A winter fairytale

 "Thursday 28th November 2013"

Early start today as I joined a tour to visit the castles outside of Munich.

Having managed to get there early I was able to grab myself a window seat, which was good as part of the tour was stunning views of the winter wonderland outside the window.

First stop was Linderhof and the palace gardens...here I was thankful that I had my boots on.

We were high up in the mountains, with heavy snowfall, and so everyone was very cautious not to trip over when walking up to the palace.
It's a small palace, with beautiful gardens and views all around.
Inside, the rooms are very ornate, with a final surprise where the King Ludwig designed an absolutely incredible scene, with mirrors all around, expanding the room, and allowing reflections to bounce of at every angle.

He was slightly bonkers, and I can totally see Wagner's interest and where their relationship grew.

My camera was beginning to suffer, the cold was killing the battery, and I was having to be very restrained on my photography, but in all this I managed to capture the most beautiful frozen lake reflection, which I am ever so proud of.

Back en route, and we visited Oberammergau, home to the passion plays.
This was a lovely snow coloured village, with some lovely Christmas shopping to be had - if only I had lots of money haha.
It was great to be able to visit...it did seem like many of the villagers were living in the 1600s though...certainly a bit of an ethereal feel to the village.

We then got back in the bus for the final leg Neuschwanstein Castle, and this was why I had saved my battery...in order to get a perfect picture of the castle in all it's glory.
This is the famous photo of a Disney castle, coming out of the mountains, and omg it was worth it.
The snow was so untouched all around, the castle, just how you would imagine in sleeping beauty or a Wagnerian opera.  It was simply...magical.