Last Day in Munich

Today began with another amazing breakfast. Andrew Phillips and Tony took a 3-mile run this morning, then I looked up at breakfast and noticed Andrew and John Moser sitting a table with two elderly Italian ladies. We teased them that Andrew and John "bagged some bags" at breakfast!

Then we boarded a bus for a day trip to the Austrian border. We were planning to tour several castles. One was Castle Hohenschwangau, which was the childhood residence of King Ludwig II of Bavaria. King Ludwig II was the son of Maxmillian II and the grandson of Ludwig I. Ludwig I loved the ladies, and he died at age 86 of syphillis. He had many mistresses. Maxmillian II (son of Ludwig I and father of Ludwig II) was a severe father who raised his sons -- Ludwig II and Otto -- with stern hand and very little love. Ludwig II, unlike his grandfather did NOT like the ladies, and he never married. His relationship with parents was never close, and his mother never set foot in the fairy tail castle he later built when he was King of Bavaria -- Castle Neuschwanstein. I have included a picture of Castle Neuschwanstein, and if it looks familiar, that is because Walt Disney used it as the model for Sleeping Beauty Castle at both Disney Land and Disney World. Much of Neuschwantein is influenced by composed Richard Wagner, although it was never completed.

King Ludwig II was king from 1864 until his death in 1886. Some allege his committeed suicide, but the common belief among people in Germany is that he was murdered. A fisherman who claims to have seen a bullet wound on the King was mysteriously killed two weeks later. King Ludwig II should have been succeeded by his brother Otto, but he was incapacitated by mental illness after service in the military, so their uncle Luitpold had Otto locked away and basically forgotten and neglected, and Luitpold became the Prince Regent of Bavaria. Official paid by the Wittelsbach family will tell you that Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria, was very kind and loved by the people, but everyday Bavarians will tell you that most Bavarians hated Luitpold and still hate him because they believe he had something to do with King Ludwig II's alleged murder (and King Ludwig II was much beloved) and he had much to do with Ludwig's brother Otto's neglect.

We then briefly visited the Church of the Meadow then returned to the hotel. Tomorrow, we take a train to Wolfsburg for a two-day visit there -- to visit Volkswagen, among other things, then we head to Berlin. Weather is still chilly and a bit rainy, but everyone is well.

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