range is simply breathtaking.
After coming out of the castle we were given a little bit of free time. I had to stop and put on my jacket because of the rain. I have a Brita water bottle that I hook on to my crutches with a hair-tie. In the process of getting my rain coat on properly, my water bottle promptly fell off my crutch and down the side of the mountain. It’s safe to say I will never get that water bottle back. The funny thing is – that water bottle hasn’t, up until that moment, ever fallen off my crutch. So in a weird and disappointing way I left a piece of myself with the Nueschwanstein castle.
With a heavy heart I left the castle and my water bottle for the horse ride down. This time was more pleasant as there were no screaming children on board. After that it was a bus and train ride back to Munich.
Today was amazing and it makes me want to see more castles… and invest in a new water bottle.
Carson
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