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"Mad King Ludwig" and Graz
 
"Mad King Ludwig" castles, perfectly understandable why the peasants revolted after seeing these. He grew up at Nymphenburg Palace (replica of Versaille) and Hohenschwangau. Also includes Graz, Austri

   
Linderhof - built by Ludwig II - also known as the "Swan King"
Ludwig died under mysterious circumstances 3 days after being declared unfit.
Ludwig idolized and ultimately supported Richard Wagner in many endeavours.
Much of the jewels and gold are fake or merely gold plated.
Ludwig was quickly depleting his country of its money.
Upright piano decorated in gold leaf. Our camera couldn't FOCUS on some of these
Gift from a patron.
Ceiling is all gold leaf.
It took years to build Linderhof. The craftmenship is astounding,
Ludwig's bedroom. Kings often entertained in their bedrooms.
This chandelier is made of ivory.
A gift from a weathly patron.
Each room is adorned with relics like this.
The country side was absolutely stunning.
Ludwig always surrounded himself with elegant interiors and exteriors.
Oberammergau - famous for its "Passion Play" and painted houses.
Residents swore an oath in 1633 to perform the Passion Play every 10 years
Hohenschwangau ("high region of the swan") - Ludwig grew up here.
The hike to Neuschwanstein begins - Hohenschwangau is across the street!
Neuschwanstein, Ludwig's Fairy Tale castle, had running water and electricity.
Disney's Cinderella castle is patterned after Neuschwanstein!
View of the city of Fussen from inside Neuschwanstein - spectacular.
Door to Neuschwanstein. Note a door for "people" and then the door for carriages
John at the entrance of Neuschwanstein.
View of Hohenschwangau from Neuschwanstein.
Another hike to the bridge. Neuschwanstein construction lasted 23 years!
It took us 30 minutes of steep climbs to visit this bridge!
Another view of the bridge - some of our tour did't make the hike!
City of Fussen - if you ever visit, stay in this city! Skydiving capitol!
Sadly - onto to Austria on the train - Austria is spectacularly beautiful.
Graz, Austria - birthplace of Arnold Schwarzenegger !
Peacock on the castle grounds.
Downtown Graz.
Those crazy Austrians - Elmer and Wolfgang were gracious guides!
Entrance to the armory. This dates back to the 1600s.
Landeszeughaus - 185,700 weapons stored to fight the Turks.
The Turks never came. ALL weapons are maintained and are functioning.
We'd never seen this type of decorative armor - obviously for women.
This armory has 6 floors with weapons dating back to the 1600s.
More weapons.
Museum being erected - the locals don't really care for the architecture.
This is a bar in the river! Shows are put on here nightly.
View from Schloßberg castle - dates back to the 1500s.
There's a seat in the stone wall of the Schloßberg castle. It's quite a hike!