The Mad King Ludwig

[Waltraud]

So.... this thread is making me feel really ignorant. It's also making me REALLY want to research Ludwig. I gotta say, he sounds kind of awesome. 

From an US point of view, I live basically in the shadow of Neuschwanstein  and I have to agree. Ludwig WAS kind of awesome, a great promoter of modern technology and architecture and a great lover of the arts. But he was also REALLY lonely and somewhat strange, avoiding human company and dining with Louis XIV and Madame Pompadour. BTW, try and research his untimely death - one of the few unsolved mysteries left over in our times...

His cousin Sissi also spent parts of their childhood quite close to where I live. She was an extraordinary person as well - a bit of a special snowflake, though.

And speaking of family-friendliness - only very few people in Germany would bat an eye in this context, assuming that smaller children don't listen to the tourguide anyway and older ones know what "gay" means and don't really care either way.

I still think the tourguide was a bit tired of comments about "Ludwig the gay Madman *chortlesnicker*" when he was trying to show a more comprehensive and detailed picture of Ludwig's life and merits. Note: I don't say the OP was tactless or crude or had no right to ask but perhaps she was the 500th person on this day to do so. Waltraud

[Jan74]

I love the Sissi movies. 

[evely28]

I'd just like to clarify that it wasn't the OP that had asked the question but other tourists.

[padua]

I love the Sissi movies. 

i just watched them. really well done for their time.
perhaps this is just too kitschy, but i loved 'elisabeth' the musical.

[Jan74]

I love the Sissi movies. 

i just watched them. really well done for their time.
perhaps this is just too kitschy, but i loved 'elisabeth' the musical.

I've never seen the musical. Now I have to.

It sure helps that Romy Schneider was just so lovely as well. There are many women my mother's age, born in the mid-50s, named "Romy" here due to the Sissi movies.

[pierrotlunaire0]

I don't think it is necessarily rude to ask but I'm not really sure why people need to know.

If I toured Abraham Lincoln's home and then asked the tour guide if AL was a heterosexual, I would expect him to look at me funny and change the subject. I see no difference between the two, even though I know people equate g*y with scandalous at times. Just like when you read a bio about someone, if the person is g*y, their bio will state that Super Fabulous Celebrity "is openly g*y", yet I never see it written that a celebrity is "openly heterosexual".

Actually, there is speculation on Lincoln because he had a male roommate.  Look up the group called "Log Cabin Republicans"

Fairly weak speculation, based in part on a lack of knowledge of how people lived in the early- to mid-19th century.  It was certainly not unusual for otherwise unrelated people to share a bed.  Of course, even today having a male roommate would be no grounds for speculation: I've had seven -- what would that say about me?

Well, if you had had SIX roommates, I would venture to say that Snow White is looking for you guys.

(Ducks and runs for cover)

[padua]

I've never seen the musical. Now I have to.

It sure helps that Romy Schneider was just so lovely as well. There are many women my mother's age, born in the mid-50s, named "Romy" here due to the Sissi movies.

the musical concentrated more on the tragic parts of her life. it's really well done. uwe kroeger has the voice of an angel.
it was quite popular (not so sure now). in fact, it was a Big Hit in japan. i think it's been translated into 7 languages. if you like musicals... if you like the habsburgs... if you like singing along in german... it's a must-see.

no cameos by ludwig, however.

[Jan74]

I don't speak German, but I'm in anyway. 

[Giggity]

Maybe Ludwig was a prototypical D&D nerd with the money and power to make his fantasies real.

Can you imagine the uber-pimpy dice he'd use, being king and all? 

[Giggity]

People like to speculate. It's very human. It ranges from "Was Mad King Ludwifg mad?" to "I hear that tramp Debbie is pregnant again; do you think it's her husband's?" to "Was Akhenaton really a monotheist?  What did he think about the other Gods?" to "Do you think that Montague John Druitt was really Jack the Ripper?"

pffff. Everyone knows Jack the Ripper was really the Duke of Clarence 

What? Debbie's a tramp?!!?!

[LauraKat]

From what I understand (and this mostly comes from the game Gabriel Knight: The Beast Within, a brilliant game if anyone is interested ) Ludwig was the last king of Bavaria, a fairytale king type character who is still held in very high esteem by many Bavarians. I get the impression he's thought of in a similar way to how Princess Diana is by people in England. It's possible the tour guide was brought up with this idealised view of Ludwig instilled in him and that's why he reacted so strongly to the question. Someone's sexuality could be considered a base characteristic and not something you want to think about when you admire someone.

That said, I still think he was rude to react the way he did. It's hard to imagine he would last very long as a tour guide if he isn't able to handle such questions with grace.

[PaddedPaws]

Ludwig was the last king of Bavaria, a fairytale king type character who is still held in very high esteem by many Bavarians. I get the impression he's thought of in a similar way to how Princess Diana is by people in England. It's possible the tour guide was brought up with this idealised view of Ludwig instilled in him and that's why he reacted so strongly to the question. Someone's sexuality could be considered a base characteristic and not something you want to think about when you admire someone.

The thing is, the person wasn't asking about his sexuality. They were asking if he was romantic with males. I don't think it would have been inappropriate to ask if he had female lovers. Similarly, I don't thin k it was inappropriate to ask if he had male lovers.

[ghost]

If Ludwig were alive right now, I think a lot of people would be calling out about interesting assumptions. I do think it's a little rude and presumptuous to speculate about the personal lives of anyone - alive or dead - when it really isn't any of our (in the general sense) business. That's how I try to look at things.

[jayhawk]

. Apart from that, he was a visionary who loved fantasy worlds but unlike any of us who love spending some time at Hogwarts or in Middle Earth, he had the money and power to make them become reality.  I think he simply did what he enjoyed most. And btw he was declared insane by a doctor who never had examined him in person.

Whew. Thanks for letting me wax all historical.

Waltraud

_{kind of like Michael Jackson}

[DangerMouth]

. Apart from that, he was a visionary who loved fantasy worlds but unlike any of us who love spending some time at Hogwarts or in Middle Earth, he had the money and power to make them become reality.  I think he simply did what he enjoyed most. And btw he was declared insane by a doctor who never had examined him in person.

Whew. Thanks for letting me wax all historical.

Waltraud

_{kind of like Michael Jackson}

*snorfle!*