Get Sleepy: Sleep meditation and stories - A Sleepy Visit to Neuschwanstein
Episode Date: September 4, 2024Narrator: Thomas Jones 🇬🇧 Writer: Jo Steer ✍️ Sound design: mountain forest ambience ⛰️ Includes mentions of: Food, Heights, Bodies of Water, Death, Car, Autumn, Walking, History, Reli...gious Traditions, Art History, Architecture, Birds, Driving, Music, Travel, Literature & Literary History. Welcome back, sleepyheads. Tonight, in the first of a four-part series, we'll visit a special and historic Bavarian castle, Schloss Neuschwanstein - the inspiration for Walt Disney's fairytale castle logo. 😴 Support our Sponsors Check out the great products and deals from Get Sleepy sponsors: getsleepy.com/sponsors/ Support Us Get Sleepy’s Premium Feed: getsleepy.com/support/ Get Sleepy Merchandise: getsleepy.com/store Leave us a review on Apple Podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/get-sleepy/id1487513861 Connect Stay up to date on all our news and even vote on upcoming episodes! Website: getsleepy.com/ Facebook: facebook.com/getsleepypod/ Instagram: instagram.com/getsleepypod/ Twitter: twitter.com/getsleepypod Our Apps Redeem exclusive unlimited access to Premium content for 1 month FREE in our mobile apps built by the Get Sleepy and Slumber Studios team: Deep Sleep Sounds: deepsleepsounds.com/getsleepy/ Slumber: slumber.fm/getsleepy/ FAQs Have a query for us or need help with something? You might find your answer here:Get Sleepy FAQs About Get Sleepy Get Sleepy is the #1 story-telling podcast designed to help you get a great night’s rest. By combining sleep meditations with a relaxing bedtime story, each episode will guide you gently towards sleep. Get Sleepy Premium Get instant access to ad-free episodes and Thursday night bonus episodes by subscribing to our premium feed. It's easy! Sign up in two taps! Get Sleepy Premium feed includes: Monday and Wednesday night episodes (with zero ads). An exclusive Thursday night bonus episode. Access to the entire back catalog (also ad-free). Extra-long episodes. Exclusive sleep meditation episodes. Discounts on merchandise. We’ll love you forever. Get your 7-day free trial: getsleepy.com/support. Thank you so much for listening! Feedback? Let us know your thoughts! getsleepy.com/contact-us/. Get Sleepy is a production of Slumber Studios. Check out our podcasts, apps, and more at slumberstudios.com. That’s all for now. Sweet dreams ❤️ 😴 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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Welcome to Get Sleepy.
Where we listen, we relax, and we get sleepy. My name's Thomas, and it's my honor to be
your host. Thanks so much for joining me. Have you ever wondered what it would be like
to visit the kind of castle that appears in myths and fairy tales. A palatial fortress high up in
the mountains, the tips of its towers shrouded in clouds. For Anka, it's been a dream since childhood
to visit the famous castle Neuschwanstein in Bavaria, Germany. Tonight she celebrates her 61st birthday by exploring this fairy tale place. It's the first of a four-part series
we'll be releasing over the course of September, visiting four Bavarian
castles, each with their own unique charm and grandeur. The stories are all written
by the wonderful Joe Steer, and I have the pleasure of reading them for you. If
this show is helping you get better sleep, why not try the very
best listening experience on Get Sleepy Premium. With well over 750 full-length
stories and meditations to choose from, including lots of extra long episodes,
you'll never be short of something dreamy to help you drift off.
There are no ads whatsoever when you listen on premium, so your rest will be uninterrupted
even if you want to listen all night long. Plus, every Thursday night we release a brand new bonus episode. Tomorrow our good friend TK is back to
read us a story set in Marfa, Texas where we'll enjoy a beautiful country sunset.
So give Get Sleepy Premium a try with a seven-day free trial when you first sign
up and enjoy all the sleepy content you could
possibly need visit getsleepy.com support or follow the link in the show
notes to learn more. So my friends let's prepare to listen to our story by taking a moment to settle down and unwind.
Make sure you're comfortable.
Steady your breathing into the peace and stillness of the space you're in.
Get Sleepy is here and is designed predominantly to help you get a good
night's sleep but I understand that there are nights when
sleep is particularly evasive and in those instances I hope you at least feel
comforted simply by hearing my voice and the voices of my fellow narrators.
my fellow narrators. You might even find that our stories teach you something new at times,
or inspire you to try new things, or visit places you've never considered before.
That's most definitely the effect this series set in Bavaria has had on me personally. I'm rather inspired to make a visit to this stunning region myself now, and to go to the
historic castles that we'll be exploring in this series. So prepare to be soothingly captivated by the beautiful descriptiveness of Jo's writing.
And remember, you are very welcome to drift into sleep at any time.
at any time. You can come back and listen time and time again if you so wish.
Now allow your gentle breaths to rest in the background of your focus and follow my voice to Bavaria, a historic region in southeast beauty, full of lakes, rivers, forests and woodlands.
The Bavarian Alts dominate the skyline.
They watch over an expanse of lush green countryside. It's an area known for its conservative culture from
language and clothing to customs and cuisine. Towns and villages have a medieval aesthetic. They look fresh from the pages of a storybook.
Anka has traveled from her home in Frankfurt, a bustling modern city full of high-rise buildings.
full of high-rise buildings. It took only a morning for her to reach Bavaria,
roughly 200 miles southeast of Frankfurt. But it's so very different from what Anka is used to,
that she feels as if she's driven into a whole other world. Instead of skyscrapers, she sees snow-capped mountains.
Instead of traffic, she hears birds and the breeze. The whole region seems serene and peaceful.
It has the charm of a place that's from a different time.
For the past few days, she's been staying in Munich, acclimatizing
to a world of quaint cobbled streets and half-timbered buildings.
She's dined on apple strudel to a backdrop of folk music,
and been served more than once by staff clad in lederhosen.
But Munich, as lovely as it is, isn't the main reason for her 61st birthday. Her goal is to visit Schloss, or Castle, Neuschwanstein.
Anke first heard of the fairy tale Castle as a dreamy young girl of six or seven.
a dreamy young girl of six or seven. It was a place she never visited, a place eventually forgotten
until just last month when she was reading a bedtime story to her niece. That story about knights, princesses, and dragons revived her desire to see the castle.
And thanks to the freedom and independence of her retirement, she had plans in place
just a day later. In the past few weeks, she's done a little light reading, both about
the castle and its eccentric owner. Neuschwanstein was a project of King Ludwig II, ruler of Bavaria from 1864.
Thought by some to be a genius and by others quite insane, King Ludwig was certainly a polarizing figure.
A reclusive monarch, obsessed with knights and fairy tales,
he had a passion for building that few could rival.
Neuschwanstein was one of his many ambitious projects that ultimately would bankrupt the king.
He was eventually deposed in 1886 after 22 years on the throne of Bavaria. Declared unfit to rule, Ludwig would pass away only days later. Though he died at just 40 years
of age, he left a timeless legacy in the form of the buildings made in his name.
None were as unique as Neuschwanstein Castle, one of the most recognizable of its kind in the world.
It receives over a million visitors annually who are keen to explore a real-life fairy tale.
Today, Anka will join that number. She's driving towards it now, moving through the lush landscape. She's at the tail end of a journey that's taken two hours from Munich.
It's been a stress-free drive, both interesting and relaxing. In her youth, Anka was a little more timid and occasionally afraid of going places alone.
But with each year passing, she's grown more comfortable and independent.
Solo travel now feels bold and liberating.
Her mind slows down when she visits new places.
She becomes more aware of her senses and surroundings.
This is true even when she's driving, as she takes in the sights along her route. This morning, her mind has been pleasantly occupied by the timeless beauty of the Bavarian
countryside. Varian countryside, from rolling green hills and painted white chapels to miles of trees
displaying the colors of autumn. For the last few miles, her route has been flanked by vast stretches of flat green fields.
Solitary buildings stand out like sculptures, as do the trees that are dotted along the way.
The mountains in the background appear all the more dramatic when viewed against a stage
of even countryside.
Anker is admiring this rugged skyline when Neuschwanstein Castle comes into view. Its ivory towers are visible in the distance, nestled
against the mountain amongst a thick forest. Limestone walls stand out against the autumnal trees. The outline of its walls, its turrets and pointed towers
are instantly recognizable. This is perhaps the quintessential fairy tale castle.
fairy tale castle. After all, Neuschwanstein was Walt Disney's inspiration for the castle that would ultimately become the classic Disney logo.
The sight of the fortress causes Anka to smile. She finds herself filled with childlike wonder.
As a youngster, it seemed too magical to be true,
as if seeing it would be proof that fairy tales were real.
proof that fairy tales were real. Now keen to peek those huge white walls,
Anker is thankful to see road signs for Fussen. This is the town that's closest to the castle,
the nearest village being that of Hoennschwangau.
At the foot of the Alps, it's an area that seems dedicated to supporting tourists who seek to visit the castle. There are restaurants, cafes, souvenir shops, and museums, as well as multiple car parks
for Unka to choose from. She parks up in a space and gets out of the car, stretching her legs on the silvery tarmac. Then she raises her arms as if she's pulling
down the sky, taking lovely deep breaths of fresh country air. It's a bright, sunny day with just a smattering of clouds, the kind of weather that requires
just a jacket.
Though Unka has come prepared with an extra jumper and raincoat in case the weather changes
or it's cooler in the castle. She locks up the car and pulls on her
backpack but pauses when she spots another castle on the hill. Not Neuschwanstein this time, but Hohenschwangau instead,
the summer home of Prinz Ludwig's father, Maximilian II. This palace shares a name with the nearby village.
Hohenschwangau Castle is on the hill above Lake Alpsi.
Unlike its fairy tale counterpart, it's more typically medieval, with imposing yellow walls and hexagonal towers.
Unka takes a camera out of her backpack and zooms in on the castle gazing through the viewfinder.
She takes in the details of the arrow slits and windows, and the cut out rectangles that
form defensive battlements across the top.
The castle, Anquer Red, was built on the ruins of a fortress, one which had stood since at least the 1300s.
Similarly, Neuschwanstein is built on the site of a castle
that dates back even further to the 12th century.
12th century. Maximilian II discovered the ruins when hiking and immediately fell in love with the castles and their surroundings. He was intrigued by tales of the medieval knights who lived in the fortress that would
become Neuschwanstein.
Known as the Swan Knights or Knights of the Swan, they took their name from the area known
as Hohenschwangau. In English, it means High District of the Swan, a fitting title considering
its many bird-filled lakes. King Maximilian was fond of using swan imagery, as was his son Ludwig II. Ludwig believed that
he was a descendant of the Swan Knights, carrying on the legacy of those who had
lived there before him. The fortress itself had enthralled the young boy, its interior decorated in legends of
old.
Paintings and murals depicted knights on horseback, saving fair maidens from the clutches of dragons.
It's at Toan Shvangal Castle that he developed a fascination with the past.
It was rumored he may have written poems on the rooftop about how to lead nights.
When he wasn't reading stories, he was usually out exploring,
swimming in the lakes or traversing the woodlands. Anka captures a few photos of the castle before returning the camera to the side pocket of
her backpack.
Perhaps, she'll have time to visit her in Schwangau later, but for now, her thoughts turn to reaching Neuschwanstein.
She glances around the area, taking in the details, and deciding on a route to reach the castle.
The village is dotted with bus stops and shelters, where shuttles ferry tourists up the hill. Horse-drawn carriages also wait by the roadside for those who wish to start their fairy tale
early.
The clip-clop of hooves can be heard in the distance as tourists make use of the medieval transport.
After a lengthy drive, Anka prefers to walk, especially as the route is so picturesque. According to what she's read, it's just a 40-minute amble on a wide path that curves
upwards through the autumn woodland. Unker begins walking towards a bright yellow
signpost.
Like the sprinkling of people both ahead and behind, she walks at a pace that is relaxed and gentle. Her senses are invigorated by the exercise and the
earthy scents that are carried on the breeze. The incline of the path calls
for slow walking and the views are so beautiful that they warrant examination.
Occasionally she pauses to take a picture with her camera capturing views
from gaps in the treeline.
Unkar sometimes thinks of a young Prince Ludwig, how he may well have wandered through the trees beside her daydreaming. Perhaps he pretended to be a knight on horseback, making his way through the enchanted woods.
There is a kind of magic in being surrounded by nature, especially as the path climbs upwards.
Towering silver birch trees form a shield around the path, muting the sounds of people's voices
and footsteps. It's as if her walk is transporting her to a whole other world,
a timeless kingdom high above. Here, the only sounds are the chirping of birds,
the rustling of branches, Unca's breath, and the crunch of leaves beneath her shoes. She follows the rhythm of her own gentle breath, matching inhales
and exhales with the pace of her stride, until she's approached by a carriage and her attention is pulled to the clip-clopping sound.
Unkar sees horses, one white, one black. Both are majestic and appear well looked after.
and appear well looked after. The driver behind him says hallo as he passes, while a little girl in the carriage waves, grinning beside her mother.
The sounds of horses' hooves and the carriage wheels echo through the forest, lingering
in the air.
Unka can still hear them as she turns a corner, coming to a set of silver lockers beside a
wide balcony. She pulls on a jumper to guard against the cold before
placing her belongings into a locker. Then, she strolls over to the balcony. Positioned just below the entrance of the building, it's a spot for viewing the castle
up close.
Uncker observes the front gatehouse.
The stone is orange, contrasted against the white. Beside its orange front stand two round towers,
decorated at the top with rectangular battlements. Both white towers are capped with spires, cone-shaped roofs of blue-green slate.
Uncker can imagine a figure like Rapunzel letting down her hair from the uppermost window. But despite their size, of all Neuschwanstein's towers, these look to be the smallest.
They are dwarfed against those that rise up beyond the courtyard. The scale of the building is only now becoming clear.
It's even more colossal than it appeared from down below.
What's more, the stone walls only appear to grow taller as Unkar continues to the top of the hill.
Soon, she is standing at the base of the castle, only meters away from its
enormous walls. A handful of tourists are gathered by an information board, ready to tour Neuschwanstein once Anka
is with them.
Her guide is called Lucas, a man in his mid-twenties, but to Anka he has the manner of someone far beyond his years.
He speaks in tones that are hushed and gentle, as if the palace is sleeping,
and he is seeking not to disturb it.
not to disturb it. He welcomes the group with a wide and earnest smile, seeming genuinely pleased that they've chosen to visit. Lucas has lived in the area all
his life and knows everything there is to know about the castle and its founder.
Many assume the castle is medieval, built sometime between 500 and 1300 CE,
CE. But building actually began in 1869, initially under the architect, Edward Riedel. It was based on the drawings of Christian Jung, a stage designer and scenic painter. King Ludwig II was a great lover of theatre
and sought to bring drama to the design of the palace.
Neuschwanstein, in fact, might be viewed as a tribute to the 19th century composer Richard Wagner.
His romantic operas and theatrical scenery made a lasting impression on the King of Bavaria.
Ludwig had grown up through the peak of Romanticism, the artistic and intellectual movement that
swept through Europe. Wagner's sets were characteristically romantic, offering an idealized version of the Middle Ages. So great was the king's affection for the composer
that he acted as his patron and funded him indefinitely. Wagner was the first to learn of Ludwig's plans to build a castle fit for ancient German
knights.
Neuschwanstein is like the set of the grandest opera, brought to life high upon a hill. Lucas explains that the group might well recognize the elements of theater
in the building's design. Equally, they might note the hallmarks of other styles
visible both inside and outside the walls.
visible both inside and outside the walls.
The slim towers and delicate embellishments, for example, are a feature common in Gothic architecture,
while the semicircular archways and geometric shapes are generally associated with Romanesque design.
There's more still inside the building, but behind him as he leads them into the fairy
tale castle.
Unker follows at the back of the group, strolling along the path that curves around and up. It leads them towards the orange gatehouse
and the heavy wooden doorway at the front of orange-red brickwork and golden arches in stone above the windows.
Also at the masonry of King Ludwig's coat of arms, including lions and a shield and a crowned knight's helmet.
and a crowned knight's helmet. It's an apt emblem for the fairy tale king,
immortalized in stone above the doorway. The door itself appears typically medieval,
with its top half gridded like a portcullis gateway.
A rectangular cutout in the thick, heavy woodwork provides a doorway through which visitors can enter. Uncker strolls through it, wearing an expression of wonder, taking her first steps into Neuschwanstein
Castle.
The group are led across a pretty stone courtyard with walls on two of its sides. On the left, the stone is bordered by a low balcony
and offers stunning views of the tree-covered mountains.
Ahead, there are steps leading to the castle's upper courtyard.
They're almost as tall as the gatehouse entrance.
The tips of the towers are visible above them at either side of its main hall or palace.
Lucas points out that the castle is made from a type of limestone that's sourced locally. That's why it blends in so well with its surroundings, having been brought up the hillside
from a nearby quarry. King Ludwig employed hundreds of craftsmen
who worked day and night in the castle's construction. It was planned initially as job, though it remained unfinished after 17 years.
The majority of workers were from the local area, and it's partly because of this that Ludwig was
popular throughout the region. He brought jobs and income to a poorer area, employing around a third of the local
workforce. In the capital, Munich, King Ludwig's reputation was that of a recluse and an eccentric spendthrift. But in southern Bavaria, he
was well-liked. People often shared stories of his kindness towards the locals.
Once he's finished speaking, Lucas allows a few minutes for the group to look around
and take in the staircase.
The wide stone steps spiral upwards like a corkscrew bathed in the light of small, arched windows.
Electric lamps add a sheen of gold to the creamy brick walls that tower around the tourists. There are few things to unker that feel quite as medieval as walking up a spiral staircase. The stairway is like a capsule, a portal to the past,
transporting her back to another time, another world.
She knows that she's nearing the top of the stairs as light floods in through a massive doorway.
It leads to a corridor of gleaming white walls,
brightened by the light of double-arched windows.
Unkar crosses a burgundy carpet below a ceiling of elaborate woodwork. Sleek white pillars are visible behind each window.
Between them are views of the lake and mountains. The tour really begins in the next room along,
the lower hall at the end of the corridor. It's as grand and palatial as anyone might expect, with wainscotted wooden walls and stunning vaulted ceilings.
Lucas directs the group's attention to the colorful frescoes beneath the curves of the ceiling. The paintings, he explains, depict the Sigurd saga, or the Edda, in the
Old Norse language. It's a story that involves the gods Loki and Odin, an epic tale of love and tragedy. There's treasure, magic potions, and love at fair sight
when the Dragonsayer Sigurd pledges his love for Brynhild.
Unkar casts her eyes across the artwork as Lucas describes some of the story's key events. She sees a blacksmith in a cave, forging a sword for Sigurd. In another picture, it is being used to slay the evil dragon.
Ludwig II counted many artists among his friends and employed only the best to bring such legends
to life. This is evident not only in the frescoes,
but on the decorative ribbing of the vaulted ceiling.
Uncas stares up at the plated ribbons that curve and cross between pillars and chandeliers.
cross between pillars and chandeliers. Between them, the ceiling is beautifully decorated with geometric patterns in blue and red. She follows these patterns out of the room, across the hallway, and into the throne room. Lucas smiles at the
gasps of the
throne room.
From its mosaic floors to the artwork on its ceiling, it's a room that Anka can only gaze at in awe.
Byzantine churches were an inspiration to Ludwig, which Lucas says are characterized by their sumptuous decor. Every inch of its walls are painted in color, mostly against a background
of coffered gold. Corinthian columns rise up from the floor on on three sides. Their top and bottom sculpting is a dazzling shade of gold,
while the columns themselves are an auburn bronze. These bronze columns stop a quarter way up the wall, below a series of painted arches
at the base of a balcony. Then a second row of columns rises up towards the ceiling,
lapis blue in color with sun-like gold sculpting.
with sun-like gold sculpting. An enormous chandelier, maybe four meters wide, emerges from the ceiling from the painting of a sun. Around the sun are
hundreds of tiny stars, twinkling gold against a teal-blue background.
Unkar moves to the middle of the room andlike cupola, seen from a mosaic displaying the
earth's plants and animals.
The domed roof, Lucas explains, is self-supporting and reinforced by iron girders beneath the throne hall floor.
In the 19th century, this was practically unheard of, a revolutionary piece of innovative engineering.
It's one of many such features throughout the castle that mark the building as being ahead of its time.
Ludwig's workmen were pioneers from the beginning, using a steam crane to clear the mountaintop, where the foundations were laid.
Other innovations include an electric switchboard so that servants could see where the king was A telephone was installed in 1884, providing a line to the Hohenschwangau Castle.
Perhaps best of all was the hot water boiler, which provided central heating throughout
the building. While most castles at the time were cold and drafty,
Neuschwanstein was cozy and comfortingly warm.
Uncker ponders this new information. Indeed, the castle does feel warm compared to others she's
visited. It's strange and wonderful to feel quite so cozy within the vast space of the church-like hall. She wanders over to the front of the room, where
marble steps lead up to a stage. The throne was never made due to Ludwig's passing, but this is where it would have been, surrounded by religious artwork.
Christ is pictured on the wall above the stage,
his white robes prominent against a coppered gold background.
gold background. Six holy kings are lined up below him, while the twelve apostles are at the sides of the stage. To Lucas, the throne room is very telling. It demonstrates the way King Ludwig felt about kingship.
He believed that as king, he was appointed by God.
Though, in reality, his title was rather superficial.
his title was rather superficial. From 1866, German kingdoms had unified
and power had shifted out of Ludwig's hands. With the encouragement of Bismarck, the president of Prussia, he supported Wilhelm I to become emperor of Prussia. Being only eighteen when his father died, Ludwig was inexperienced and unsuitable as a king. In official matters, he followed the advice of his council and
was more of a figurehead than a hands-on leader. Though the opposite was true when it came his projects, where Ludwig II held absolute power. No detail was too small for him to
be troubled with. No expense would be spared in the building of his dreams. This is obvious to Anka as the group leave the throne hall and make their way into the
dining room.
Here, the walls are panelled with oak and beautified with carvings and murals. Lucas points out a painting of Wolfram von Eschenbach, a 12th
century knight, poet, and composer. It sits above a ruby red carpet, peppered with rich, silk-cushioned furniture.
An ornate dining table draws Uncker's gaze.
On it is a centerpiece of dazzling bronze.
It's a sculpture of Sigurd from the Old Norse legend.
He's mid-fight with a dragon on bright white marble.
Ludwig, Lucas says, had expensive tastes, though as a boy he had generally been careful with money.
Perhaps his extravagance was in part a rebellion
against a father who had forced him to keep accounts on his pocket money.
money. Either way, he was an unstoppable spendthrift, and it's this that eventually would be his undoing. It was in the next room along, King Ludwig's bedchamber, that the fairy tale king was deposed in 1886.
Though it's clear that Ludwig had become increasingly reclusive, it's up for debate
whether he was genuinely ill.
What's obvious is that his spending was out of control. He was bankrupt with debts
in the hundreds of millions. State officials felt forced to act, taking the king away under house arrest. He would pass away just a few days later,
having gone for a swim and drowned in the lake.
According to Lucas, there are many different theories about what became of the fairy tale king.
Some believe that he really escaped and lived out his years in the seclusion of the mountains.
Others point to an age-old legend as old as tales of the Holy Grail.
It's said that when a person enters the lake on Whitsunday or Pentecost, they shall die and be reborn as a beautiful white swan."
It just so happens that it was with Sunday when Ludwig passed away in the water.
This has led many to argue that the king was transformed into the very bird that he took for
his symbol. Unkar turns the thought around in her mind as she examines the details of the lavish bedroom. Images of swans are scattered throughout the room, including one
that's silver-plated, a fountain behind the washstand.
Others are embroidered in thick gold thread, beside crowns, lions, and lilies.
They're on the sapphire blue silk of the gothic wooden bed, on its cozy looking covers
and the curtains draped around it.
and the curtains draped around it.
The carved wooden bed seems like something from a church,
its regal and magnificent on a carpeted stage.
The room around is gorgeous and opulent, from its silk-clad furniture to its ruby-red carpet.
Above it, the walls are lined with paintings that tell the story of Tristan and Isolde. It's another tribute to the composer Wagner, who immortalized the
tragic love story in the form of an opera. From the bedroom, the group tour many more rooms.
the bedroom, the group tour many more rooms. There's a dressing room, a salon, a study,
and a waiting room. Those and more like them are all lavishly decorated,
and all in keeping with the medieval aesthetic.
What Anker doesn't see are rooms for guests, which only makes the castle seem more like a set.
There's the sense that Neuschwanstein is fiction brought to life. It's a fairy tale world in which Ludwig might escape. This feeling is amplified when she sees the grotto, an artificial cave between the salon and study. A dripstone cave, hidden
within the walls, it was made with colored lighting and even had a waterfall. Lucas points out parts of the rock face, where secret doors lead back into the castle.
How magical it must have been for King Ludwig, thinks Anka, to be one moment in a living
room and the next in a grotto.
Another glass door leads to the conservatory, where a table and chair sit beside a marble
fountain. It's a blissful sanctuary, less opulent than the other rooms.
The star attraction is a view of the mountains.
The conservatory, Anka decides, is her favorite room, mostly because of its postcard views. Though soon after,
she's impressed by the sacred forest painted on the walls of the magnificent
singer's hall. Second in grandeur only to the throne room, the hall takes up the entire fourth floor.
It's inspired by another of Wagner's operas, one that follows the journey of a knight and
minstrel. Though actually, the murals link to other
age-old stories, like the saga of Parsifal and the famous Holy Grail. The sacred forest, which Anker is admiring, is painted below the fortress, said to hold
the grail.
The pictures end with Parsifal's son, the Swan Knight of Lohengrin. of Loengren. He's a character with whom it was said Ludwig felt a natural affinity, a
hero admired since his summers in Hauensfangar.
Unkar gazes up at the gold-coffered ceilings, where symbols of the zodiac are painted in blue and gold.
A line of chandeliers lights the room below them,
shaped like massive gold crowns with jewels fixed across them.
crowns with jewels fixed across them. The room, Lucas says, was one of Ludwig's favorite projects, though he never intended to use it either for banquets or performances. Like everything in the castle, it was his own private homage to the romanticized legends
that he loved to get lost in.
Eventually the tour comes to an end, back outside in the upper courtyard.
This is where Ludwig had planned a chapel and a keep, the latter being a tower 45 meters
tall. Ludwig lived at the castle for just 172 days, but his presence is felt in every single room.
It's in the furniture and light fittings, the floor tiles and seat cushions. It's in every secret doorway, every story on the walls.
Unka thanks Lucas for a wonderful tour, remaining for some time in the upper courtyard.
From here, she can see right across the countryside
to where Lake Alpsi is glistening beneath the mountains.
Neuschwanstein Castle has truly been enchanting, but the real magic for Unka is in the beauty of its surroundings. As she begins walking down the courtyard stairs, it's with a mind to buy a picnic and take
it to the lake.
For now, she's content to gently amble back down the hill. She removes her backpack from its silver locker,
glancing over her shoulder for a look at the incredible castle.
It's a sight that Unkar will never forget, a memory she will always treasure. Though perhaps she'll can share in King Ludwig's fairy tale. You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You You you