The castle of sleeping beauty in Disneyworld is modeled after the Neuschweinstein Castle set in the breathtaking Bavarian Alps. King Ludwig II was an exacting man and closely oversaw the construction of its fairy-tale architecture which began in 1869. Neuschweinstein is the embodiment of a medieval castle, set with towers and spires. It was left unfinished when King Ludwig II of Bavaria died mysteriously in 1886. The king was accused of insanity and removed from the throne in 1886, leaving many of the castle rooms unfinished. The ornate woodcarvings in his bedroom alone took four and a half years to complete. King Ludwig had three castles built in southern Germany, Bavaria. The shy King had built Neuschweinstein to withdraw from public The portion of the castle he finished was intended only for him. Now 1.3 million tourists annually come to view his private refuge.
Hmmmm....Now my choice is a difficult one. Would I rather spend summers in a castle or a palace?
The tour of Eastern Europe was truly unforgettable. The last portion of our journey was optional and proved to be too difficult for some. I have always wanted to see the concentration camp in Dachau, Germany.
Dachau is a name that will always be associated with Nazi atrocities and the Holocaust. The concentration camp was opened on March 22, 1933 just outside of Munich, Germany. Dachau was a "model camp" for the large network of camps throughout Germany and Nazi-occupied countries. The barracks in Dachau (34 in total) were built to hold 200 prisoners each, however toward the end of WWII they were overflowing holding up to 2,000 prisoners each. Thirty-four wooden buildings were built into two rows of 17 each. It was approximated that 200,000 prisoners were deported to Dachau. It was also approximated that 75,000 lives were burned in the crematorium. The town of Dachau surrounds the camp and it is not known how much the people living in the town knew while this was going on literally in their backyards. If they did know, what could they have done about it? After liberation in 1945, women refused to give birth in Dachau but would rather go to a Munich hospital for delivery.
