25 April 2013

Day Two (25 April) - MUC to Neuschwanstein


Up early because I'm taking a tour of Neuschwanstein, long a goal of mine.  I hike down to the Hauptbahnhof, and it's farther than I remember.  Dragging luggage down their tomorrow morning is out of the question.  It will have to be a taxi.  At the train station the first need is something to eat - so I buy one of those ubiquitous sandwiches that one finds in European train stations.  Gerne.  That and some juice seems fine, also some water for the trip.  There are two groups in our tour - those who speak Spanish and those who speak English.  We board a regional train to Füssen, and it takes us an ambling two hours to get there.  I continue to be amazed at the Bavarian countryside - so green and so clean.  All the little towns that we passed through were stereotypically clean and orderly.


I had always imagined that Neuschwanstein was in a rural area - well, it is, but now surrounded by way too many souvenir shops, hotels, and snack shops.  I didn't pay attention until I turnaround and saw the castle surmounting that retail village below.  Our tour group is made up of several Australians, and Arab family of five, a woman and her daughter from Rhode Island, and a Russian man and his boyfriend - most of which were very interesting.  The tour guide is from the UK, but he has lived in Munich for about ten years.  

Höhenschwangau


Höhenschwangau hovers over the Alpsee - a big yellow vision.  We walk down the hill to see the castle at a distance.  It is one of four that Ludwig built - Höhenschwangau, Herrenchiemsee, Linderhof, and Neuschwanstein.  None, excepting Linderhof, were completed during Ludwig's lifetime, and only Linderhof was used extensively.  Of the two that I have seen, Linderhof and Neuschwanstein, neither has any real artistic merit.  Arthur would be proud of me as I and a few others didn't take the horse-drawn carriage, nor the bus, but walked up to the castle.  On the way up the Russian man came up to me.  "How old are you?" he asked.  I replied, "Sixty-seven."  "I'm sixty-four," he said, "I can't take this any more."  The hike took us up to Marienbrücke, with a spectacular view of the gorge and the castle hovering over the northeastern side of the gorge.



Neuschwanstein actually had no architect associated with its design - the concepts largely coming from a set designer in Munich.  This fact was announced to us by the castle tour guide (the tour is a whole thirty minutes long) who informed us of the fact with a slight smirk on her face.  There was an excellent film that gave the history of the building and virtually presented those parts that were never built.  No pictures were allowed.  


I find it amazing as to what kind of information tour guides give, and what it is that elicits "Oh" and "Ah" by the appreciative audience.  It is usually something like this:  "This floor has two million tesserae in it", or "this chandelier weighs one ton."  Not one word of historical interest or consequence fell from her mouth.  Nor was there an understanding of the iconography that surrounded us.  No mention of the Wagner figures in the entrance hall, or of the historical types that Ludwig choose to underscore his kingship.  What can you expect for €12, and thirty minutes?  

We rush down the hillside so as not to miss either bus or train, and amble our way back into Munich.  I talk with the tour guide.  He also gives a "Third Reich Tour" in Munich.  So we talk about the Haus der Kunst. and the Ehrenhoffe near the Glyptotek in Munich.  It was an interesting conversation.  He had all kinds of questions about the Episcopal Church in the US. - was surprised the presiding bishop and primate was a woman.

In making my climb, I have stressed my knee, so a limp-a-bit to dinner: Warm Asparagus Salad with Tomato, Egg, and Rocket, followed by a Goulash with Potatoes.  Delicious.  Now to bed.




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