Rome Is Where the Heart Is: The Blue Country

Today's topic: King Ludwig II's Castle Obsession!
Today's advice:

Don't visit a city when their country has a national holiday (today was Ascension Day) because nothing is open...including places to eat.
When you need to be somewhere for a tour and you don't know the city that well, leave with PLENTY of time to get lost
Don't always trust Google Maps with public transport directions
If you visit Munich, take a tours of the Linderhof and Neuschwanstein Castles of Bavaria. It is worth all the money in the world!

Let me explain some of this advice. Today Anne and I set off to take a bus tour with Gray Line Bus Tours to Linderhof and Neuschwanstein. We paid around $85 for the bus tour and the two tours of the castles. We printed off directions from Google from the hotel to where the bus was picking us up. We left at 7 am and tried to find breakfast. Of course, nothing was open and we hadn't eaten since 5pm the previous afternoon. So in our state of crazed-starvation we tried to find the bus that Google told us to use, but of course, it was only a night bus. Using our newly-found traveling skills, we quickly figured out the street we needed to get to and that we could take two U-bahn routes and then walk to it. We figured this out at 7:40 and we had to meet the bus by 8:30. Of course, the first U6 is 20 minutes away and we get to the next U4 at 8. And this one doesn't come until 8:19. The panic has set in but Anne's head stayed clear and she navigated us with Google Maps and we ran through the streets of Munich to make it just in time for the bus. I gave Anne a HUGE high five. Winning.

There were two seats left on the bus for us and we sat next to two women who turned out to be the nicest friends we could have made! My seat buddy was a woman from Australia named Margret. She had just spent a month in France and was an avid traveler. Anne's seat mate was a woman named Mary from France. She is in a master's program in Scotland and has traveled so many places including India, London, Kenya, Peru, Machu Picchu, Prague, and many more! I was so impressed by both of them and we spent the entire day with them and never stopped chatting. We all exchanged emails and maybe we'll cross paths again on our travels.

Our bus took the Autobahn south to the castles. Our guide informed us that there is a recommended speed limit of 78 mph for cars, so many cars zoomed by our bus. However, if a car gets in an accident going faster than 78 they will be charged for speeding because they are a danger to other cars.
As soon as we left the city, the countryside took over and I have never seen so many different shades of green. There were so many fields, cows, and deep blue Alps. Our guide also informed us about the green energy that Germany uses, including solar panels that we saw on many of the roofs of barns.

The first stop was Ludwig's favorite castle and the one that he lived in the most, Linderhof. It is literally an mini Versailles. Many parts of the castle were a tribute to Versailles including statues of Louis XIV, a garden and fountain outside the front, a room full of mirrors, and other items that made this 19th century king seem like he was born out of a different time period. He was very secluded and loved to escape reality in these intricately designed castles.

I finally got food at a small town called Oberammergau. Upon Mary's recommendation, I tried goulash and it is delicious!

We went to Neuschwanstein, the castle that the Disney castle is modeled after. It was simply gorgeous. We traveled up the mountain and through dense forest. I felt like I was on my way to Hogwarts castle. This castle was not complete when Ludwig died mysteriously. However, we saw three levels and all the rooms were very intricately decorated with each room having a theme dedicated to Richard Wagner's operas. Another bit of information that was interesting was that Ludwig was declared insane without a doctor's check and removed from the throne. A new phrase I'm going to use around Anne is, "Sorry, I'm going a little "Ludwig" on you." Haha!

We ended the day at a local restaurant and had dinner with our new friends. The group sitting at the table next to us stared at us their entire meal like we were a traveling circus. Probably just because we were speaking English but isn't staring universally rude?

Anyway, we had a lovely time being princesses today despite the rainy and chilly weather!
Enjoy these photos from the day!