Whether Ludwig was really insane or not (he did meet a tragic and suspicious end), his castle, though not completed, is utterly beautiful and the surrounding scenery includes the Alps, thick forests of pine trees, rivers, lakes and a waterfall.
allow everyone to enter each room while the guide was speaking about it. I got much more interesting information from the trip guide who told us about Ludwig’s life and seemed sympathetic to him. His theory is that Ludwig was not insane but just lonely and had a rough childhood; he likened him to Michael Jackson who at one point tried to buy Castle Neuschwanstein interestingly enough.
Carrie and I ended the day by strolling through the Marienplatz one last time. I took pictures through windows of things I couldn’t buy, including the cuckoo clocks the region is famous for. I had been hoping to get one on the trip but I discovered that they are prohibitively expensive for Peace Corps volunteers. One last thing about Munich.
The major cities in Germany all have crests and symbols. Berlin’s is a bear (more on that later), Franfurt’s is an eagle, Leipzig has a dragon (so do a few other cities), Erfurt has a ship’s wheel, the least interesting symbol of the cities we saw. But Munich’s is my favorite. It’s a hooded monk with his arms outstretched. He is simultaneously cute and a little sinister-looking.