We arrived on the eighth of June. Nothing could have prepared me for the extraordinary sight of Neuschwanstein Palace, perfectly situated atop a steep cliff amid Bavaria's magnificent mountains, and overlooking a clear blue lake. Though it was unfinished, with parts of it still little more than a bare frame flanked with scaffolding, it was nonetheless the most splendid prospect I had glimpsed seen in my life.
Built of gleaming white stone, and adorned with perfectly proportioned spires that jutted toward the sky, the castle looked like it had come straight from the pages of a book of fairy tales. With a little imagination, one could easily picture the court of Camelot riding through its gates. It was impossible to see it and not remark among His Majesty's excellent taste. One understood at once the deep pride he took in his palaces.
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Even Holmes admitted his appreciation, in his own fashion. "His Majesty has done very nicely for himself, eh, Watson?" he said with a low whistle.
However, the spell would not last long.
His Majesty, as planned, was not there to greet us. He and Holmes had agreed it would be too suspicious for a monarch to welcome his physician and assistant personally. Instead, an attendant was assigned to show us to our quarters.
We traversed corridors and stairways of almost unimaginable splendor, and glimpsed magnificent prospects of the Bavarian mountains through the windows, but these were alternated with gaps where the process of construction was still clearly visible. Scaffolding and boards with empty space between them were everywhere.
"Well, this is a pretty prospect indeed," said Holmes, laughing.
I could not be so lighthearted. In places, only a few feet separated us from the perilously steep Bavarian cliffs, with nothing but empty air for hundreds of feet beneath. There were no retaining-walls or safety-railings. If someone wanted to commit a murder, this was a perfect place for it to occur. I could only hope the King had engaged a trustworthy staff.
Chapter 3 to be continued