BelgiumBarb: Day 2: Wieskirche and Schloss Neuschwanstein

It's a beautiful day in Bavaria, and we decided to take advantage of it! We headed out to see a few of the local sights.

This is the Ammertal wood carving shop. The details that they put into their work were amazing. I loved the wooden cuckoo clocks. Unfortunately, they were a little out of our price range. OK, a lot. Still, it was really interesting to just walk around and check it all out.

Next, we paid a visit to Wieskirche ( Church in the Meadow), about 30 miles from Garmisch. It was named this for a reason. It's literally in the middle of no where. It started out a tiny little chapel, built to house a statute of Christ in chains. The statute was originally made for another church, but was put into storage because people found it too offensive to see Christ chained up. It remained in storage for many years, until it was found during a cleanup, and sold to a lady who thought it was beautiful. She put it in a tiny chapel so that others could view and enjoy it. I'm told that in 1738, the statute cried real tears...and that's where the legend began. Over the years, more and more visitors came to see the statute, and eventually this large church was built through donations. Approximately one million people to view this church each year. No charge.

Don't let the simple exterior fool you. It's absolutely stunning inside. It's in the Rococo style. I have included a link to the church's website, so there really isn't much more I can add. I'll just let you enjoy the pictures. They don't do it justice. It was beautiful.

The Rococo style of architecture includes a shell or ocean motif. You can find those details everywhere throughout the church. The pews has seashells carved into them.

Under the pews, there were gaps in the floor boards. You can see the earth through these gaps. This was intentional. The gaps were left there to let the earth's moisture into the church, therefore keeping the paintings from drying out. Brilliant, once you think about it. Of course, in the middle of winter, it's a tad chilly, too.

This door in the ceiling seemed to follow you around the room. Wherever you stood, it seemed to be facing you directly. Also, the roof was flat in the center, but the painting technique made it seem domed.

Right beside the church is a little restaurant.

After you visit the church, stop by there and enjoy a nice cup of hot chocolate and a fresh donut. The donuts are covered with cinnamon sugar. Yes, they were delicious.

Our next stop on the tour was Schloss Neuschwanstein (Neuschwanstein Castle). This is the castle that Walt Disney based his castle on. You can only drive to the little town in the valley below the castle. See it in the center of the picture, up on the mountainside? From there, you have to either walk up or ride in the horse-drawn carriage (for a small fee). Care to guess which way we went up the castle?

The castle was built for King Ludwig II, between 1869 and 1886. Mad King Ludwig only spent about six months here before dying under "mysterious circumstances". There are lots of theories as to the cause of his death, everything from suicide to murder. Personally, I think his wife had him knocked off. He was a bit of a player. I'm just saying...

On the other side of the town from Neuschwanstein Castle stands Schloss Hohenschwangau. This is King Ludwig's parent's house, and his childhood home. This way Ludwig could hang out the window of his lovely castle and wave at the folks whenever the need arose. We didn't tour this castle, but if you are interested, you can buy a package ticket to tour both at a discounted price.

After bidding adieu to our lovely horse escort (you knew I didn't walk up that entire mountain), we walked up the final few hundred feet to the castle. It was worth it. Wow!

This is the view of the valley from the castle.

This is Marienbrucke (Mary Bridge) behind the castle. If you have the time, this is supposed to be one of the best places to view the castle from. It takes about 20 minutes to get there. Maybe in warmer weather. We passed on the opportunity today. Still, it's a pretty bridge and the waterfall below it looked very impressive in it's thick coat of ice.

This is the view from inside the castle's courtyard. I tried to get lots of photos on the outside, because they don't allow any pictures to be taken inside the castle. The flash ruins the paintings. Due to the many tourists who "accidently" forgot to turn off their flashes, no photography or filming or any kind are permitted.

This is the view from one of the balconies insode the castle. That's a frozen, snow covered lake in the distance. King Ludwig couldn't have chosen a more perfect location for his fairy tale castle.

After a final look back at the castle, we opted for the hike back down the mountain to the village below. It's much easier when gravity is on your side!

There are several restaurants located in the town below. This one was the only one open in winter, so it was the easy choice for lunch.

A typical German meal. You haven't lived until you've had real German coleslaw. It's the best ever!! In fact, the whole meal was delicious. Don't be a hater. I'd have shared with you if you were there. (OK, that's not true. I would have stabbed your hand with my fork. It was THAT good!)