Our New Friend- King Ludwig II (Louie Louie)

Today (Thursday) was another full day, a bit of an emotional roller-coaster.

We started the day at the Dachau Concentration Camp Memorial site, where we became witnesses to the past terror and tragedy of the Holocaust in Germany during Nazi rule. Dachau served as the prototype for the other concentration camps and was the training site for camp guards. It is a very somber and emotional experience to stand in the place of such sorrow and pain, but important to learn about and testify to these events so that such horror never happens again. Please ask us to share about our own personal experiences in the camp!

We then took a 1.5 hour bus ride to the village of Hohenschwangau, near the city of Fuessen, to visit the castle Neuschwanstein. Built by "crazy" King Ludwig between the years of 1868-1886, it was to be a private residence for the king and a tribute to one of his heroes, Richard Wagner, but was never completed due to King Ludwig's untimely and mysterious death. The visit to the castle came with some amazing views of southwest Bavaria! It is easy to see how Walt Disney could be so inspired by the site, leading to his version in the form of Sleeping Beauty's Castle.

We returned to Munich just in time for dinner at another world-famous site, Munich's Hofbraeuhaus (royal brewery). We ate at one of the large tables in the upper beer hall and were treated to a live polka band and some dancing and entertainment on the stage. Dinner consisted of bread and cheese, roasted beef and boiled potatoes and Bavarian creme with strawberry topping for dessert.

The night ended with a walk through the city, a visit to the beautiful St. Micheal's church- the burial site of King Ludwig, and a quick trip to the local grocery for some late night snacks. Other than a little bit of rain at Neuschwanstein, Germany has greeted us with some pleasant weather and wonderful experiences thus far!