During my 2007 Germany trip I spent a few days in Munich from which I took a group bus tour to some castles near the Austrian border, one where King Ludwig II of Bavaria grew up, and the other two being among the ones he commissions. Schloss Linderhof is a small palace, essentially a place where Ludwig could get away from it all. Schloss Neuschwanstein, Ludwig's tribute to Richard Wagner, was reportedly the model upon which the Disney castle was based.

We also made a stop in the village of Oberammergau, known for its famous Passion Play, put on every ten years. Back in the 1600s, village inhabitants promised that if God spared them from the bubonic plague they would put on a passion play every ten years. They were spared, and they've been putting on the play ever since then. Several buildings in the village are decorated with elaborate frescoes.

Mark Wasson, http://www.markwasson.com > Trips has detailed summaries of my trips

http://www.markwasson.com/u2007g07agermany.htm