Living in fantasy until the sickness kicks in

Today is the day we visit some famous castles.
The logistics of getting to the awesome castles of Bavaria are too much for us to organize so we book a long day tour with Gray Line Tours. We join a line in front of department store. Meeting time is 20 minutes before departure but it clear that people line up earlier than that. We start boarding the bus. We would have left early but some dude on the bus had to run out and get a coffee so we waited for him and ended up leaving a little later than departure time 😦
I have been on many coach tours throughout the years, they aren’t my favorite since I get really tired on the bus. However coach tours are an easy and convenient way to see things that are out of the way, if you don’t mind sticking to their schedule. Plus usually the tour guide gives you some commentary that you just won’t get unless you are an avid guide book reader.
This particular day I am coming down with a cold. Nose is running.  It is coming on but I am ignoring it. The snot comes out of my nose with an increasing frequency but I choose to pretend I am ok for the first part of the day; and it works for a little while.

Very beautiful drive through Bavaria. Hard to get a good picture while the bus is gliding down the highway though.
Today is mostly about King Ludwig II. This reclusive ruler was inspired by such palaces such as Versailles and wanted to out sparkle them. He pretty much went on spending spree with building opulent buildings that bankrupted himself, went insane, and died an early, mysterious death.

First stop on our tour is Schloss Linderhof. The king spent his days in this palace in solitude. Stories told on how he ate alone in a personal dining room and the wait staff was not even able to enter the room. The table was set with food in the story below and brought up to him using a pulley system. No photos were allowed inside the palace but the grounds were quite pretty.

The king was into role play. He has a little Moroccan house he like to use. It is now on the property with Linderhof. Around the Moroccan house is when I get violently attacked again by those nasty German biting bugs. I am being dramatic but the bites do hurt and those bugs would not leave me be.

Second stop was the charming town of Oberammergau. Oberammergau’s claim to fame is the passion plays it puts on every ten years. It is also known for its frescos. We had about an hour or so to explore the frescos of the town. I wish we would have had more time here.

Finally we get to the grand finale Schloss Neuschwanstein. There is a 20 minute uphill walk and I find my energy drained. We have some time before our scheduled entrance so we decide to eat at the fancier hotel restaurant instead of the quick service places. We had the place almost to ourselves. It wasn’t the cheapest but it was a nice relaxing meal. I enjoyed my food and the view of Neuschwanstein.

I have forgotten to bring the sunscreen so before we are to walk up I need to buy some, and water, since I have never have too much water.
We start our ascend and I am pooped but the view keeps getting better and better.

From where we enter for the tour we don’t have the best views of the castle but we do have some pretty good vistas of the surrounding area.

The audio tour was pretty informative but once again no indoor pictures. There is another 20 minute or so hike to a lookout area, we have just enough time for it but the sickness and long day has worn me down. I refuse to do the walk, and get the photo of a lifetime. My body says no. So I sit and wait for Carlos. I have some regret with missing out on the experience but I know what my body was telling me. At least I started feeling better the next day. I was able to steal this photo that my husband took. Enjoy!