Swanning Around

We left Ettal early in the morning and drove through charming village after village, finally ending up in Hohenschwangau, the site of the childhood home and dream palace of Ludwig II. We began the day by touring the eponymous castle, the home of Ludwig’s parents, Maximilian and Maria. The outside was a collection of buttery yellow cylindrical buildings, interspersed among large fountains. Most of these depicted swans- the symbol of the Bavarian royal family.

Our tour started in the billiard room, from whence we proceeded to the dining room. Every room of the palace contained numerous paintings of scenes from German history and legend, as well as lavish furnishings and decorations. For example, the dining room depicted in murals the tale of Lohengrin, the swan king. On the table were bronze tiered trays, gifts for Maximilian and Maria. We passed into the queen’s room, which portrayed the role of royal women in medieval times. The queen’s interconnected reading and writing rooms had scenes from the myth surrounding Charlemagne’s birth painted on the walls. Like the fountains outside, swans were an ongoing theme in all the rooms.

From there we went up to the third floor (the king’s rooms). Since Ludwig inherited his father’s crown at 18, he lived in ­­­­Hohenschwangau for some time, and so the third floor bears traces of his decorating- for example, the ceiling of the king’s bedroom has holes drilled in the ceiling designed to mimic constellations. At night, oil lamps would make the “stars” seem to flicker. Ludwig also installed a large telescope on the third floor so he could survey construction of ­­Neuschwanstein, the castle he had built for himself across the valley. Another interesting feature were the 150 year old preserved loaf of bread and pitcher of salt, a gift for Ludwig upon inheriting his parents’ palace.

We next set out on the long, winding trail up to Neuschwanstein, Ludwig’s personal Barbie Dream House. The hike was made more difficult by the large number of horse carriages and buses that kept speeding past us. Eventually, we reached the top of the large hill his royal residence was perched on.

While Neuschwanstein was a private abode, it contains many large rooms, ostensibly for balls and gatherings of people, that are almost over-decorated. Ludwig liked lavish settings but did not like to have people around. So all of the grand rooms in the palace never hosted more than a few people. We began in a giant throne chamber that was almost blinding. Gold ran from floor to ceiling, every inch dripping with embellishments and brightly colored glass. The floor, made of around 2,000,000 pieces of rock, depicted animals. The walls showed religious images of kings chosen by God and their mighty acts.

Neuschwanstein was never fully completed, and it’s easy to tell why. The ornate detailing of each room cost all of Ludwig’s money and he borrowed huge sums. His bedroom was almost entirely wooden, and the canopy over his bed was carved to look like Neo-Gothic churches. There is a large concert space called the hall singers decorated with scenes from Wagner operas that never hosted a performance. There is even a room made to look like a cave. The rest of the palace was similarly dazzling and covered with gold and amazing murals. Ludwig is called the Crazy King because of his desire to live in prosperity utterly alone. Personally, I think that’s an unfair assessment.

We left Hohenschwangau and headed for Bregenz, Austria, to see Turandot performed. We arrived at the lake where the stage was a few hours early, so we took the time to walk around and get some snacks (ie. giant pretzels). 

The entire stage was floating on the water, made to look like the Great Wall of Chine. Turandot is the story of a princess who kills all of her suitors, until one (Calaf) beats the challenge she created. Horrified, she tries to kill herself, and Calaf tells her that if she finds his name before morning, he will let her kill him. Eventually, she discovers his name, as well as the fact that he is the son of her kingdom’s greatest enemy, but then decides to not reveal it and marry him.

The performance was incredible, featuring fire swords, fire cubes, glowing dragons, and a severed body thrown into the lake from a high tower on the stage. Since we were in the third row, the fountains of water spraying in the air at the end ended up splashing us.

It was really late when we got back, so we collapsed instantaneously.