Fond Views on the Past - My Submission to the Steemit View from My Window Challenge

I just listened to this, and began to feel emotional because of the duet which I did with my friend in the winter. He was sent back to Germany due to the pandemic. I wonder how long the Waltz of the Flowers is going to bring feelings of longing for what could have been but isn't. Anyway, I was rather sad and want to avoid discussing covid19 too much in this post. . .

Hello everyone! This is my entry for the Steem photography challenge. I am not doing a view today from MY window for it because the view from my window today was not very appealing, and I am sick of writing and hearing about covid19. Instead, I am doing a pretty view that I got from a balcony at Neuschwanstein castle as well as my Journal entry from that day of the trip. Here is the photo:

Very few views compare to the view that I got from this part of Neuschwanstein. The German landscape truly is remarkable, and Ludwig II really knew how and where to build a castle. It really does make one jealous of Wagner (for whom the castle was built). This view reminds me of how beautiful the world really is, and it gives me hope that I will not be stuck in my house forever. Such a beautiful view, and such a beautiful time! Ach wer bringt die schönen Tage? Here is my journal entry from that day:

Journal Entry from Day 8: Freiburg to Garmisch - Neuschwanstein and the Alpine Roller Coaster!

Today was an early day! We had to be ready to go by 6:45am. Breakfast opened at 6am, and I woke up at 5:45am. However, today we spent a lot of time on the road. I have not mentioned how beautiful the German countryside is. The houses, impressive feats of architecture in their own right, are nothing compared to the grand German landscape.

No statement I have made or can make will ever come close to matching the majesty of the Alps. They are gargantuan. Often, they are tall to the point that not even clouds match their height, and, from a distance, even the clouds seem to bend in allegiance to these noble hills. Mist covers them quite frequently. No word has been invented descriptive enough to describe the alps.

We drove along the German side of lake Constance, which is shared by several different countries. I did not get many photos because I was on the opposite side of the bus.

After 4 and a half hours, we came to the town which Neuschwanstein overlooks. This area is dotted with royal castles: most notably the castles built by Ludwig II.

We made our ascent to Neuschwanstein, and eventually came to a touristy area with shops and restaurants. We stayed here to take shelter from the rain, and wait for our 2:30pm tour.

I bought a decorative Neuschwanstein plate, a decorative knight (which I really value now [I am writing this statement in the present] that I have composed Arthur), and a decorative dragon.

I bought a hot dog for lunch, and we went to a restaurant for drinks (and pizza for my non-lactose-intolerant friends). This restaurant yet again displayed the incredible service that the German people strive for (that was sarcastic because we had a horrible time. Our waiter acted like we were the banes of his existence, and tried to get us to leave a thousand times. This is why a tip based system is best. They don't have tips in Germany).

When we had to walk through rain, everyone bought Ponchos except for me (I hate them). I said:

A little water never killed anyone. . . Except Perkeo (a German king who is believed to have died when he drank a glass of water in place of his usual Alcoholic choice of wine).

Once a nerd, forever a nerd.

Anyway, we eventually got to the castle. What was funny was they were all just as wet as me because the wind was blowing the rain at an angle which rendered their ponchos useless. We were given an audio tour. However, there is no photography allowed inside of the castle because the Bavarian government reserves the right to monopolize public landmarks apparently (not truly. Neuschwanstein is the only example I am aware of). I will describe the inside of the castle as well as I can. If I do disservice, thank the Bavarian government.

The inside of Neuschwanstein is a living testament of King Ludwig II's mad obsession and understanding of German (Bavarian) culture, specifically the operas of Richard Wagner. A majority of the rooms hold murals of specific Wagnerian operas, and owe their theme to the works of Wagner. We saw the throne room (which has religious murals), the king's bedroom and study (both of which are decorated by Wagnerian stories), the hall of singers (also Wagner decorated), and the unfinished bathroom. We then saw an incredible view from a balcony after the tour near the shops (the view this post is themed on). We also saw a movie about Ludwig II, Neuschwanstein, the plans he had that fell through, and another castle that the king was planning to build. These plans weren't started because Ludwig II was declared unfit to rule and moved to a castle near Munich. A few weeks later, he was found dead in a lake at the age of 43. This death doesn't surprise me. He was bankrupting the kingdom of Bavaria to build lavish castles. If I were a taxed citizen, or an ignored advisor, I'd be angry too. The dude spent a grand total of 90 days at Neuschwanstein, and he was planning YET ANOTHER CASTLE? He already had like 2 or 3. Talk about spoiled and unrealistic.

Here is a public domain photo from Wikipedia of the throne room:

Here is a public domain photo from Wikipedia of the king's bedroom:

Here is a public domain photo from Wikipedia of the king's study:

Here is a public domain photo from Wikipedia of the hall of singers:

A fun fact about the mural at the end of this hall is that Walt Disney had his artists mimic its style in their art for the movie Bambi.

After we got out of the castle, we visited a bridge across the valley and got sick pictures. The castle and surrounding area truly are incredible.

I find it very empowering that this whole castle was built for a composer. But, at the same time, Wagner was known for being egotistical, and this castle (as well as Ludwig II's patronage) probably contributed a lot to Wagner's already mighty ego. It explains a lot.

After we were done at NW, we took a trip to an Alpine Roller Coaster. Conceptually, this was a huge slide (made of metal) which you ride down in a "tobogan" with a brake. This was quite cool, though I did seem to annoy the people behind me by adhering to the signs that said to slow down rather than just going as fast as humanly possible (the person behind me was literally our tour guide.) Even in Germany, I'm not much of a risk taker, but I still went twice.

We then traveled to Freiburg. We had dinner at our hotel. This dinner consisted of Schnitzel for me as well as a fruit cup for dessert. I believe the others had a cheesy variant of Schnitzel for dinner. After dinner, a bunch of us went to the hotel pool. Some got a little too rambunctious.

Day 8 was quite enjoyable, but there was a group consensus that we all greatly missed our friend (who was an exchanged student and visited us in Heidelburg).

Conclusion

Thanks for reading this! Now that I have some free time, I might go back and post my other entries from this trip. I got a lot of good photos, and learned a lot. This whole pandemic has left me a little bit bitter about the world, so it was nice to remember a time when I got to see it for how beautiful it truly is! Thanks to @steemit and @steemitblog for running these little challenges! It is great for community building! Speaking of which, if you did not see my discussion post, there is still a chance to get involved in the discussion, and the rewards! See you all in the next post!

(Note) In order to encourage meaningful feedback on the platform, I will check comment trails of users who leave superficial comments (ie "Awesome post," or "Upvoted.") and will mute any users who exhibit a pattern of leaving "spammy" comments."