One of the “must see” sightseeing stops in Southern Bavaria are the twin Wittlebach castles, Hohenschangau, and Neuschansteig, near Fussen, and about a forty-five minute drive from where we were staying just across the border in Reutte, Austria. Since the sky was cloudy, and the weather forecast called for rain later in the day, we figured spending part of the day indoors was a good idea.
We didn’t know that when Miss Money Penny, our BMW’s British-English speaking GPS says “turn right”, she sometimes means “bear right” (she seems to use the terms interchangeably and her choice of which term to use seems whimsical). So we ended up leaving the highway and driving onto a dead-end road into an industrial park as we left Reutte. Then, because we only knew the town near the castles, but not the exact address of the castles, she kept misdirecting us. And to make matters whose, we can’t figure out how to turn her off.
Anyway, we finally reach the castle complex, parked the car, and began one of many uphill and downhill walks. So many visitors come that guided tours are strictly time and only last about thirty-five minutes in each castle. Miss your entry time, and you can light your entry ticket on fire because it won’t operate the turnstile that let you in.
Neuschwansteig (“New Swan Stone”) was the model for the castle at Disneyland. It was under construction from 1869-1886, but never finished. It was the designed for “Mad” King Ludwig, whose parents had built that much more sedate Hohenschwangau farther down the hill. It took 14 carpenters four years just to build Ludwig’s bedroom. It reminded me of William Randolph Hearst’s Castle on the central California coast.
Ludwig only lived in the castle for 172 days before he and his psychiatrist were both found dead, floating in a lake near Munich. No one knows for sure how he met us end. The day before he died, royal counselors had him declared insane. Were they so upset over the cost of building Neuschwansteig that they went ballistic when they learned Ludwig wanted to build yet another, even more grandiose castle just up the road, and had him killed? Maybe he didn’t pay his general contractor who had connections with the Mafia? Did the Hapsburg from Austria “take out a contract” on him when he jilted one of their princesses after a ten-month engagement? Hitchcock should have made a movie about this guy.
We walked a half hour down the hill from Neuschwansteig to the parking area below the castles in an increasingly heavy rain, lonely to discover that we couldn’t find where we had parked. Then when we finally located the car, it wouldn’t start until I accidentally put my foot on the brake and discovered that there was an interlocking mechanism that requires the driver to touch the brake pedal to activate the ignition system. Fortunately, and despite Miss Money Penny’s commands, and with only one missed turn, we made it safely back to Reutte in time for dinner.
