King Ludwig II's Bed

Those of you who know me personally are aware of my inability in detecting a gay man. Let's just say my "Gaydar" is not up to snuff. In my own defense, I have come a long way since my Senior Prom when my date suggested we sneak away from the dance so he could try on my prom dress. At the time it was funny. Looking back, it was the first big indication that I had no " Gaydar". Another time in college had me returning from class only to find a new boyfriend rumaging through my closet wearing my black vintage sweater with the white ermine collar. Oh, there a many more stories that illustrate my faulty gaydar. Let's just say that this time,

I finally married a straight man.

I am sure you are wondering why I have shared this information. Well, yesterday John and I visted the castles, Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau. This is something that people do early on in their tour of Germany.

I knew little information prior about King Ludwig II. He had built Neuschwanstein in homage to the composer, Richard Wagner in 1869. You might recognize the inspiration for the Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella fairytale castles in Disneyland. With 17 years of construction, the castle was never completed.

King Ludwig only lived there a few months before his unexplainable death. The state commission had declared him insane by the psychiatrist, Dr. Von Gudden. This explains his unfortunate title, "The Mad King". He was later found drowned in shallow water along with the doctor.

We took a horse drawn carriage up to the castle. The weather was absolutely beautiful.

We had an English speaking tour guide, who led us through this fairytale- confection of a castle. Since it was never completed, there are only a few rooms shown on the tour. Each room is dedicated to an opera of Wagner.

Hmmmmmmmmm. My gaydar signals were starting to alert. It wasn't until we reached the King's sleeping chambers that my gaydar went into full swing. We weren't allowed to take photos, so I will do my best in describing. His bed was not only fit for a king, it was fit for a gay man-not that there is anything wrong with that.

The canopy was hand carved wood of every cathderal spire in Bavaria. Imagining that this helped ease his Catholic guilt from the lustful dreams of Wagner and random stable boys. I couldn't wait to get back home and research my presumption. Remember I still attend The University of Google.

My guess was correct. King Ludwig never married and had a few close relationships with other men. Ones where they would dress in costume and recite poetry. This reminds me of David and my black vintage sweater. Ludwig almost married his cousin, Elizabeth, but the wedding was canceled.

After his death Elizabeth was quoted saying that the King was not mad; just an eccentric living in a world of dreams.

An eccentric who left to the world an amazing castle filled with painted walls and guilded halls. One in which you'd never believe.

I bet

if you could sleep in that magnificent bed, you too would live to dream.

You can click on the photo collage to see bigger-Enjoy!