"Imagination creates reality" - Richard Wagner



This past Tuesday we took a day trip from Munich to the Neuschwanstein Castle, which is sometimes referred to as the Disney castle. This is because it is rumoured to have inspired the design for the Cinderella's Castle at Walt Disney World, the same castle you see animated at the beginning of every Disney film you've ever seen. Whereas the Disney castle is more fantasy than real castle, though, this castle is the real deal. Isn't it?

It was surprising to see how close this castle already was to being a Disney fantasy, when it was being built only about 25 years before Walt's birth. The truth is, though it looks like a medieval castle, it was built between 1869 and 1886, around the same time as the Brooklyn Bridge and the Eiffel Tower. The main purpose was not as the stronghold of knights but as a setting for the fantastical landscapes painted in the scores of the Romantic Opera composer, Richard Wagner. Each room actually had a theme related to an opera that King Ludwig II happened to like.

The fact that you could tell this building was designed with the tools of modern engineering gave a sense of uncomfortable perfection. Having visited many different castles and cathedrals all over Europe to date, the thing that impresses most is that they were built long before Newton set into motion the language of physics that would eventually explain why they didn't fall down. A castle where mystery is replaced by fantasy feels different.

These points, though, cannot totally diminish the qualities of the site. Without a doubt, the castle is beautiful, and its setting is truly imposing. The scenery in the Bavarian Alps that surround this hill-top citadel is stunning, with forested cliffs and cascading waterfalls. One of the most enjoyable parts of the day, actually, was hiking in the surrounding valleys, and occassionally catching a glimpse of the castle itself between the trees.