Inside Linderhof Palace, Park and Buildings, Residence of King Ludwig II

Another great place to visit is Linderhof Palace.

We visited this palace on the same weekend as the Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau Castles. It's not on the way up to the Northern Bavarian Region, but it was worth the detour.

Travel Tip: When going over to this castle the quickest route is trough Austria. You will go directly into the Austrian Alps; a sight that is said to be beautiful, special in spring.
How ever, make sure to have your passports with you and documentation when passing the boarder, since it will be necessary. They do not have open boarders (to the best of my knowledge), and its better safe than sorry.

The way up to this castle trough the German Alps is also wonderful. The mountains are amazing, and you can hardly see the tops over all the fog. Very sinister and Halloween like.

Travel Tip: Keep your camera ready. There are several spots, high up in the mountains where you can plainly see streams in their full splendor. Heaving for someone who loves taking pictures, professional or amateur photographers.

The Palace is beautiful, one of the few that King Ludwig II actually finished (1878), and his favorite residence. Just like the others, this one also takes you on a very short hike towards the building, and I would also recommend a coat to be brought with you here. The temperatures tend to be low.

This Palace was inspired by Versalles and he dedicated it to Louis XV, King of France. There is a very beautiful statue of the French king in what I will call the foyer, the ceiling has a raising sun, probably a homage to Louis XIV, since Versailles, the original palace that inspired Linderhof was the home of the Rising Sun King, Louis the XIV of France. There is also a text that reads " Nec Pluribus Impar." Witch is a Latin inscription and the motto that King Louis XIV adopted. Meaning: "Not unequal to others." Literally, how ever, in the tour we were told it was: "Not Equal to Others." Personally, I think the second is more fitting. But that can be food for tough latter...


It was more what I expected from the other two palaces, than none of them delivered. The richness in the walls, a combination of Rococo with what they call a German influence. The result is amazing. Golden walls, some painted, some edged with great attention to detail and superb craftsmanship. The ceilings again, are amazing. Wonderful painted and hard not to stare at with you mouth closed. My favorite was the reading room of the King. Where a white ivory chandelier, with magnificent Fleur De Lis carvings hang close to his reading spot, and numerous others are strategically placed around the room to provide the King with a lot of light that will reflect on the numerous mirrors. I can only imagine how great that would have been...

It was said that his majesty was a night creature. He woke up late in the afternoon, at about 4, or so they told us. Took his breakfast in a table that had its own elevator from the kitchens to his dinning place, and then enjoyed life out of the city.
This palace, like Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein also had running water from a faucet and the ability to flush the toilet, thanks to the underground natural springs that this palace was built in. Something amazing for the times as well. His majesty was also very technological, and he loved to merge the old with new technology's.

An extraordinary example of this is the construction of the Venus Grotto, located up the hill of the palace. Its an artificial cave, complete with stalactite on the roof of it. This was built as something of a distraction for the king, for he also enjoyed the opera very much. Specially Richard Wagner, the famous German composer. This cave was built to his specifications from the Act I of the opera "Tannhäuser", and constructed exactly to his directions. There is a huge magnificent painting at the back that depicts the "





Venusberg" scene from this opera. His majesty, according to our guides, loved to spend time there. He had two favorite sits. One over the water, and another much farther away and higher up. Both providing him with the best views. There is a sort of a pond there too, where the actors preformed. Something very curious was the fact that the cave and the water were heated. His majesty had a private mini pool, if you will.
Latter on, between 1878-1881 he had lights installed with different color discs to change the illumination. The blue specially is quite beautiful. At the cave, when in the tour, they will show you the different discs and the lighting, its also beautiful.

Everything in this palace is great. The gardens are wonderful too, and if you look closely you can discern the "Fleur De Lis" shapes all around, this is of course, another homage, since it appears in the former royal arms of France.

There are also fountains that go on every 30 minutes give or take, for you to be able to take pictures since these are on the outside. Inside, as usual in any of the constructions by King Ludwig II, photos/video are not permitted.

There is much more to see as well. The Hundings' Hut, with the ash tree (we where not able to see this since the weather would not permit it), the Maroccan House and the Moorish Kiosk. Both something we want to go see when spring is back.


This is all for today. I hope this was helpful in making you create and plan your next adventure. As always, ask questions if you have them, and don't forget to like and share.

Until the next adventure,
Happy Friday and safe travels.
XOXO

Neuschwanstein & Hohenschwangau Castles. Insider tips and Recomendations.

If you are planning on a trip to Germany, this is one of the places that I will recommend you go see. It is without a doubt a great site, there are castles, trails, history and a museum to add to the experience. The whole place has a small town feeling that I had, until then only seen in the movies, and its a wonder to experience.

My first tip: Plan your trip in advance.
The more time in advance you can do it, the better. This town, though charming, is also on the expensive side. A night in a small hotel (This are the majority of the establishments in the surrounding areas) can go anywhere from 100 to 300 a night, and this hotels have about 6 to 8 rooms total. Meaning prices go up the less rooms they have left.
*Do not expect to have breakfast included as is the norm in the Bavarian Region. This, I was surprised to encounter is not provided. At least not in all the hotels that we researched.

As far a attractions go, they have a lot of them. You can visit the two castles (the only way to enter is trough a guided tour, they do provide those in different languages), the museum and the Alpsee lake at the bottom of the castles is also amazing. In the surrounding areas you will also see cafes and places to eat and drink. Most of the beer is from the area and is called King Ludwig II, my husband and I tried the Dunkel (dark/black Lager), not quite like Guinness, but to us is the closest you can get.
You can also hike, something that is very much done in this part of Germany and this sights are amazing for it as well.

Second Tip: What ever the season, take a coat with you, preferably a raincoat that is water resistant of water proof, a poncho or an umbrella will work to with some sort of sweater. Since the castles are built in mountains, one smaller than the other, still the hike if you want to go up there gets cold.

There are Three ways to get up to see the castles:

1.  You can go in a horse carriage, this costs about 2 Euro per person per castle and they take 30 mins to Neuschwanstein castle and about 15 mins to Hohenschwangau Castle. When I say horse carriage you might get the idea that is a two person ride and sort of romantic... Well, I did not do it because there are about 15 people with you and two horses to pull the cart. Not romantic in my book. Plus it takes some time to be able to get there.... 
2. The second choice is going up in the bus. Its much faster, and a bit more expensive, about .50 cent euro more per person than the carriage. The buses get rather full to capacity, but if you need to get there quick because of the time on your guided tour, this is the best option.
3. Last but not least, you can hike all the way to the top of the mountain to see the castle. This is a great idea if, you like hiking/walking, you want to do some exercise, or you want to see the sights. I think this would also depend on the weather, so check that up before. Its very damp and humid in that trail, specially in September, of course, this is also the most economical way, since its free. It takes apron 45 mins from the parking lot to the castle. Just fallow the sings, there are plenty.

Fourth Tip: The parking costs 6 euro for cars. If you do not want to pay for it there are spots around the same road that will take you to the sighs ann that does not cost anything. Is also not secure and on the side of the road. Literally. Its not something that I would do, but never the less, the option is there. 

The Tours. This are highly dependent on the kind of guide you have, and since you can't predict that, then lets move on to some of the specifics.

The Neuschwanstein Tour is rather small. Something I was not expecting because of the size of the outside castle. How ever since it was not finished I think I should have expected it. It's not as ornate as I tough it would be either. This is not my first castle. I have seen others and they tend to be over the top. Gold everywhere, porcelain, chandeliers and glass to imitate jewels, so many decorations in the same room that is hard to focus on something in particular. The expression, Over the top comes to mind.

How ever, since this palace King Ludwig II had it built in honor of his friend Richard Wagner, the composer, famous for his operas, its mostly painted to describe those. The walls in the rooms are usually portraying various scenes from his operas. Something that is said that the King enjoyed very much. Its also said he loved art, something that you can see clearly. how did they not spend their days starring at the beautiful painted ceiling is beyond me. For my neck did hurt by the time we got out.  Its very beautiful but very brief. About 15 to 20 mins. Our guide here was not the best to be honest. But it didn't take much from the tour. 

The Hohenschwangau Castle Tour:

This was much more interesting to me than the Neuschwanstein one. For one, this castle has a lot more history, since it was inherited to King Ludwig II from his family. His father Maximilian II noticed the place when he was a Prince. He loved the ruins of the castle and bought the land, reconstructing it in a Neogothic style. Prior to that the castle was owned by the Knights of Schwangau(Meaning Swan). The Swan that is at the top of this castle is in fact the knight's heraldic animal, something that King Maximilian the II kept from the history of the first castle, then ruins.

Inside its more what I expected from Neuschwanstein. Draperies, pictures, busts and much more to feast the eyes. This was definitely my favorite castle of the two.

This castle does not allow to take pictures or video in it. There for all the pictures I have are from the outside. The ones from the inside are and will always be forever in my memory.

Fifth Tip: Get to the ticket center early to avoid excessively long lines. Those can become huge very fast. It also helps if you reserve your ticket online prior to you getting there. It does incur in a small online fee, but for us, to be able to get away from the huge lines and the wasted time those end up being, it was worth it.

This picture below was taken from the castle. 2nd Floor.


If you have time do the trail along the Alpsee lake at the bottom, in the middle of both castles, it will be something great.  There are ducks and swans in the lake and there is also a choice if you want to rent a water bike or a row boat to take into the lake. For us it was rather cold and we wanted to do something that would keep us warm, not to mention out of the water since my son was sure to end in the water...

Sixth Tip: If traveling with a baby its bets to have a backpack where they can sit up there or a wrap. Strollers are to difficult to maneuver and they are not allowed inside the castle.

The trail is rather long since it goes all around the lake itself. You go along the ends trough the Forest. The sights are breath taking. The Forest here has a green that I have never seen before. Its close to neon green and it contrast beautifully with then mossy green growing everywhere. If you like taking pictures, this place is perfect for it. This is also one of my favorite places to get a shoot of the castles. There is a opening in the middle of the lake trail where the three are not in the middle, and there you can take a picture of the lake, and both castles in the distance as well as the beautiful mountain tops that surround the area. * Such as the picture below.
Another thing about this that is amazing is the color of the lake itself (Note the picture above). Its teal. It has like a ombre effect since the color changes depending on the depth, going from light to dark at the center. It goes without saying that I am in Love with this Lake, and along the trail you can see some of the underground springs that the lake feeds of.
This is also across from the Museum of Bayern history. If you like history, this is a must do.
My seventh and last tip is to make sure to check this web site. It gives you information about what could be under repairs and what dates as well as tours and such.

http://www.neuschwanstein.de/englisch/idea/schwan.htm

This is all from this place. I hope you have found it helpful. Don't forget to like and subscribe for more Reviews and Travel Trips.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me.
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Until the next adventure.
 Here are some other pictures...