Day 12 – July 8th: Julia’s 18th Birthday!!

Our family birthday tradition is breakfast in bed so, even though there was a hotel breakfast, Rachel and I woke early and found some yummy baked goods in a nearby bakery to bring to Julia. Our outing turned out to be totally unnecessary -- when we got down to the hotel breakfast they had very sweetly set a special table for us with a heart-shaped coffee cake, birthday candle confetti, and champagne, in addition to all the delicious buffet items.  I must have added a special note about the birthday when I booked the hotel because I hadn’t mentioned it at all when we checked in the night before.  I was as surprised as she was that they knew it was her birthday! 

I was also surprised to learn that the three castles I had planned to visit on this trip were the complete collection of castles by King Ludwig II.  (He had plans for a fourth, Falkenstein, that never got built – so we saw them all!) Visiting all three in two days we feel we got a real look at the man himself.  {I should point out that this castle tour was a surprise for Julia not because she loves castles so much more than the average person but because she prefers to be surprised by our plans on her birthday and this is where we happened to be – we also forget sometimes that she isn’t five anymore!) 

Our morning stop was Linderhof Castle, which was about 2 hours away. It is the only one of the three that is actually completed and that Ludwig lived in for any length of time.  It is in a beautiful setting – we had to walk through woods and by lakes to get to the castle.  It is much smaller and more manageable than yesterday’s Versailles replica, while still maintaining the features (eg descending dining room table) and central theme of homage to Louis XIV and other French absolutist kings.  Ludwig was admiring (jealous?) of the absolutists overall supreme power because he had to share his power with a parliament.  

After touring the castle we walked up hill to the largest artificial cave/grotto (in the world?, in Bavaria? – can’t remember but it was large and entirely artificial) that was constructed for the king as an illustration of the first act of Wagner’s Tannhauser.  (Wagner was an idol of Ludwig, a personal friend, or maybe a lover?).  He used the space for performances (where he was the only audience member) and liked to be rowed across the lake in the swan boat.  Even in his time it was possible to illuminate the grotto in different colors to set different moods – one of the first uses of electricity in Europe.

We knew getting tickets to the third castle (one of the largest tourist attractions in Germany) was going to be iffy and it was still another hour away.  So we stopped on the way in the super cute town of Oberammagau for a pretty mediocre lunch and a quick peek at the wood working craft the area is known for.

Boyhood home of Ludwig II

By the time we arrived at Neuschwanstein Castle only one English tour was left in the day (for two hours later).  Unfortunately, tickets to visit Ludwig’s childhood home -  Hohenschwangau, built by his father-  were sold out.  It was from this royal hunting lodge though that Maximillian discovered the medieval ruins that Ludwig eventually turned into Neuschwanstein.   We had an hour before we needed to catch the bus to go up to the castle and decided rather than walk up for a closer look at the exterior of the childhood home we would sit by the lake and order a treat and play cards.  Not surprisingly, we tried their apple strudel with vanilla sauce and ice cream.  It wasn’t the best we’ve had, but the setting could not be beat.

We toured this castle which was quite a departure from the other two; this one is built in a medieval/gothic style (like the ruins it is built on) even though it was built in the late 1800s. This one too was only about a third of the way complete at the time of Ludwig’s untimely death and construction immediately stopped.  Within just a few weeks of his death people began touring the castle.  We were taken through the part of the castle that was complete and still has all the original furnishing, paintings, and over the top decorations.  In this palace he moved the Wagner artificial grotto to a room inside – which is very bizarre.  We weren’t allowed to take pictures in any of the castles and they’ve all started to muddle together in my mind.  He was consistently extravagant! I’m not sure why the circumstances surrounding his death remain a mystery – we feel like we have it all figured out.  Definitely murder.

Our hotel for the night was just a five-minute drive down from the castle in the town of Fussen.  I booked the family room at the Hotel Sonne which turned out to be a funky, arty hotel located right on the main pedestrian street through town.  We walked to Julia’s choice of birthday dinner – Italian – and being 18 in Germany, she ordered a beer (which Jim drank). Our waiter didn’t ask for ID or anything which was most of the point.  He was a very funny guy from Slovakia and as the night progressed it became pretty clear that he wasn’t entirely sober.  He ordered himself an espresso pretending it was for me and hid it near me so every time he walked by he could have a sip.  I think he had a hidden glass of grappa somewhere else!  Near our outdoor table there was a traditional performance happening so lots of people were walking by in lederhosen and dirndl which really helped set the scene against the Bavarian backdrop. Gelato cones on the way back to the hotel rounded out a very full birthday for Julia!