Neuschwanstein - my new home...

AMAZING!! I don't even know how one could build this castle high in the Alps let alone even IMAGINE such a beautiful creation! King Ludwig II may have been diagnosed mentally insane but he sure could have put Martha Stewart in her place. She has nothing on that man!! The only sad thing is that Ludwig never saw the completion of the castle due to 'dying' a.k.a. probably committing suicide in a lake near Munich 7 months before its completion. (3rd floor has never been completed).

I still can't believe I saw this beautiful, breath-taking structure (inside and out). I just thought it was a 3-D puzzle. But no; it is 3-D reality. Now I know why Walt Disney used the castle as inspiration for Sleeping Beauty's castle. (I just want to know where Prince Phillip was today...) Due to the lack of flat land, it was hard to take a picture of the whole castle once you where up there. The only other option was to step off the side of the mountain and that castle would be the last thing you saw in this life so the pics come in bits and pieces. I'm going to let you enjoy the pics without much 'commentary' from me. The pictures speak for themselves.

"High on a hill lived a beautiful castle,

La-dee-o-a -la-dee-o-a-a-lay-dee-who"

Entrance to the castle

You are not allowed to take pictures of the inside but you are able to take pictures out the windows so here are a few views from the windows. Oh and the kitchen you were allowed to take pics (or at least I hope-I was in bewilderment of the beauty of the castle and not listening to the tour guide.)

Faucet in the kitchen

Call me the "bag lady"!

Picture in 'front' of the window. If you look at the bottom of the pic you get a little view of the wall decor that is throughout the entire castle. Oh and did I mention lots and lots of gold leafing?

Ms. Mitchell, 1st grade teacher, who accompanied me up the mountain.

Oh before I end this I must mention that it was a beautiful day! I could not have asked for better weather but also it is quite the climb to the castle. Luckily there is a bus that weaves around the mountain but you still have to walk 10 minutes or so to the castle. I recommend water! The view from the mountain is breath-taking with the Alps on one side and a snow-spotted valley on the other with the town of Fussen below. I seriously thought I was walking in a painting because everything was so crisp and aw-mazing! On the walk back down the mountain I thought it would be easier to just roll down. (I do think they should rent out little hot wheel bikes, with brakes of course, to ride down the mountain. It would be AWESOME!) But along the way you have mini water fountains from the snow melting on top of the mountain. Just a little bit more heaven here on earth. For now, Auf Wiedersehen from Germany.