Walt Disney used the castle called Neuschwanstien near Füssen, Germany by the Alps as the model for the Castle in Disneyland. We went there Saturday, and stayed in the hostel in Füssen. The castle is the most beautiful we've seen, with construction started in 1869, and still unfinished when King Ludwig died 17 years later from a tragic drowning. It contains many paintings of legends and myths used by Richard Wagner in his operas, such as Isolde & Tristian, Sigfried, Parsifal, Lohengrin. The king that built the castle, Ludwig, and Wagner were friends and the Castle was dedicated to Wagner's Operas. The paintings are beautiful, as are the wall decorations, ceilings, banisters, and carvings. The castle sits on top of a craggy ledge and was a serious climb after the bus left us off a ways below. there are 300 steps all total. The next morning, we drove through the Bavarian Alps into the Austrian Alps, and then dropped down into Switzerland. We headed home in pouring rain and weekend traffic. That day we spent 12 hours traveling. But it was worth every minute of it.
The Alps are spectacular. The air was cool, and clear. There was still unmelted snow on the north-facing sides of many mountains, wide Alpine meadows sprinkled with flowers, and everything green, green, green. The roads through the Alps are narrow, with motorcycles racing past at breakneck speeds.
Now we're home, more rain today, in the 60s and overcast. I am packing to return to the States. I leave here Wed. at 12:30 PM, getting into Colorado Springs at 6:30PM, but don't be misled, it is a 17+ hour trip through Washington Dulles.
Photos in next blog.
No comments:
Post a Comment