Hitler's Lake and Cinderella's Castle

From Salzburg, Maria drove us to Berchtesgaden, Austria. This town is home to a spectacularly colored lake and was once one of Hitler's favorite places to visit. He formulated his vision of the Third Reich while finishing his memoir, Mein Kampf , in the region. Once he had risen to power, he built his Eagle's Nest retreat on top of a nearby mountain.

We didn't have time to visit the retreat, so we hopped on a boat and cruised around the lake enjoying its gorgeous scenery.
After enjoying God's beautiful creation, we headed back across the German border into Bavaria and visited one of the most spectacular man-made buildings in the world. If this building looks familiar, it's because it was the inspiration for Cinderella's Castle in Disney World.
Neuschwanstein Castle was the dream of "Mad" King Ludwig. It looks really old, but was only constructed in the late 19th century. It was actually built using steel girders and a sandstone veneer. Unfortunately for us, they were performing repairs on an entire side of the castle!
The castle, even though the interior was only a third finished, opened for tours within six weeks after Ludwig's death. We joined the masses and took a tour of the interior. The rooms were lavishly decorated and displayed the King's unhealthy, in my opinion, fascination with the famous opera composer, Richard Wagner. The master bedroom, basically a giant hand-carved wooden room, took over 10 years to complete!
The most recognizable picture of the Castle, the one in which you can see all the scaffolding, is taken from Mary's bridge. The bridge spans the gorge and provides an amazing view of the castle. However, the wood floors moved a little too much for my liking, especially given its height!

We returned to Basel for a day of rest before my parents, Jake, and I visited the Swiss Alps.