Castle Keep

Although Germany has many castles, the most spectacular are the ones built by the "fairy tale king," Ludwig II: Linderhof, Herrenchiemsee and Neuschwanstein. We saw two of three of those and also witnessed the Nymphenberg castle in Munich and viewed the Hohenschangau castle across the valley from Neuschwanstein.

On Thursday, June 16, Gina and I took a bus tour to the Nymphenberg castle (below) located a few kilometers from our hotel in the Alstadt. Begun in 1664 as a villa, the palace and gardens were expanded over the next century to create the royal family's summer residence.

The main palace building consists of a large villa and two wings with sumptuous period rooms. The Queen's bedroom contains the sleigh bed where Ludwig II was born. Outside, the royal gardens could seriously be mistaken for a splendid English-style park.

Right off the bat, the high point of the tour is the Sheonheitengalerie (Gallery of Beauties) housed in the former apartment of Queen Caroline.

Approximately 38 portraits of beautiful women -- chosen by King Ludwig I -- gaze from the walls.

Some were lovers of Ludwig I: all were beautiful.

The gallery includes portraits of Helene Sedlmayr, the shoemaker's daughter, wearing an elaborate frock selected by the king, and Anna Hillmayer (above) and Anna Kaula (left).

Other portraits include the notorious courtesan Lola Montez, 19th century gossip columnist Jane Lady Ellensborough and English beauty Lady Jane Erskine.

Herrenchiemsee, an elaborate replica of the Palace of Versailles, is a tribute to Ludwig II's hero and role model, Louis XIV, King of France. Located on an island on Lake Chiemsee, the castle was never intended as a residence and Ludwig II spent only 10 days there.

Typical of his other elaborate and ornate castles, Ludwig II spent more time and money on his tribute to the French Sun King at Herrenchiemsee than both Linderhof and Neuschwanstein combined.

Linderhof (above) was Ludwig II's primary residence, a small but splendiferous palace: the only castle he lived to see fully completed.

Wedged into a green hillside with fountains, gardens and elaborate statues, Linderhof was also inspired by Louis XIV. Jewels, artwork and a large chandelier are the hallmarks of the structure. An artificial waterfall (below) cascades outside his bedroom, providing cooling during the summer months.

The gardens and outbuildings surrounding Linderhof are almost as elaborate as the castle itself. The oriental style Moorish Kiosk (below) is where Ludwig II would hold court, viewing nightly entertainment.

The Venus Grotto, a man-made cave with a stage set inspired by Wagner's Tannhauser. Sadly, toward the end of his life, as Ludwig II became more despondent and introverted, he spent his nights reading while sleeping during the daylight hours.

Ludwig II spent his formative years at the yellow-painted Hohenschwangau (below). His father, Maximilian II, rebuilt what remained of a 12th-centry castle built by the Schwangau Knights and converted the exterior to a neo-Gothic style castle.

It would seem inevitable that young Ludwig II would be influenced by all the medieval imagery; in this case, the acorn didn't fall too far from the tree. But Ludwig II would take castle-building to a whole new level with Neuschwanstein.

Arguably the most famous castle in the world is the one that Disney used as his model for Disneyland -- Neuschwanstein.

Ludwig II planned the castle himself, eschewing an architect while employing a stage designer. The structure demonstrates the elaborate stylings of a genius and a madman. His vision was to recreate the world of German mythology through the operatic works of Richard Wagner.

The centerpiece of the castle is the Minstrel's Hall (above), a lavish stage created to reenact the stories of old through Richard Wagner's music. Every room in Neuschwanstein is elaborate but King Ludwig II's bedroom is the one that takes the taco: a huge gothic-style bed (below) crowned with intricately carved spires that took 13 woodcarvers over a dozen years to complete.

Neuschwanstein also features a gaudy artificial grotto, a Byzantine throne room and an incredible mosaic floor containing over two million stones. Every window in the palace provides jaw-dropping views of the Bavarian Alps and the plain and lake below.

Some of the best views of the castle were from a short hike up the trail above Neuschwanstein at Marianbruke (Mary's Bridge), where Gina posed for a shot (below). The bridge spans the Pollat Gorge over a waterfall just above the castle.

Ludwig II was a romantic and a renaissance man who was likely born just a hundered years too late. Like so many of his grand schemes, Neuschwanstein was never finished and the last ruler of Bavaria spent only 170 days in residence before his death in 1886.