I just realized that I didn't finish my thoughts from the last posting! All that stuff is about Dresden. The Lutheran connection to Leipzig is important because Bach worked at a church here and composed much of his music and several of our Lutheran hymns. It is also the birthplace of Richard Wagner, whom I mentioned last time, and who incidentally, has a very interesting connection to our next stop: NEUSCHWANSTEIN CASTLE.
One of the most picturesque castles in Germany (if not all of Europe), almost all of us know this castle because Walt Disney used it as a "model" for Sleeping Beauty's castle in Disneyland and World. The big castle that you see at the entrance to the park and the "icon" in the opening credits of all the Disney movies? That's it!
Construction began on this romantic masterpiece in the late 1860's. It was used as a place of retreat for King Ludwig II and meant as a fond tribute to the king's favorite composer, Richard Wagner. Rumors say that Ludwig II had a crush on Wagner, but Wagner never returned such sentiments. This act of devotion nearly bankrupted Bavaria. After Ludwig's unexpected and unexplained death (suicide? no one knows) in 1886, the castle was opened almost immediately to the public for tours. Nearly 6 million people visit the castle each year.
