romantic road – 100cobbledroads.com

Inside Ludwig’s mind and his residences…

Shy, imaginative, moody teen madly obsessed with classical music composer. Grows to be an eccentric recluse, elusive bachelor and a deeply indulgent patron of the same classical music composer. Harmless. Until you know the full story. That he’s a unwilling regent, hailing from the Wittelbach dynasty, Europe’s longest ruling dynasty. So indifferent to politics, that he ultimately eats into his empire’s financial foundations to fund his larger-than-life castle building projects. Dedicated to his opera god. Richard Wagner. No surprise then, that Ludwig II, (Mad King Ludwig, as he’s nicknamed), takes the crown for being Bavaria’s most controversial historical figure. Ironical, considering his head was perennially uneasy wearing a crown!

Continue reading “The most famous castles of Germany hide dark secrets” →

Fall in love with Germany’s countryside…

The first time I heard of the Romantic Road was from an elderly neighbour, whose dreamy expression convinced me that if the road had that name, it couldn’t be anything but extraordinary. A year later, we were cruising along 500km of mind-numbing greenness from Würzburg on the northern end down to Füssen and Schwangau, towards its chimerical climax, Neuschwanstein Castle, at the southern end, at the foot of the Alps, to check it out for ourselves. On this medieval trade route of the yesteryears, now one of the most spectacular drives in the world…we were neck-deep in all possible earthly glory. The Romantic Road was weaving us through miles of the most stunning Bavarian countryside, where delightful towns and picturesque villages dotting the surreal landscape, and we were just staring. Speechless.

Continue reading “Surrender your hopeless heart to the Romantic Road” →