King Ludwig II was known as a bit of a nutter, but he had a lot of good things going for him, he was the guy who’s wedding celebration grew into Oktoberfest and he liked making grand and over the top castles for himself. His most famous is Neuschwanstein which is about 2 hours drive out of Munich and was the inspiration for Walt Disney’s Disneyland castles. The castle is open to the public and well worth the effort to visit. The castle is straight out of a fairy tale with gold, jewels and murals and King Ludwig’s signature swans prominent throughout the building. Poor King Ludwig didn’t get to see his finished work he and he nearly bankrupted the state, he ended up going a going over the edge and drowned with his friend in the nearby lake.
