Crown Prince Maximilian II of Bavaria, Ludwig II's father, had the ruined castle of Schwanstein rebuilt from 1832 in the "Gothic style".
Young Ludwig was influenced by the romantic mountain scenery and the summer castle became one of his favorite places to stay.
THE DAY OF 3 KITTIES- John & I decided to take a trip to see Neu Schwanstein. The remarkable part of that day occoured though after we left the castle. We were standing around outside the castle gift shop when a striped cat hopped in a little boy's stroller and went to sleep. The little boy was pushing this kitty around- The cat just purred at the attention. We were sad to say goodbye to her but we had to head down the mountain. At the bottom, we saw a tabby cat pouncing on invisible prey in a field. He spotted us, trotted over, and began to play with us. He pounced on our hands and feet - though he had claws, he never used them once. We played with him for about a half an hour.
That same evening, John & I stopped to fill our car with gas. The gas station had a resident cat who greeted us and purred affectionately too...
It was a really neat day for cat lovers like us.
Neuschwanstein Castle is a 19th-century Bavarian palace on a rugged hill near Hohenschwangau and Füssen in southwest Bavaria, Germany. The palace was commissioned by Ludwig II of Bavaria as a retreat and as a homage to Richard Wagner, the King's inspiring muse. Although public photography of the interior is not permitted, it is the most photographed building in Germany and is one of the country's most popular tourist destinations. Ludwig did not allow visitors to his castles, but since its opening in 1886, over 50 million people have visited the Neuschwanstein Castle. About 1.3 million people visit annually, with up to 6,000 per day in the summer. The palace has appeared in several movies, and was the inspiration for the Sleeping Beauty Castle in Disneyland. The palace is owned by the state of Bavaria, unlike Hohenschwangau Castle, which is owned by Franz, Duke of Bavaria. The Free State of Bavaria has spent over €14.5 million on Neuschwanstein's maintenance, renovation, and visitor services since 1990.
Hohenschwangau Castle was built on the remains of the fortress Schwanstein, which was first mentioned in historical records dating from the 12th century. A family of knights was responsible for the construction of the medieval fortress. After the demise of the knights in the 16th century the fortress changed hands several times. The decay of the fortress continued until it finally fell into ruins at the beginning of the 19th century. In 1829 Crown Prince Maximilian (the later King Maximilian II of Bavaria) discovered the historic site and reacted enthusiastically to the beauty of the surrounding area. He acquired the property in 1832. One year later the reconstruction of the Castle began, continuing until 1837. The architect in charge, Domenico Quaglio, was responsible for the neogothic style of the exterior design. Hohenschwangau was the official summer and hunting residence of Maximilian, his wife Marie of Prussia and their two sons Ludwig (the later King Ludwig II of Bavaria) and Otto (the later King Otto I of Bavaria). The young princes spent many years of their adolescence here. The King and the Queen lived in the main building, the boys in the annex.
St Goar and other areas of Rhine valley is well worth a visit.
Frankfurt is just another city, allthough full marks to the Germans who seem to make everything appear world class.
Must go to a beer hall ... even if you don't drink
Don't miss Neu Schwanstein castle ... it is everything a fairytale should be
I was stationed in Germany from 1987-1989. Unfortunately for me, I left shortly before the wall came down. While there, I traveled over the country as much as possible. Some of the best times I have had were visiting castles and ruins between Binghsm and Koblenz. A sunny Saturday, some Italian Ice, and maybe later a meal at a small local place made for great times. While I saw the big tourist attractions, like Neu Schwanstein, the Berlin Wall, and the Rhine, I preferred the drives to the offbeat and unknown. Perhaps my favorite German city though, is Trier. With its Porta Negra and local flavor, it was unbeatable. If you get a chance go, just don't blame me for my misspellings!
Hi,
I'm going to be in Germany in the first week in November. My plan is to start in Frankfurt because I have a friend staying there and move south into the black forest and then east to munich and prague...What's there to do. I know there's probably a lot but maninly I'm looking for cool towns in the black forest region. I want to go to baden-baden to check out the hot springs, but that's all that is definite as of now. Thanks for the help
There is always Heidelberg, Rothenburg, Neu Schwanstein (castle) to go too, Baden baden is nice, but don´t go there because of the hot spring, there is a famous casino (you have to wear a tie when you enter). Other places could be dresden or Nürnberg to go to.
dinkelsbuhl is nice it is not in the black forest i think but near it. between the forest and munchen.
Bamberg (near Wuerzburg) is a pretty cool place. It's about an hour train ride form Frankfurt. It's full of history and a mishmash of architectural styles. About 22 km from Bamberg is another interesting place called, Pommersfelden. The actual town is excruciatingly tiny, but there is a very well preserved baroque castle there, which has a very large art collection and all the other things one would expect from a baroque castle (lots of gold, ornamentations, cherubs holding up lanterns, etc). Check out some VT pages-like mine ; ) for more info on these places
Hello People!
I'm planning to go to Germany next year in September but I have some doubts...
2004 will be the Olympic Games in Athens and I think everything (hotels, food, souvenirs) will be expensive besides... the cities will be crowded..
I'm not sure about that cause I'm traveling in September but... if we can avoid some problems is better.
Anybody can help me???
I want to visit in Germany the Castles and I intend to visit the beautiful and small cities and I'd like some tips.
And I intend to do this by train.
Any help??
Thanks a lot.
Marcia
I really don't think the Olympics in Greece will affect the prices of anything in Germany, so I wouldn't really worry too much about it.
Have fun though!
:o)
i there,
Todd is right. Greece is about 2000 km from Germany, so noone will stay in a hotel here to watch the games. In September it is the end of holiday season. Do You dont run into the croweds of tourist. Depends on where You going, when visiting Neu Schwanstein there is every time a long crowed ...
have fun
Gar
No what has Greece got to do with Germany???
You could base yourself in Bacharach and make tours along the river Rhine with its castles BUT September is the wine season so you might want to book your accommodation in advance there and similarly along the Moselle and other nice places you might want to go to in the Rhineland area :-)
If you want to see castles Koblenz is a good place to base yourself for the castles along the Rhine river. You may also want to stay in Munich and take a tour or hire a car to see Neuschwanstein and Linderhof castle in the south.
I would suggest buying an Interail ticket when you are here. You can travel so much or little of Europe as you want, and only pay for the countries you wish to travel, and you can make unlimited stops in a time period between 7days till 22.
As for castles, I would suggest Münster, a very beautiful city that is surounded by many, includind Kleine Versaise at Nordkiche, then I would head through Köln, along the Rheine through Koblenz and south to Strassburg or something.
I'll be in Germany at the end of November (flying into Munich) and want to know what spa town/s I should visit. Of course, I've read about Baden-Baden but there are so many places. I'm a 33 yr. old female traveling by myself and I like a place that's somewhat lively with very good restaurants, bars, etc. Any ideas about what might best suit me?
Here is a link for all of the spa towns in Bavaria.
http://www.kurlaub-2000.de
If you want more info in English about the towns themselves, try the official sites by entering:
www.name-of-the-town.de
Most of the official Bavarian town sites having mirror pages in English.
Kur Towns:
Bad Abbach, Bad Adelholzen, Bad Aibling (lots of Americans here), Bad Alexanderbad (Porcelain Road), Bad Bayersoin, Bayerischzell, Berchtesgadener Land (in the Alps), Bad Berneck, Bad Birneck, Bischofsgruen, Bad Bockelet, Bodenmais, Bad Brueckenau (in the Bavarian Rhoen), Bad Endorf, Bad Feilnbach, Fischen in Allgaeu, Fuessen (near the castle Neu Schwanstein), Bad Faulenbach, Hopfen am See, Bad Fuessingen, Garmisch-Partenkirch (in the Alps), Bad Goeging, Bad Griesbach, Bad Groenebach, Bad Heilbrunn, Hindelang, Bad Oberndorf, Kellberg, Bad Kissingen (where Frankish wine comes from), Bad Koenigshofen, Koetzing, Bad Kohlgrub, Kreuth, Krumbad, Murnau-Ludwigsbad, Bad Neustadt (in the Bavarian Rhoen), Oberstaufen, Obertsdorf, Ottobeuren, Oy-Mittelberg, Prien am Chiemsee (near Munich), Bad Reichenhall (where the rich & famous go), Rodach, Rottach-Egern, Scheidegg, Schwangau (near Ludwig's castles), Bad Steben, Tegernsee (where the rich & famous go), Bad Toelz (where the rich & famous go), Weiler-Simmerberg, Bad Wiessee, Bad Windsheim, Bad Woerishofen
Spa towns usually are crowded by old people, meaning they are the opposite of lively and actually nothing for a 33 yr. old unless you are looking for an elderly millionair. In this case you should visit Baden-Baden. It's a fancy city anyway.
;o)
No, I'm certainly not looking for an elderly millionaire! :-)
I'm looking for a relaxing spa visit during the day and someplace cool to have dinner/drinks at night.
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