Tag: King Ludwig II

2025 · Travel Tuesday

The Nymphenburg Palace In Munich, Germany 2000

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Later that day, I took the subway to the Nymphenburg Castle (Schloss Nymphenburg). I had a nice walk from the Palace Channel to the Palace itself. On my first visit, I just wanted to walk around the Palace’s garden and enjoy the nice weather and outdoors. While I was there, I got into a conversation with a local man, who pointed out the window of the room where King Ludwig II* was born in August 1845. He said Ludwig’s 155th birthday was three days ago. I laughed and answered that my birthday was three days after Ludwig’s. But I’m not that old. I turned 27 that day of my trip to Munich. It was an educational conversation about Bavaria. As a Franconian, it is nice to learn about our state’s culture and history.

*King Ludwig II of Bavaria is also referred to as the Swan King or the Fairy Tale King. During his reign, he built the Herrenchiemsee, Linderhof, and the famous Neuschwanstein Castles. Walt Disney got his idea for the Cinderella Castle from Neuschwanstein, which can be seen in every Disney Park around the world today.

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2025 · Travel Tuesday

Garmisch-Partenkirchen & The Neuschwanstein Castle, Bavaria, Germany 1995

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In 1995, I visited Garmisch-Partenkirchen and Neuschwanstein with my then six-month-old son and a few friends. We had rooms in the Alpina (now Hyperion) Hotel. The first day, it was rainy. So, we just walked around in Garmisch. The next day was gorgeous. It was sunny and a perfect day to go see the Neuschwanstein Castle. At that time, there was some refurbishing done. So, we had a guided tour on a much smaller scale than the usual tour.

I discovered that King Ludwig II was very fond of the composer Richard Wagner’s operas. Ludwig invited Richard to his Hohenschwangau castle, which sits on a lower level across from Neuschwanstein. Every Summer, there is a concert in honor of Wagner under the roof of the Neuschwanstein Castle. Unfortunately, Richard Wagner never had the opportunity to visit the castle himself. He passed away before it was “finished”.In reality, the Neuschwanstein Castle was never completed. King Ludwig had his own tragic ending. His death was ruled by drowning in Lake Starnberg. It’s been said, it was suicide. But his death is controversial. Still today, many believe he was murdered. He passed away at the age of 40 on June 13, 1886.