Garmisch part 2

Our trip to Garmisch lasted 6 days so we saw and did quite a bit.  Two main attractions were the Linderhof Palace and the Neuschwanstein castle.  Both were commissioned by Ludwig II.

 Ludwig II was reigning King of Bavaria from 1864 to 1886 and he had 2 castles and 1 palace constructed during that time.  The first one we saw was Linderhof palace, which was the only one he actually lived long enough to see to completion.

 This was a guided tour through the inside of the palace, which is all elaborately constructed and painted and ordained in gold and marble and all kinds of over the top additions.  Pictures were not allowed on the inside, so if you're interested you can just google Linderhof Palace images and see what it was like.

 This Palace is set on expansive grounds with several other buildings as well.  Ludwig II was a very theatrical and eccentric King who loved music and plays.  He turned some caves on the land into a bath/entertainment area.

 It was easy for me to imagine how nice it would be to bathe in this big blue/green water and watch a little play or listen to a singer over by the waterfall stage.

These paintings were supposed to depict a certain act from a play written by his friend, Wilhelm Richard Wagner.

This building was spectacular on the outside and just this one little room behind some plexiglas on the inside.  I have no idea what is was for other than just something extraordinary and ornate.  It is called a Moorish Kiosk  and was built by the Berliner architect, Karl Von Diebitsch, for an exhibition in Paris and apparently caught King Louis's fancy.  

Spot Levi in his colorful sweater out there.  Nathan challenged him to run as fast as he could to a far off tree and back.

She was oddly overjoyed by this little stream we passed by.

Unfortunately lots of beautiful parts of this royal walkway here are covered for the winter.  During the warm weather there are many more statues and flowers and beauty.  You can just imagine it.

We found some social little Swans along our walk and the kids stopped to "play" with them.

At the palace gift shop, obviously we had to buy a crown and knight armor.  They were pretty committed to their roles.

We also got to see Ludwig II most famous castle; the Neuschwanstein Castle. This was Walt Disney's inspiration for Sleeping Beauty's castle, which is also the opening Walt Disney fireworks castle before each movie.  

It's pretty magical up there in the mountains.  Gracie can forever say she whined and cried and had a snotty nose all through Bavarian King Ludwig II's world famous castle.

Through the trees from ol' Louis you could see his parents' castle.  Apparently they didn't pass castles down, so much as spend years and years constructing new ones, leaving old ones abandoned.  Hence Germany being covered in castles to tour nowadays.

As we were driving away we saw a great view of the castle set up there in the curve of the snowy mountains.  His flare for the theatrics really paid off.  Magical.

One of our last activities of the week was to take a tour of the city by way of horse carriage!  

                                              Sweet little Daddy's Girl...when she wants to be.

A carriage ride is a very exciting thing for a little animal loving princess.

Levi asked the driver, "um, can you make the horses go faster?"

That pretty much sums up our trip.  The hi lights anyway.  We had a great spring break full of activities and family bonding moments to share and recall forever.  Gotta keep adding up those moments.