We arrived the evening before to a warm dry hotel in the foothills of the Alps in Reutte, Austria. This hotel had at our disposal washers and dryers in the basement so Hurray for clean clothes. The rain was coming down as we drove back into Germany the next morning to visit the Neuschwanstein Castle. With raincoats and umbrellas, in true Rick Steves traveller style, we hiked up the hill to the castle. It wasn’t much of a day for photos and there are no photos allowed inside the Castle
You may know the story of “Mad” King Ludwig the II. After the Seven Weeks War , he became disinterested in politics and retreated into his private fantasy world surrounding himself with opulent castles where he lived out his dream of being a true King. Construction of the castle began in 1869 but was never completely finished. The castle is rumored to be the real-life inspiration for the castle in Cinderella. No grouches in our tour group, maybe a little disappointment that we wouldn’t be able to do the luge ride and have a picnic lunch but our group found other ways to entertain themselves, card games, happy hour in one of our groups room, we made the most of the rainy day. A wonderful group dinner and entertainment that gave us all a lift from the dreary day. Even one of our members was enlisted to aid the musicians with a little rhythm for the evening. Who could be disappointed when you had a schnapps tasting and Apple Strudel for dessert.