Germany (Lonely Planet, 6th Edition) - Andrea Schulte-Peevers [296]
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Sleeping
Accommodation in the area is surprisingly good value and the tourist office can help track down private rooms from as low as €15 per person.
House LA ( 624 8610; www.housela.de; Welfenstrasse 39; dm €18) A 15-minute walk west of the train station, this small hostel offers spacious, rooms (some with balconies) and breakfast on a rear patio with mountain views. The owner will pick you up from the station if you call ahead.
Pension Kössler ( 4069; www.pension-koessler.de; Zalinger Strasse 1; s €35-38, d €70-76; ) This small Pension with a friendly atmosphere offers outstanding value. Rooms are simple but comfortable and have private bathroom, TV, phone and balcony – some overlook the attractive garden.
Hotel zum Hechten ( 916 00; www.hotel-hechten.com; Ritterstrasse 6; s €46-59, d €86-98; ) This is one of Füssen’s oldest hotels and a barrel of fun. Public areas are traditional in style but the bedrooms are mostly airy and brightly renovated. The owner has decorated part of the restaurant in campy Ludwig II colours. Children are welcome.
Hotel Sonne ( 9080; www.hotel-sonne.de; Prinzregentenplatz 1; r €99-189; ) Although traditional-looking from outside, this Altstadt hotel has undergone a designer facelift within. Rooms have quality leather chairs, red-gold royal carpets and fancy flat-screen TVs, not to mention some kickin’ bathroom fittings.
Campers should head for the following modern lakeside camp sites, both 4.5km north of the castles:
Campingplatz Brunnen am Forggensee ( 8273; www.camping-brunnen.de; Seestrasse 81, Schwangau; per site/person €6/7.50)
Campingplatz Bannwaldsee ( 930 00; www.camping-bannwaldsee.de; Münchner Strasse 151; per site/person €8.50/7.30)
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Eating
Frühlingsgarten ( 917 30; Alatseestrasse 8; mains €5-13) This decent hotel restaurant, 500m southwest of the Altstadt, serves Allgäu specials such as Maultaschen and Krautspätzle (noodles with herbs) indoors or out in the sunny beer garden.
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LUDWIG II, THE FAIRY-TALE KING
Every year on 13 June, a stirring ceremony takes place in Berg, on the eastern shore of Lake Starnberg. A small boat quietly glides towards a cross just offshore and a plain wreath is fastened to its front. The sound of a single trumpet cuts the silence as the boat returns from this solemn ritual in honour of the most beloved king ever to rule Bavaria – Ludwig II.
The cross marks the spot where Ludwig died under mysterious circumstances in 1886. His early death capped the life of a man at odds with the harsh realities of a modern world no longer in need of a romantic and idealistic monarch.
Prinz Otto Ludwig Friedrich Wilhelm was a sensitive soul, fascinated by romantic epics, architecture and music, but his parents, Maximilian II and Marie, took little interest in his musings and he suffered a lonely and joyless childhood. In 1864, at 18 years old, the prince became king. He was briefly engaged to the sister of Elisabeth (Sisi), the Austrian empress, but as a rule he preferred the company of men. He also worshipped composer Richard Wagner, whose Bayreuth opera house was built with Ludwig’s funds.
Ludwig was an enthusiastic leader initially, but Bavaria’s days as a sovereign state were numbered, and he became a puppet king after the creation of the German Reich in 1871 (which had its advantages, as Bismarck gave Ludwig a hefty allowance). Ludwig withdrew completely to drink, draw castle plans and view concerts and operas in private. His obsession with French culture and the Sun King, Louis XIV, inspired the fantastical palaces of Neuschwanstein, Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee – lavish projects that spelt his undoing.
Contrary to popular belief, it was only Ludwig’s purse – and not the state treasury – that was being bankrupted. However, by 1886 his ever-growing mountain of debt and erratic behaviour had put him at odds with