The Smudchen Collective: Schloss Neuschwanstein.

After being (exactly) 8 months here, I finally made it to the most popular tourist attraction in all of Southern Germany - the legendary castle Neuchwanstein. The castle, which was the inspiration for Disney's castle, was built by King Ludwig II, although never completely finished (like many of his projects). It is tucked into the mountain side above a canyon, right around the city of Füssen. The white building with blue tower tops was built in the old knight and medieval-like style, with a very dark inside, specific towers, and windows looking like they were built right into the stone. Along with his love of fairy tales, Ludwig was also a lover of technology, and the very modern kitchen and heating system inside the house (also a toilet in a hidden room) gives the (1869 begun) castle a special flair. Inside we saw each room's special fairy tale theme (Tristan&Isolde as an example), the fairly cheesy and bright colored trimming in the medieval style, and the extremely intricate wood carvings in Ludwigs room decorating the castle. My host mom Ulli vowed to me that she would never sleep in Ludwigs bed, because it would probably end up giving her horrible nightmares (the beds roof is a tower of gothic wood structures with gargoyles, swans and other strange things). I didn't find the kings bed all too horrible, but I would admit that the room had a certain air of darkness in it. King Ludwig was the last kind of Bavaria (given he never married and therefore provided no heir), and is well known for the high debt he left the monarchy in (due to extravagant building projects) after his death. Ludwig is, however, very well loved by the people in the area around Füssen given his way with people and care for his citizens. His death was a quite mysterious affair, when, after he was proclaimed crazy by his government and forced to leave Neuschwanstein , he turned up the following day in a lake around München with his psychologist drowned. No one really knows whether it was suicide or a murder, but I personally have some doubts that the man was crazy. He may have been idealistic in his dreams for Bavaria (and fairly fat in his later days with accusations of being gay), but a man that creative could only have been an artist, not neccessarily crazy. The thing is, I found Neuschwanstein surprisingly unsurprising. After thinking about it for a while, I decided it was becuase of my extreme exposure (in comparision to the 19th century) to fairy tales. I had seen castles like this in books many times, and it appeared much like the Cinderella castle I know from my childhood. The thing I had to make sure to remember, was that the castle was THE first. It was the first castle to be built like that, and Ludwig's ideas were comparitively revolutionary. The castle has become such a cult-item, that it isn't viewed as magical as it was in the 19th Century. I did find the view from the castle across the Alps and the green fields around Füssen mesmerizing, and my favorite was visiting the modern bridge across the gorge Ludwig had built. From there you could say the castle in all it's glory, the mountains behind you, and the water of the Pöllat river below.