Ein Eskimo in Bayern, Part II

Neuschwanstein
The Disneyland Castle

A few hours away from Sid's Oma's in southwest Bavaria is one of the most famous castles in the world - Neuschwanstein.  This incredible, unfinished work was built by Ludwig II a little over a century ago, which is very new as far as castles go.  This Ludwig fellow was quite careless with the state of Bavaria's money and spent it chiefly on luxurious things for himself.  Aside from Neuschwanstein he had two other grand palaces constructed for him.  As you might think, this didn't make too many people happy.. especially Ludwig's uncle and a few decades into the construction of his masterpiece (which by the way he dedicated to a famous opera writer - Richard Wagner), Ludwig mysteriously died while on a morning swim in a nearby lake.

The view from Neuschwanstein. The castle seen glowing in the sun is Hohenschwangau Castle, which belonged to Ludwig II's father, King Maximillian.  The Alps are seen in the distance.  

Sid and I first toured Hohenschwangau, also constructed in the 19th century.  Compared to Neuschwanstein, the exterior of Hohenschwangau is much more modest; however, it is till one of the more amazing castles I've seen from the outside.

View of Hohenschwangau from the road.

In 1832, King Maximillian acquired Hohenschwangau and restored it from it's sad, ruiny-self.  It was then used as a summer get-away for the Bavarian royal family... oh you fancy huh.

The interior of this castle was absolutely amazing complete with Renaissance-esk paintings on every wall; golden statues adorning the furniture; fancy beds, chairs, and chandeliers in each room; and secret passageways taboot.  

On the left is a 19th century version of a Lazy Boy and on the right is a small golden figurine hanging out on top of a fireplace in front of another incredible painting.  

Croutons anyone? 120 year old bread.

The ceiling... I'm a bit jealous.

The blue paint back in the day was crazy bright.  Also, the chair on the left has swans carved from the wooden armrests.  Swans were the symbolic animal of this family and literally in EVERY room multiple times.  Sid and I eventually started playing a rendition of "Where's Waldo" to see who could spot the most swans. 

The King's bedroom... obbbvviously since there are naked ladies on the walls.

View of the back courtyard from a hallway on the top floor.

Gotta say, there's something quite nice about seeing a painting of a knight helping a lady off her horse :) 

When we bought our tickets, we bought tours for both Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein... one at 10:15 and the next at 12:25... plenty of time to get both in and do a little extra wandering around!  We knew that NS was atop a pretty hefty hill and signs said that it would take 30 minutes from the town to trek up, but hey we're professional athletes right?  Well after checking out HS, we hung around the lake a bit and then saw a sign nearby that said the hike was actually 50 minutes.  Two big sweaty hot messes later we made it to Neuschwanstein with 5 minutes to spare before our tour.  BUT..we get to the gate, scan our ticket, and then see that it says 12:55.  Classic.  All the shoving of slow tourists and frizzed hair for nothing!  As they say in Germany, shiza!

  

Town at the bottom of the hill of Neuschwanstein.

On the bright side, that extra half hour gave us time to wander around and take in the view.  Snow had freshly fallen that night and the sun was out shining... couldn't have asked for a better day.

View from the path walking up to the castle... or sprinting/shuffling if you think you're almost going to be late!

View from the lower courtyard.

Lights going down the main hallway at the start of the tour.

A closer look at the pillars... Amazing detail all along the hallway (and the rest of the castle!). 

Both of these pictures were taken from the Throne Room, one of five finished rooms in the castle.  Ludwig II died before the rest could be completed. 

On our way up to the Marine Bridge that overlooks Neuschwanstein. 

View from the Marine Bridge.

Ein Eskimo In Bayern, Part I

Nuremberg, Germany
Home of the Original Christmas Market

This weekend my roommate, Sid, and I ventured down south to the state of Bavaria (Bayern in German), the richest and most country-filled state in Germany.  Our first stop after getting off of a three hour bus ride was in Nuremberg where the mother-load of all Christmas markets was..and still is..going on.  As you read this, there are probably copious amounts of drunk Germans crowding the streets, laughing, spilling Gluhwein everywhere, eating three Bratwurst in a bread roll (the infamous Nuremberger) and of course doing the European walk (aka bumping into other people without even a second glance).

Aside from battling the crowds of people, there were some amazing sites and smells to be had.  The top picture on the left is a huge church in the middle of town that dated back to the 1200's and had an outrageously large organ being expertly played by a studious looking German fellow.  Lebkuchen, a type of German cookie that resembles a chocolate/vanilla/etc covered molasses cookie and is only made around Christmas time, also originates in Nuremberg and was being sold on almost every corner.

After surving the cold and Christmas market frenzy, Sid's uncle picked us up and drove us into the country side to the small town of Hexenagger (translated as "witches fields").

Hexenagger, Germany 
The Witches Fields

Sid's Oma (grandma) lives in Hexenagger and was kind enough to take on an extra mouth to feed along with her granddaughter.  Oma is the sweetest thing and only spoke German so I attempted a little bit of what I knew back at her and learned a few key phrases to say.  The first, "Ich bin sat" means "I am full" and came in quite handy because Oma was basically the human equivalent to the magically self-refilling plates in Harry Potter.  I also learned "Das essen ist sehr lecker" meaning "The food is very good", which also came in quite handy because Oma cooked some amazing homemade German food this weekend.  There's nothing like a home cooked meal from an old school wood stove blazing in the kitchen to make you miss home in AK.  Also, the title of this blog is dedicated to Oma because she proudly announced that she had an Eskimo in her house anytime anyone came over and by the end was referring to me as "Alaska" or "the Eskimo" since my name is a bit harder to say in German.  

View of the Hexenagger castle from Oma's front door.

From what Sid has told me, many years ago the town of Hexenagger was said to have been home to several witches.  This is why her Opa (grandpa) said that her and her mom are decedents of witches.  From my experience, I would have to agree... Sid is pretty witchy :) after all our kitchen broom keeps going missing at odd hours of the night. 

An old bread oven from a house that is said to have been the home of a witch.

Seize the day!  I love this small house we passed on the way up to the Hexenagger castle. 

Burg Prunn

It had a drawbridge! ... and a dragon... 

The amazing view from Burg Prunn - snow capped trees along the river and mountain side. 

The view from the back... it looks like it's sitting on the edge of the earth.  From the front (aka driving by quite a ways below on a road) the castle can is seen precariously built right out of the mountain.  Google it if you'd like to see the view!

The courtyard... with a well!

The side view of Burg Prunn... you can see a bit better from this view how the actual castle itself is built right out of the mountain.  

The drawbridge previously mentioned! 

Okay so there was no dragon... but stay tuned for Part II... the trip to the Disney castle!!