Bier, Pretzels und Kastles - My Holiday in Germany 2006 - A trip report
Sep 26th, 2006, 11:23 AM
#61
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Glad to hear that you're still around, Ann.
You made me laugh about the room I had in Rothenburg. I feel a bit relieved now knowing that I'm not the only one who's gone through that sort of thing.
I'm working on the report right now and I should be able to post something quite soon.
There are areas where I didn't write much during the trip, I didn't take enough notes, and now I'm working to make it a pleasant text to read.
I don't like to just list down where I've been and get rid of the work easily. I like to weave it into a kind of a story, a narrative, like.... like you see I'm doing already.
Gabriel
You made me laugh about the room I had in Rothenburg. I feel a bit relieved now knowing that I'm not the only one who's gone through that sort of thing.
I'm working on the report right now and I should be able to post something quite soon.
There are areas where I didn't write much during the trip, I didn't take enough notes, and now I'm working to make it a pleasant text to read.
I don't like to just list down where I've been and get rid of the work easily. I like to weave it into a kind of a story, a narrative, like.... like you see I'm doing already.
Gabriel
Sep 26th, 2006, 12:57 PM
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Day 14 – July 20
Hohenschwangau Castle
Today was the big Castle Day, the fairy tale castle day. We got ready in the morning and went in search of a café to start our day.
A few streets away from the station we found a coffee shop with tables on the pavement. They had cakes as well, so we bought some.
The sun had not made its appearance from behind the buildings and it was still cool there, round a corner of a main street, and even a morning breeze was making its presence felt timidly.
By the time we finished our coffee, the place was already crowded. We walked to the station, bought our veggie supplies, a bottle of water, then our 25 euros Bavarian ticket from an automatic machine and went in search for the train to the castle.
We had the train schedule and knew what train number and at what track it would be. We found it somewhere at the right side of the station.
It was long before departure time and it was already crowded. An overwhelming majority of people were from the Far East.
I overheard some of them saying that they were from Singapore. Others could have been from Korea, Japan, China.
Very few were Europeans, and only once I heard a few words in German. We boarded the train and the conductor began to make his announcements.
I thought it was funny, as, of course, he spoke in German, and most of the passengers on that train were foreigners. I thought with amusement that his words were going flat in the air, people were never reacting to them.
When Buchloe was approaching and the announcement was made, nobody budged. Only when the train entered the station and the signs appeared, all the passengers got up and hurried to the door.
The entire train emptied and the one waiting for us at the neighbouring track filled up quickly. At Fuessen were two buses waiting for the train passengers to come, and both were soon full.
By now we were already experienced travelers in Germany, and casually we showed our Bavarian ticket to the driver, upon getting on the bus.
We got off near the ticket centre, filled up our bottle with cold water at a fountain by the street, went to the cashier's desk and bought our tickets.
We received free entrance tickets for Neuschwanstein Castle, but for Hohenschwangau Castle we had to pay, as it was private property, and not covered by the Bavarian Palaces Ticket.
The weather was very hot and the sun was shining on the clear blue sky, which made walking and climbing quite an effort. It took a few minutes to reach Hohenschwangau Castle at the top of that not quite tall hill.
The tour number and time was mentioned on the ticket, and while waiting to enter, we walked around the small courtyard.
They were carrying out renovation works at the castle at that time, and it was covered with scaffolding, so unfortunately we were not able to take photos with the castle.
However, we had splendid views over the mountains and neighbouring Lake Alp, Hohenschwangau village was spread all over below us, and most important, Neuschwanstein Castle was there in the distance, beautiful like a jewel, at the top of a cliff.
Our tour started and we went inside. We were delighted by the beauty of the interior decorations and the wall and ceiling paintings.
Some rooms were quite impressive, like the festive Hall of Heroes, with a long table richly decorated with golden centerpieces, taking up almost the whole length of the room.
Other rooms that we liked were King Ludwig’s bedroom and music room, and Queen Mary’s bedroom and writing room.
We descended the relatively small hill back into the village, spent sometime checking out the souvenir shops and had an ice cream.
To be continued (Neuschwanstein Castle)...
Hohenschwangau Castle
Today was the big Castle Day, the fairy tale castle day. We got ready in the morning and went in search of a café to start our day.
A few streets away from the station we found a coffee shop with tables on the pavement. They had cakes as well, so we bought some.
The sun had not made its appearance from behind the buildings and it was still cool there, round a corner of a main street, and even a morning breeze was making its presence felt timidly.
By the time we finished our coffee, the place was already crowded. We walked to the station, bought our veggie supplies, a bottle of water, then our 25 euros Bavarian ticket from an automatic machine and went in search for the train to the castle.
We had the train schedule and knew what train number and at what track it would be. We found it somewhere at the right side of the station.
It was long before departure time and it was already crowded. An overwhelming majority of people were from the Far East.
I overheard some of them saying that they were from Singapore. Others could have been from Korea, Japan, China.
Very few were Europeans, and only once I heard a few words in German. We boarded the train and the conductor began to make his announcements.
I thought it was funny, as, of course, he spoke in German, and most of the passengers on that train were foreigners. I thought with amusement that his words were going flat in the air, people were never reacting to them.
When Buchloe was approaching and the announcement was made, nobody budged. Only when the train entered the station and the signs appeared, all the passengers got up and hurried to the door.
The entire train emptied and the one waiting for us at the neighbouring track filled up quickly. At Fuessen were two buses waiting for the train passengers to come, and both were soon full.
By now we were already experienced travelers in Germany, and casually we showed our Bavarian ticket to the driver, upon getting on the bus.
We got off near the ticket centre, filled up our bottle with cold water at a fountain by the street, went to the cashier's desk and bought our tickets.
We received free entrance tickets for Neuschwanstein Castle, but for Hohenschwangau Castle we had to pay, as it was private property, and not covered by the Bavarian Palaces Ticket.
The weather was very hot and the sun was shining on the clear blue sky, which made walking and climbing quite an effort. It took a few minutes to reach Hohenschwangau Castle at the top of that not quite tall hill.
The tour number and time was mentioned on the ticket, and while waiting to enter, we walked around the small courtyard.
They were carrying out renovation works at the castle at that time, and it was covered with scaffolding, so unfortunately we were not able to take photos with the castle.
However, we had splendid views over the mountains and neighbouring Lake Alp, Hohenschwangau village was spread all over below us, and most important, Neuschwanstein Castle was there in the distance, beautiful like a jewel, at the top of a cliff.
Our tour started and we went inside. We were delighted by the beauty of the interior decorations and the wall and ceiling paintings.
Some rooms were quite impressive, like the festive Hall of Heroes, with a long table richly decorated with golden centerpieces, taking up almost the whole length of the room.
Other rooms that we liked were King Ludwig’s bedroom and music room, and Queen Mary’s bedroom and writing room.
We descended the relatively small hill back into the village, spent sometime checking out the souvenir shops and had an ice cream.
To be continued (Neuschwanstein Castle)...
Sep 27th, 2006, 09:14 AM
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Neuschwanstein Castle
This is a link to photos taken during our trip to Neuschwanstein Castle
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...1AaNGzly4ZsWHv
After a while we began our walk up the steep winding path to Neuschwanstein.
We saw some horse drawn carriages taking around 10 people, full capacity of the carriage, up that steep hill.
They were going so slowly, we could see the effort put in by the darling creatures, and even though they were traction animals, we felt pity for the horses.
Once up there, the views were breathtaking. We walked around the castle, took as many photos as we could, then our tour started.
The rooms and halls that were finished in this castle looked awesome. We liked the ceilings and interior decorations, the intricate woodwork, the pieces of furniture. We saw some magnificent rooms and halls, like the Singers Hall or the Throne Hall, which I thought was the most impressive room in the castle.
Then we saw that superb chandelier in the shape of a royal crown that hanged right above our heads, from that delightful blue ceiling with golden stars.
The wall and ceiling decorations were superb everywhere we turned our heads inside the castle, the legends depicted in wall paintings, and even though the rooms were unfurnished or incomplete, we saw some majestic works of art.
The theme of the night starry sky was repeated in other rooms and other of his castles as well, which, along with various romantic legends depicted throughout the castle, spoke volumes about the fairy tale King Ludwig’s personality.
I had some doubts about what was to be seen inside this castle, as during the planning stages many people on this board didn't really favour a visit inside Neuschwanstein.
For the dreams that King Ludwig II had, for the fairy tale world that he wanted to live in, for his dreamy and poetic nature, both of us, my wife and I, thought that this castle was a wonderful creation and we were delighted with this visit.
After the tour we climbed the path to Marienbrucke, to see the castle from the bridge. The views from there were just fabulous, the deep gorge beneath us, the waterfall so far down, the oh, so tall fir trees of which we could see the tops and those that were still lower than us, and not in the least, The Castle.
Yes, it was there, standing tall on that rock, commanding the surroundings, a true dwelling for Prince Charming and his Fairy.
Oh yes, we liked Neuschwanstein Castle very much.
On the return train to Munich was the same big crowd of people, mostly Far Easterners, like in the morning.
Just before the train left, a group of them sitting next to us started to chew gums so noisily and even cracking some balloons.
After so much walking and climbing in hot weather, with the sun striking straight down at us, we were too tired to put up with such disturbing noises around, or to ignore them.
But then, you never choose your fellow passengers on a train.
According to the schedule, we were supposed to change trains in Buchloe, same like we did in the morning.
But, surprise, surprise! We got off the train in Buchloe, along with others, and went casually to look on the departures schedule.
The train to Munich was leaving from the same track. In that very moment, when I noticed this, the train conductor, who had got off in Buchloe to change shifts, told us that that was the same train going to Munich.
We hurried back inside, but our seats had been taken by new passengers from Buchloe. Well, we found other seats, however less comfortable, the folding type by the side of the car.
We reached Munich at 9.40pm, too late and too tired to go to wind up the evening at a bier garten somewhere. We just bought some veggie sandwiches, butter pretzels and beers, and stayed in our hotel room.
To be continued (Linderhof Castle)...
This is a link to photos taken during our trip to Neuschwanstein Castle
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...1AaNGzly4ZsWHv
After a while we began our walk up the steep winding path to Neuschwanstein.
We saw some horse drawn carriages taking around 10 people, full capacity of the carriage, up that steep hill.
They were going so slowly, we could see the effort put in by the darling creatures, and even though they were traction animals, we felt pity for the horses.
Once up there, the views were breathtaking. We walked around the castle, took as many photos as we could, then our tour started.
The rooms and halls that were finished in this castle looked awesome. We liked the ceilings and interior decorations, the intricate woodwork, the pieces of furniture. We saw some magnificent rooms and halls, like the Singers Hall or the Throne Hall, which I thought was the most impressive room in the castle.
Then we saw that superb chandelier in the shape of a royal crown that hanged right above our heads, from that delightful blue ceiling with golden stars.
The wall and ceiling decorations were superb everywhere we turned our heads inside the castle, the legends depicted in wall paintings, and even though the rooms were unfurnished or incomplete, we saw some majestic works of art.
The theme of the night starry sky was repeated in other rooms and other of his castles as well, which, along with various romantic legends depicted throughout the castle, spoke volumes about the fairy tale King Ludwig’s personality.
I had some doubts about what was to be seen inside this castle, as during the planning stages many people on this board didn't really favour a visit inside Neuschwanstein.
For the dreams that King Ludwig II had, for the fairy tale world that he wanted to live in, for his dreamy and poetic nature, both of us, my wife and I, thought that this castle was a wonderful creation and we were delighted with this visit.
After the tour we climbed the path to Marienbrucke, to see the castle from the bridge. The views from there were just fabulous, the deep gorge beneath us, the waterfall so far down, the oh, so tall fir trees of which we could see the tops and those that were still lower than us, and not in the least, The Castle.
Yes, it was there, standing tall on that rock, commanding the surroundings, a true dwelling for Prince Charming and his Fairy.
Oh yes, we liked Neuschwanstein Castle very much.
On the return train to Munich was the same big crowd of people, mostly Far Easterners, like in the morning.
Just before the train left, a group of them sitting next to us started to chew gums so noisily and even cracking some balloons.
After so much walking and climbing in hot weather, with the sun striking straight down at us, we were too tired to put up with such disturbing noises around, or to ignore them.
But then, you never choose your fellow passengers on a train.
According to the schedule, we were supposed to change trains in Buchloe, same like we did in the morning.
But, surprise, surprise! We got off the train in Buchloe, along with others, and went casually to look on the departures schedule.
The train to Munich was leaving from the same track. In that very moment, when I noticed this, the train conductor, who had got off in Buchloe to change shifts, told us that that was the same train going to Munich.
We hurried back inside, but our seats had been taken by new passengers from Buchloe. Well, we found other seats, however less comfortable, the folding type by the side of the car.
We reached Munich at 9.40pm, too late and too tired to go to wind up the evening at a bier garten somewhere. We just bought some veggie sandwiches, butter pretzels and beers, and stayed in our hotel room.
To be continued (Linderhof Castle)...
Sep 28th, 2006, 08:18 AM
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Day 15 – July 21
Linderhof Castle
This is a link to photos taken during our trip to Linderhof Castle
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...1AaNGzly4ZsWH-
We left our pension at about 9 o'clock in the morning and went to the station. We had our breakfast at one of the outlets there, bought the Bavarian Ticket and went to our track to board the train.
As we were expecting on that morning of 21st July, there were few people waiting for the train to Mittenwald, on our first leg on the way to Linderhof Castle.
We easily found two seats on the shaded side of the train, and got ready for the trip. At our left were three Japanese men. We recognized them by the accent, intonation and melody of their speech.
They had that Japanese kind of look, you just know they are Japanese, had good watches and were not very talkative.
Their conversation was rare, brief and it seemed to me just to the point, no aimless or pointless talk.
No, they didn't carry a camera or a laptop, but they did have some small bags with them.
The train arrived at Murnau and we got off, along with a large group of teenagers, who disappeared somewhere instantly.
We were alone in the station, waiting for the train to Oberammergau to come. I was looking at my watch, then at the train schedule and there were 3-4 minutes left till the departure.
The track number was "1a" and we were at the first track, at number 1. At a closer look I noticed that there were letters A, B, C, D, but no "a".
Then I started to look attentively, and a bit worried, at both ends of the platform, and I noticed the "1a" sign a little retrieved at one side, like around a corner, not quite in full view.
It was a side track, an end or beginning of a line. We hurried towards the train and found it full of people.
So there they were! That's why we were alone on the station's platform!
It was a beautiful trip to Oberammergau, we admired the nature, the mountains and the fir tree forests.
In Oberammergau the bus was waiting at the station. Through the bus window we noticed that it was a nice town.
We changed buses in Ettal, which also looked nice.
We took our free tickets at the ticket centre down at the parking lot, then climbed the path to the castle.
Linderhof is such a beautiful castle! It's like a gem in that forest in the mountains there. We rejoiced at its sight.
It was beautiful with its richly ornamented façade.
"Quickly, pictures!" I thought to my wife and myself.
We took a few pictures around the castle and with the splendid gardens, waiting for our scheduled tour number to appear on the electronic display.
We were treated with a splendour of rooms inside this castle. The interior decorations were so rich and superb, a world of opulence, radiant with gold and gleaming mirrors, velvet and silk hangings, wall paintings, crystal chandeliers, gilded frames, furniture and porcelains.
Everywhere we turned we saw elaborate ornaments, laces and embroideries adorning the walls and lingering over the ceilings, lit by those magnificent chandeliers.
It was a joy to admire the works of art surrounding us. In the Dining Room we saw King Ludwig's famous dining table, with a beautiful Meissen Porcelain centerpiece.
This table was lowered to the kitchen below, so as no servants were required to come in the room to bring the food. Thus, King Ludwig II could have his meals undisturbed, as he always wanted to be alone.
When we thought that we saw the most lavishly decorated rooms in a very long while, we entered the Hall of Mirrors.
That was the most extravagant room in the palace.
Huge mirrors surrounded by white and gold panels, creating a strange sensation of unending space.
The rooms that we saw at Linderhof were among the most beautiful that we saw at the castles and palaces in Germany.
To be continued...
Linderhof Castle
This is a link to photos taken during our trip to Linderhof Castle
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...1AaNGzly4ZsWH-
We left our pension at about 9 o'clock in the morning and went to the station. We had our breakfast at one of the outlets there, bought the Bavarian Ticket and went to our track to board the train.
As we were expecting on that morning of 21st July, there were few people waiting for the train to Mittenwald, on our first leg on the way to Linderhof Castle.
We easily found two seats on the shaded side of the train, and got ready for the trip. At our left were three Japanese men. We recognized them by the accent, intonation and melody of their speech.
They had that Japanese kind of look, you just know they are Japanese, had good watches and were not very talkative.
Their conversation was rare, brief and it seemed to me just to the point, no aimless or pointless talk.
No, they didn't carry a camera or a laptop, but they did have some small bags with them.
The train arrived at Murnau and we got off, along with a large group of teenagers, who disappeared somewhere instantly.
We were alone in the station, waiting for the train to Oberammergau to come. I was looking at my watch, then at the train schedule and there were 3-4 minutes left till the departure.
The track number was "1a" and we were at the first track, at number 1. At a closer look I noticed that there were letters A, B, C, D, but no "a".
Then I started to look attentively, and a bit worried, at both ends of the platform, and I noticed the "1a" sign a little retrieved at one side, like around a corner, not quite in full view.
It was a side track, an end or beginning of a line. We hurried towards the train and found it full of people.
So there they were! That's why we were alone on the station's platform!
It was a beautiful trip to Oberammergau, we admired the nature, the mountains and the fir tree forests.
In Oberammergau the bus was waiting at the station. Through the bus window we noticed that it was a nice town.
We changed buses in Ettal, which also looked nice.
We took our free tickets at the ticket centre down at the parking lot, then climbed the path to the castle.
Linderhof is such a beautiful castle! It's like a gem in that forest in the mountains there. We rejoiced at its sight.
It was beautiful with its richly ornamented façade.
"Quickly, pictures!" I thought to my wife and myself.
We took a few pictures around the castle and with the splendid gardens, waiting for our scheduled tour number to appear on the electronic display.
We were treated with a splendour of rooms inside this castle. The interior decorations were so rich and superb, a world of opulence, radiant with gold and gleaming mirrors, velvet and silk hangings, wall paintings, crystal chandeliers, gilded frames, furniture and porcelains.
Everywhere we turned we saw elaborate ornaments, laces and embroideries adorning the walls and lingering over the ceilings, lit by those magnificent chandeliers.
It was a joy to admire the works of art surrounding us. In the Dining Room we saw King Ludwig's famous dining table, with a beautiful Meissen Porcelain centerpiece.
This table was lowered to the kitchen below, so as no servants were required to come in the room to bring the food. Thus, King Ludwig II could have his meals undisturbed, as he always wanted to be alone.
When we thought that we saw the most lavishly decorated rooms in a very long while, we entered the Hall of Mirrors.
That was the most extravagant room in the palace.
Huge mirrors surrounded by white and gold panels, creating a strange sensation of unending space.
The rooms that we saw at Linderhof were among the most beautiful that we saw at the castles and palaces in Germany.
To be continued...
Sep 28th, 2006, 01:00 PM
#65
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After the tour we walked through the park, following a winding alley to Venus Grotto. We waited for a while until the next tour was on and we entered.
This was quite amazing, King Ludwig was so imaginative in creating it. To our left was an artificial lake with a golden boat in the shape of a shell, in which the king was rowed while he immersed himself in a magical show of lights and special effects on Wagner’s dramatic music.
This was more than we had anticipated, we were overwhelmed with the beauty of Ludwig’s fantasy world.
From Venus Grotto we went down a path to the Music Pavilion. Once there, we were rewarded with splendid views across the park, mountains rising abruptly just behind.
A long waterfall was cascading in a series of steps down the slope, ending at the Neptune Fountain, just behind the castle.
We went to the castle following a winding path down the hill. We took more pictures with the castle and gardens, then passed by the big fountain and climbed the stairs up to the Temple of Venus.
We noticed that the gardens at Linderhof are created with the illusion of space, that Andre Le Notre first created at the castles in France, in the 17th century.
On the way up we saw beautiful symmetric patches of grass embroideries with colourful flower arrangements.
From up on the terrace we had splendid views of the white castle, with the cascade behind coming down from the Music Pavilion, the big fountain in front and the charming garden terraces just below us.
The hot weather and the striking sun chased us away sooner than we really wanted. We walked the path down to the bus stop, and while waiting for the bus to come, we had a snack and an ice cream.
In Oberammergau we stopped for a couple of hours to see more of the town. We stopped to eat at a small restaurant with tables on the street, then strolled on a few streets around the town centre.
We liked the houses, most of them with painted decorations, and the beautiful mountain-type architecture with wooden frames and balconies.
The mountains around provide a picturesque setting. We took the train back to Munich and when we stopped in Murnau, we recognized the secondary track from where we had left earlier that day.
We went to the main platform and waited for the train to Munich, which had a half an hour delay. Contrary to our initial expectations, as we only had one castle to visit and nothing else to do, this day proved to be tiring as well.
The hot sunny weather throughout our holiday in Germany took a toll on us, and wore us out much faster than we were used to.
When we reached Munich, we bought some beers and butter pretzels from the railway station, and went straight to our room.
To be continued (Herrenchiemsee Palace)...
This was quite amazing, King Ludwig was so imaginative in creating it. To our left was an artificial lake with a golden boat in the shape of a shell, in which the king was rowed while he immersed himself in a magical show of lights and special effects on Wagner’s dramatic music.
This was more than we had anticipated, we were overwhelmed with the beauty of Ludwig’s fantasy world.
From Venus Grotto we went down a path to the Music Pavilion. Once there, we were rewarded with splendid views across the park, mountains rising abruptly just behind.
A long waterfall was cascading in a series of steps down the slope, ending at the Neptune Fountain, just behind the castle.
We went to the castle following a winding path down the hill. We took more pictures with the castle and gardens, then passed by the big fountain and climbed the stairs up to the Temple of Venus.
We noticed that the gardens at Linderhof are created with the illusion of space, that Andre Le Notre first created at the castles in France, in the 17th century.
On the way up we saw beautiful symmetric patches of grass embroideries with colourful flower arrangements.
From up on the terrace we had splendid views of the white castle, with the cascade behind coming down from the Music Pavilion, the big fountain in front and the charming garden terraces just below us.
The hot weather and the striking sun chased us away sooner than we really wanted. We walked the path down to the bus stop, and while waiting for the bus to come, we had a snack and an ice cream.
In Oberammergau we stopped for a couple of hours to see more of the town. We stopped to eat at a small restaurant with tables on the street, then strolled on a few streets around the town centre.
We liked the houses, most of them with painted decorations, and the beautiful mountain-type architecture with wooden frames and balconies.
The mountains around provide a picturesque setting. We took the train back to Munich and when we stopped in Murnau, we recognized the secondary track from where we had left earlier that day.
We went to the main platform and waited for the train to Munich, which had a half an hour delay. Contrary to our initial expectations, as we only had one castle to visit and nothing else to do, this day proved to be tiring as well.
The hot sunny weather throughout our holiday in Germany took a toll on us, and wore us out much faster than we were used to.
When we reached Munich, we bought some beers and butter pretzels from the railway station, and went straight to our room.
To be continued (Herrenchiemsee Palace)...
Sep 29th, 2006, 01:59 PM
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Day 16 – July 22
Herrenchiemsee Palace
This is a link to photos taken during our trip to Herrenchiemsee
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=1AaNGzly4ZsWIC
Knowing that we didn't have a long trip to do that day, we woke up at will and took our time to get ready.
Herrenchiemsee was only at about one hour away by train, so we had no reasons to hurry. Before going to the train station, we stopped at a street café to energize ourselves.
The morning had a hint of cool in the air, but the sky was clear, which meant sun for later.
Once at the station, we bought our Bavarian Ticket. We didn't buy the Happy Weekend Ticket, even though it was a Saturday, from two reasons.
First, the cost was 30 euros instead of 25. Second, we didn't need to go into another land, we stayed only in Bavaria, so the Bavarian ticket was enough.
We found the train to Salzburg at one of the main platforms and it was full. Well, it was a Saturday. We hardly found two empty seats in a section where some children were playing noisily.
The train nearly emptied at Prien, everybody going to the palace and to the islands on the lake. We couldn't see the little train at first, and we asked a bus driver at the station about the way to the boat pier.
He didn't know much English when I couldn't understand all that he said in German, but he kept pointing somewhere in the direction of the train tracks, saying "Green train, green train!"
We returned to the tracks and I saw through some bushes and railway station poles and signs, a small green train. We went fast downstairs under ground and crossed to the other side.
A long queue for tickets was already formed, so we waited in line. We bought our tickets for the complete journey to the island, by the little green train and by boat.
We took a few pictures and sat down on the wooden benches in one of the cars. The train left with a cloud of smoke after whistling loud and happy.
The smoke from the engine engulfed us a couple of times on the way, when the wind was favourable. But that was the fun of it.
That train was supposed to make such smoke, it was part of its charm. We enjoyed the train ride like two children, with big happy smiles on our faces.
We arrived at Chiemsee Lake, which looked merry under the clear sky with an occasional cloud, sails floating scattered all over the water surface.
A wedding party was going on by the pier, and the beautiful bride arrived in a vintage car. That was so romantic. The party had their glasses of champagne in hands, it all looked like in the movies. We liked that!
We boarded our boat and sailed away. We enjoyed it so much! The water was glittering in the sunshine, the white sails looked happy on the lake, forest islands provided pleasant spots of colour... it was so beautiful.
We were enthralled by the beautiful landscape. No wonder that so many people would go there over the weekend. We arrived at Herren Island and went to the ticket desk.
Out of courtesy, for the fun of it and because I could, I spoke in German when I asked for a ticket for two persons, showing the Bavarian Palaces Ticket.
I received it for free, of course, looked at the time of our tour and walked on the path towards the palace. We had enough time for a stroll.
At about half way I look again at the ticket and, to my horror, I noticed that the ticket was for a tour in German language. Just because I spoke a few easy words at the ticket counter, I was booked for a German language tour.
And you could tell from a mile away that at the most I was a beginner in German language. I didn't return to the ticket centre, as I thought that the people at the palace would be understanding of our situation and re-schedule us on an English tour.
Indeed, once there the persons were very kind and re-scheduled us on another tour, in English language.
The park and gardens in front of Herrenchiemsee Palace have never been completed, but what we saw there looked similar to those at Versailles.
Also, many of the rooms inside, but in general they were a tribute paid by King Ludwig II to Louis XIV, the Sun King.
Before our tour began, we had time to visit King Ludwig II Museum. The museum presents the story of the king's life and early death in paintings, busts and photographs.
We saw furnishings from his former apartments in Munich Residence and plans for Neuschwanstein, Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee.
To be continued...
Herrenchiemsee Palace
This is a link to photos taken during our trip to Herrenchiemsee
share.shutterfly.com/action/welcome?sid=1AaNGzly4ZsWIC
Knowing that we didn't have a long trip to do that day, we woke up at will and took our time to get ready.
Herrenchiemsee was only at about one hour away by train, so we had no reasons to hurry. Before going to the train station, we stopped at a street café to energize ourselves.
The morning had a hint of cool in the air, but the sky was clear, which meant sun for later.
Once at the station, we bought our Bavarian Ticket. We didn't buy the Happy Weekend Ticket, even though it was a Saturday, from two reasons.
First, the cost was 30 euros instead of 25. Second, we didn't need to go into another land, we stayed only in Bavaria, so the Bavarian ticket was enough.
We found the train to Salzburg at one of the main platforms and it was full. Well, it was a Saturday. We hardly found two empty seats in a section where some children were playing noisily.
The train nearly emptied at Prien, everybody going to the palace and to the islands on the lake. We couldn't see the little train at first, and we asked a bus driver at the station about the way to the boat pier.
He didn't know much English when I couldn't understand all that he said in German, but he kept pointing somewhere in the direction of the train tracks, saying "Green train, green train!"
We returned to the tracks and I saw through some bushes and railway station poles and signs, a small green train. We went fast downstairs under ground and crossed to the other side.
A long queue for tickets was already formed, so we waited in line. We bought our tickets for the complete journey to the island, by the little green train and by boat.
We took a few pictures and sat down on the wooden benches in one of the cars. The train left with a cloud of smoke after whistling loud and happy.
The smoke from the engine engulfed us a couple of times on the way, when the wind was favourable. But that was the fun of it.
That train was supposed to make such smoke, it was part of its charm. We enjoyed the train ride like two children, with big happy smiles on our faces.
We arrived at Chiemsee Lake, which looked merry under the clear sky with an occasional cloud, sails floating scattered all over the water surface.
A wedding party was going on by the pier, and the beautiful bride arrived in a vintage car. That was so romantic. The party had their glasses of champagne in hands, it all looked like in the movies. We liked that!
We boarded our boat and sailed away. We enjoyed it so much! The water was glittering in the sunshine, the white sails looked happy on the lake, forest islands provided pleasant spots of colour... it was so beautiful.
We were enthralled by the beautiful landscape. No wonder that so many people would go there over the weekend. We arrived at Herren Island and went to the ticket desk.
Out of courtesy, for the fun of it and because I could, I spoke in German when I asked for a ticket for two persons, showing the Bavarian Palaces Ticket.
I received it for free, of course, looked at the time of our tour and walked on the path towards the palace. We had enough time for a stroll.
At about half way I look again at the ticket and, to my horror, I noticed that the ticket was for a tour in German language. Just because I spoke a few easy words at the ticket counter, I was booked for a German language tour.
And you could tell from a mile away that at the most I was a beginner in German language. I didn't return to the ticket centre, as I thought that the people at the palace would be understanding of our situation and re-schedule us on an English tour.
Indeed, once there the persons were very kind and re-scheduled us on another tour, in English language.
The park and gardens in front of Herrenchiemsee Palace have never been completed, but what we saw there looked similar to those at Versailles.
Also, many of the rooms inside, but in general they were a tribute paid by King Ludwig II to Louis XIV, the Sun King.
Before our tour began, we had time to visit King Ludwig II Museum. The museum presents the story of the king's life and early death in paintings, busts and photographs.
We saw furnishings from his former apartments in Munich Residence and plans for Neuschwanstein, Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee.
To be continued...
Sep 30th, 2006, 02:01 AM
#67
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When the time for our tour was up, we waited in line at the entrance. We were led by a young guide, probably a trainee, who throughout the tour couldn't give us a smooth description of what we were seeing.
She had a fragmented speech, due to her lack of appropriate English vocabulary, and not once she was thinking of the right term to use or even ask us, the tourists, to tell her what was the English word for some object she wanted to tell us about.
Moreover, in spite of the “no photo” signs, some people in our group kept taking pictures and filming, ignoring the faint requests made by some of the personnel there, not to take pictures.
Some others were there with very small children who kept crying and whining, and even a toddler who kept crawling beyond the rope to the precious exhibits.
Their parents didn't show any concern, nobody said anything, and for us at least, the tour was a failure. When I went to the guide to ask her to do something about it, as our attention was distracted and we couldn’t hear her properly, she said she couldn't do anything.
Nobody else in the group said anything, even though we saw some discontent faces among them. We could hardly hear her and on top of that, she didn't put any passion in what she was doing.
We hardly understood anything during that tour. We complained afterwards to the management and were offered another tour, but we didn’t want that.
We wanted them to acknowledge their shortcomings and do something about it. We had our Bavarian Ticket for Palaces that gave us unlimited access anyway, so it wasn’t another free tour that we wanted.
On top of that, the tour was very fast, it lasted for about half an hour and took us through about 15 rooms. Considering the conditions we had, maybe it was for the better.
We hardly spent one or two minutes inside each of the (already so few) rooms. This was the only unpleasant experience we had throughout Germany.
However, we did remain with some good impressions as well, after that tour.
When we started, we climbed a splendid staircase, with statues framed by rich decorations along the walls, high up to the ceiling. We soon passed through a spectacular room, the Second Antechamber.
An equestrian statue of Louis XIV dominated the sumptuously decorated room. Then it was the monumental State Bedroom and all was too impressive.
We felt like tiny creatures, overwhelmed, crushed by the beauty of the ornaments, the opulent works of art. We were already thinking how it was going to be when we came to the Hall of Mirrors, we could hardly wait.
And then, all of a sudden we were there. We didn’t have to be told that that was the place, we just knew it. Or better said, we felt it. Oh yes, it was so grand.
It was reminiscent of what we had seen at Versailles a few years before, and they say it is about 25 feet longer. Thousands of candles ready to be lit on those richly ornamented crystal chandeliers and candelabras, the ceiling paintings framed by intricate gilded decorations.
We went through a few more rooms and then we were in the Dining Room. Same like at Linderhof, we saw here the table that was lowered through a trap door in the floor. We learned that King Ludwig was however never alone.
The remaining seats around the table were occupied by imaginary members of the French court during the reign of the Sun King, and King Ludwig conversed with them and drank toasts in their honour.
We also wondered at the beautiful Porcelain Room, which is fully decorated with colourful painted porcelain tiles on walls, doors and even on the writing desk.
We passed through a smaller hall of mirrors, but still superbly decorated, then reached a desolate staircase, only brick walls, left unfinished due to lack of funds.
At the end of the tour we saw the mechanism that was used to lower Ludwig’s famous disappearing dining table. Even though unfinished, this palace struck us with its opulence, we were very impressed by what we saw there.
We felt so small in front of the superb works of art that we saw. And as incredible as it may sound, we found out that only 3 kilos of gold were used for decorations.
We left the palace and visited the Museum of the Augustinian Monastery, where we saw an art gallery with a big collection of paintings by the Munich artist Julius Exter.
We walked for a while on the winding paths on the island, admired the beautiful lake with the white sails sprinkled all over it, then went down to the pier.
We boarded the boat, had a pleasant sail back to Prien Stock, then took the little green train to Prien. In Prien we walked the deserted streets, looking for a nice place to eat.
We found a small square round a corner, like a courtyard, with a restaurant with tables on the pavement, right next to a church.
It was a very pleasant setting, we liked the food, had our beers, bought some cakes and then caught our train back to Munich.
It was so hot during our stay in Germany. We were sweating when we got off the train and went straight for a refreshing beer. The place of choice was the Ratskeller, the inner courtyard of the Town Hall in Marienplatz.
We had noticed that very beautiful place a few days before. We had our beers, a Dunkel and a Hefe respectively, relaxed and enjoyed the atmosphere, surrounded by those darkened walls, hundreds of years old, with their interesting and strange statues looking down at us.
We walked back to our accommodation, trying to see more of this nice part of Munich, which is in and around Marienplatz.
To be continued (last day in Munich)...
She had a fragmented speech, due to her lack of appropriate English vocabulary, and not once she was thinking of the right term to use or even ask us, the tourists, to tell her what was the English word for some object she wanted to tell us about.
Moreover, in spite of the “no photo” signs, some people in our group kept taking pictures and filming, ignoring the faint requests made by some of the personnel there, not to take pictures.
Some others were there with very small children who kept crying and whining, and even a toddler who kept crawling beyond the rope to the precious exhibits.
Their parents didn't show any concern, nobody said anything, and for us at least, the tour was a failure. When I went to the guide to ask her to do something about it, as our attention was distracted and we couldn’t hear her properly, she said she couldn't do anything.
Nobody else in the group said anything, even though we saw some discontent faces among them. We could hardly hear her and on top of that, she didn't put any passion in what she was doing.
We hardly understood anything during that tour. We complained afterwards to the management and were offered another tour, but we didn’t want that.
We wanted them to acknowledge their shortcomings and do something about it. We had our Bavarian Ticket for Palaces that gave us unlimited access anyway, so it wasn’t another free tour that we wanted.
On top of that, the tour was very fast, it lasted for about half an hour and took us through about 15 rooms. Considering the conditions we had, maybe it was for the better.
We hardly spent one or two minutes inside each of the (already so few) rooms. This was the only unpleasant experience we had throughout Germany.
However, we did remain with some good impressions as well, after that tour.
When we started, we climbed a splendid staircase, with statues framed by rich decorations along the walls, high up to the ceiling. We soon passed through a spectacular room, the Second Antechamber.
An equestrian statue of Louis XIV dominated the sumptuously decorated room. Then it was the monumental State Bedroom and all was too impressive.
We felt like tiny creatures, overwhelmed, crushed by the beauty of the ornaments, the opulent works of art. We were already thinking how it was going to be when we came to the Hall of Mirrors, we could hardly wait.
And then, all of a sudden we were there. We didn’t have to be told that that was the place, we just knew it. Or better said, we felt it. Oh yes, it was so grand.
It was reminiscent of what we had seen at Versailles a few years before, and they say it is about 25 feet longer. Thousands of candles ready to be lit on those richly ornamented crystal chandeliers and candelabras, the ceiling paintings framed by intricate gilded decorations.
We went through a few more rooms and then we were in the Dining Room. Same like at Linderhof, we saw here the table that was lowered through a trap door in the floor. We learned that King Ludwig was however never alone.
The remaining seats around the table were occupied by imaginary members of the French court during the reign of the Sun King, and King Ludwig conversed with them and drank toasts in their honour.
We also wondered at the beautiful Porcelain Room, which is fully decorated with colourful painted porcelain tiles on walls, doors and even on the writing desk.
We passed through a smaller hall of mirrors, but still superbly decorated, then reached a desolate staircase, only brick walls, left unfinished due to lack of funds.
At the end of the tour we saw the mechanism that was used to lower Ludwig’s famous disappearing dining table. Even though unfinished, this palace struck us with its opulence, we were very impressed by what we saw there.
We felt so small in front of the superb works of art that we saw. And as incredible as it may sound, we found out that only 3 kilos of gold were used for decorations.
We left the palace and visited the Museum of the Augustinian Monastery, where we saw an art gallery with a big collection of paintings by the Munich artist Julius Exter.
We walked for a while on the winding paths on the island, admired the beautiful lake with the white sails sprinkled all over it, then went down to the pier.
We boarded the boat, had a pleasant sail back to Prien Stock, then took the little green train to Prien. In Prien we walked the deserted streets, looking for a nice place to eat.
We found a small square round a corner, like a courtyard, with a restaurant with tables on the pavement, right next to a church.
It was a very pleasant setting, we liked the food, had our beers, bought some cakes and then caught our train back to Munich.
It was so hot during our stay in Germany. We were sweating when we got off the train and went straight for a refreshing beer. The place of choice was the Ratskeller, the inner courtyard of the Town Hall in Marienplatz.
We had noticed that very beautiful place a few days before. We had our beers, a Dunkel and a Hefe respectively, relaxed and enjoyed the atmosphere, surrounded by those darkened walls, hundreds of years old, with their interesting and strange statues looking down at us.
We walked back to our accommodation, trying to see more of this nice part of Munich, which is in and around Marienplatz.
To be continued (last day in Munich)...
Sep 30th, 2006, 03:04 AM
#68
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This is a link to photos taken during our last evening in Munich, around Marienplatz and at Ratskeller.
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...1AaNGzly4ZsWIT
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...1AaNGzly4ZsWIT
Sep 30th, 2006, 04:36 AM
#70
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Yes, you're right, logos!
It looks so much older, you wouldn't believe it is in fact the NEW Town Hall.
Found out about that subsequently, but I just wanted to convey the feeling I had at THAT moment, when I didn't know.
But still, it's awesome! And I think it rivals in beauty the one in Brussels, which is truly hundreds of years old.
During those moments, I did compare them in my mind.
It looks so much older, you wouldn't believe it is in fact the NEW Town Hall.
Found out about that subsequently, but I just wanted to convey the feeling I had at THAT moment, when I didn't know.
But still, it's awesome! And I think it rivals in beauty the one in Brussels, which is truly hundreds of years old.
During those moments, I did compare them in my mind.
Sep 30th, 2006, 12:57 PM
#71
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Day 17 – July 23
This is a link to photos taken during our last day in Munich
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...1AaNGzly4ZsWIg
The only thing we wanted to do in our last day in Munich was to walk through the old town.
We checked out from our accommodation and went first to the railway station to leave our luggage in a locker.
Then we began our walk on Prielmayer street, passing by the Palace of Justice. We noticed the statues on top of the superb building, and we thought of what each of them represented, trying to find out their connection with Justice.
Of course, in the middle of them all was a statue of Justitia holding a scales. The statues were too high and too small for us to be able to recognize details and realize what virtues or characters they represent, but we could distinguish the scales “dangling” in goddess Justitia’s hand.
We crossed the street and we were in Karlsplatz, or Stachus. Every evening when we passed by that place until then it was crowded. Now, on a Sunday morning at about 10 o’clock, the square was only ours and it was beautiful with the water springing up from the fountain.
We passed through Karl’s Gate and were on Neuhauser Street, and soon reached St. Michael’s Church, with the saint killing the Devil at the entrance.
We entered the church. The interior decorations were of a striking and captivating white, making a beautiful contrast with the gilded high altar.
We continued our walk and very soon we noticed a side street going to the left and a restaurant had its tables outside under umbrellas, ready for customers.
It was one of the many Augustiner restaurants and beer gardens. We liked the setting on that quiet street, away from the crowds, the pleasant atmosphere of the place and decided to stop there for a coffee.
With a few minutes before 11 o’clock, we went to Marienplatz to listen to the carillon and watch the figurines move in the Town Hall Clock Tower.
We took a position at the opposite side from the town hall, a little behind the thick of the crowds, to avoid risks of being pick-pocketed while gawking at the spectacle up there.
The only inconvenience were some umbrellas from the coffee shops, but the tower was high enough to aim the camera above them.
At 11 o’clock sharp church bells began to sound all over Munich. We could hear their sound coming from all around us, but from the town hall.
I thought that that was on purpose, with some special permission, as the town hall clock had that special show on for the people to watch and listen.
When all the church bells around town stopped, the spectacle began in Marienplatz, at about 3 minutes past 11.
The sound of the carillon was enchanting, the figurines were rotating in different scenes to the melody of the bells. The show lasted for about 3 minutes and we enjoyed it.
We left Marienplatz smiling after this spectacle, and went to Frauenkirche, the Church of Our Lady. I tried to take some photos with its two green onion towers and entered.
Just then they were having the service. We admired the painted windows and listened to some beautiful music played on the organ.
We returned towards the town hall, came on Weinstrasse to the left side of the town hall, and turned left towards Odeon Square.
As we went along Weinstrasse, we noticed on one of the side streets to the left the two green onion towers of Frauenkirche, rising majestically above the houses. I took a picture and continued our walk.
The streets were quiet on that Sunday morning and the weather was a little cooler than the previous days. We enjoyed this morning outing.
We entered Odeonsplatz by the Field Marshals Hall. Theatine Church was there on the left and we went in to visit. We were delighted at the sight of the interior.
It was monumental, splendid white stucco decorations, rich ornaments, statues and embroideries, and that white colour highlighting all the work of art inside. It was amazing.
When we came out we saw an arch in the distance to the left. We thought it wasn’t too far away to walk there to see what it was and then to return.
To be continued...
This is a link to photos taken during our last day in Munich
http://share.shutterfly.com/action/w...1AaNGzly4ZsWIg
The only thing we wanted to do in our last day in Munich was to walk through the old town.
We checked out from our accommodation and went first to the railway station to leave our luggage in a locker.
Then we began our walk on Prielmayer street, passing by the Palace of Justice. We noticed the statues on top of the superb building, and we thought of what each of them represented, trying to find out their connection with Justice.
Of course, in the middle of them all was a statue of Justitia holding a scales. The statues were too high and too small for us to be able to recognize details and realize what virtues or characters they represent, but we could distinguish the scales “dangling” in goddess Justitia’s hand.
We crossed the street and we were in Karlsplatz, or Stachus. Every evening when we passed by that place until then it was crowded. Now, on a Sunday morning at about 10 o’clock, the square was only ours and it was beautiful with the water springing up from the fountain.
We passed through Karl’s Gate and were on Neuhauser Street, and soon reached St. Michael’s Church, with the saint killing the Devil at the entrance.
We entered the church. The interior decorations were of a striking and captivating white, making a beautiful contrast with the gilded high altar.
We continued our walk and very soon we noticed a side street going to the left and a restaurant had its tables outside under umbrellas, ready for customers.
It was one of the many Augustiner restaurants and beer gardens. We liked the setting on that quiet street, away from the crowds, the pleasant atmosphere of the place and decided to stop there for a coffee.
With a few minutes before 11 o’clock, we went to Marienplatz to listen to the carillon and watch the figurines move in the Town Hall Clock Tower.
We took a position at the opposite side from the town hall, a little behind the thick of the crowds, to avoid risks of being pick-pocketed while gawking at the spectacle up there.
The only inconvenience were some umbrellas from the coffee shops, but the tower was high enough to aim the camera above them.
At 11 o’clock sharp church bells began to sound all over Munich. We could hear their sound coming from all around us, but from the town hall.
I thought that that was on purpose, with some special permission, as the town hall clock had that special show on for the people to watch and listen.
When all the church bells around town stopped, the spectacle began in Marienplatz, at about 3 minutes past 11.
The sound of the carillon was enchanting, the figurines were rotating in different scenes to the melody of the bells. The show lasted for about 3 minutes and we enjoyed it.
We left Marienplatz smiling after this spectacle, and went to Frauenkirche, the Church of Our Lady. I tried to take some photos with its two green onion towers and entered.
Just then they were having the service. We admired the painted windows and listened to some beautiful music played on the organ.
We returned towards the town hall, came on Weinstrasse to the left side of the town hall, and turned left towards Odeon Square.
As we went along Weinstrasse, we noticed on one of the side streets to the left the two green onion towers of Frauenkirche, rising majestically above the houses. I took a picture and continued our walk.
The streets were quiet on that Sunday morning and the weather was a little cooler than the previous days. We enjoyed this morning outing.
We entered Odeonsplatz by the Field Marshals Hall. Theatine Church was there on the left and we went in to visit. We were delighted at the sight of the interior.
It was monumental, splendid white stucco decorations, rich ornaments, statues and embroideries, and that white colour highlighting all the work of art inside. It was amazing.
When we came out we saw an arch in the distance to the left. We thought it wasn’t too far away to walk there to see what it was and then to return.
To be continued...
Oct 1st, 2006, 04:46 AM
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So we walked on that straight as an arrow and wide Ludwigstrasse, passed by the university, no people on the street, watched the big buildings we were passing by, watched the traffic and thought that we saw some nicer cars in that area.
We reached the Victory Arch with a statue representing Bavaria in a chariot drawn by four lions. That was an impressive triple arch.
We returned on the other side of Ludwigstrasse, and stopped at St. Ludwig’s Church. We went inside and had a very nice surprise when we saw the ceiling: it was painted in blue with golden stars, same like the ceilings we had seen at Neuschwanstein and Linderhof Castles, in King Ludwig II’s bedrooms.
We passed by the National Library, then reached the Odeonsplatz again. On one side of the square, by the Residence, was the Hofgarten, a nice park with flower arrangements and fountains, and a beer garden under the trees, at the entrance.
We went in for a walk. The beer garden was quite crowded, some people were walking or sitting on benches in the garden, some children were playing.
We came back to Odeon Square and the Theatine Church looked beautiful on the opposite side. I took some photos and then we stopped at the Residence.
A few days before, when we visited there, we noticed some people touching the noses of the lions at the entrance. We didn’t realize that it was on purpose, we thought that that was just a reflex gesture.
Later, however, we found out that Munich people believe that touching those little noses brings good luck. So we stopped at the lions, touched their noses, took pictures, touched their noses again and continued our walk.
Just after the Residence we reached Max-Joseph Square, at the National Theatre and Bavarian State Opera. We crossed Maximilian Street and continued straight on some side streets, till we reached Viktualienmarkt.
St. Peter’s Church was nearby and we went in. This was another pleasant surprise, as the interior was awesome. Golden ornaments were beautifully highlighted by the white stucco work.
The ceiling paintings framed in gold designs made the interior even brighter. We didn’t have enough time to go up the tower, as we had to go to the airport.
So from Old Peter’s Church we crossed Marienplatz, passed Karlsplatz and there we were, at the railway station.
We bought one of those Munich transport cards, the XXL for two persons I think, to cover the airport as well. Then we went to the lockers to pick up our luggage.
I put the key in and tried to turn it, but to our shocking surprise it didn’t work. Immediately we looked at our watches to see how much time we had left till our plane was scheduled to take off.
We were still well in time. We both tried the key a few more times, read the instructions, made sure that we knew what we were doing. Then I went around in search for some offices where I could get help.
I asked at an information desk somewhere and I was directed through some entrances, some corridors, entrance to the left, corridor to the right, the again left and see a counter behind some windows...
I finally found the right desk and I was so relieved when I saw the guy behind the counter actually picking up a big bunch of keys and coming along with me.
I wanted to run ahead and make him run along, and I could hardly keep my cool. I walked calmly with him, and showed him the naughty locker.
He tried my key, then tried one of his, and then he banged the locker three times, turned the key and opened it.
We were so glad now that we had our luggage back. We went down to the “S” trains and left for the airport.
While waiting to board our plane we were thinking of this unique character, King Ludwig II. He was just too sensible, too poetic, a dreamer, a misunderstood loner.
He wanted to create this fairy tale world around him because he had the means and he could. And he almost succeeded.
Some of us are like this today, but we don’t have the means and the power to even attempt to do it. No, King Ludwig II was not mad, he was a dreamer, a beautiful dreamer.
This holiday in Germany was one of our best till now. We enjoyed the places we’ve been to, liked the people we met and overall it was a pleasant experience.
For us, the palaces and castles, as well as the museums that we visited in Germany, are among the best in Europe. Great finds for us were Ludwigsburg with its palace, Wurzburg with its churches, Residenz and the superb Stachel wine house, and Rothenburg, that beautiful picture book town.
The bier gartens with their Dunkels and Hefes by the litre? Well, we still talk and think about them. It’s a pity they don’t have them at the local pub, but then... why would one return to a country if one could find everything at home?
End of report.
We reached the Victory Arch with a statue representing Bavaria in a chariot drawn by four lions. That was an impressive triple arch.
We returned on the other side of Ludwigstrasse, and stopped at St. Ludwig’s Church. We went inside and had a very nice surprise when we saw the ceiling: it was painted in blue with golden stars, same like the ceilings we had seen at Neuschwanstein and Linderhof Castles, in King Ludwig II’s bedrooms.
We passed by the National Library, then reached the Odeonsplatz again. On one side of the square, by the Residence, was the Hofgarten, a nice park with flower arrangements and fountains, and a beer garden under the trees, at the entrance.
We went in for a walk. The beer garden was quite crowded, some people were walking or sitting on benches in the garden, some children were playing.
We came back to Odeon Square and the Theatine Church looked beautiful on the opposite side. I took some photos and then we stopped at the Residence.
A few days before, when we visited there, we noticed some people touching the noses of the lions at the entrance. We didn’t realize that it was on purpose, we thought that that was just a reflex gesture.
Later, however, we found out that Munich people believe that touching those little noses brings good luck. So we stopped at the lions, touched their noses, took pictures, touched their noses again and continued our walk.
Just after the Residence we reached Max-Joseph Square, at the National Theatre and Bavarian State Opera. We crossed Maximilian Street and continued straight on some side streets, till we reached Viktualienmarkt.
St. Peter’s Church was nearby and we went in. This was another pleasant surprise, as the interior was awesome. Golden ornaments were beautifully highlighted by the white stucco work.
The ceiling paintings framed in gold designs made the interior even brighter. We didn’t have enough time to go up the tower, as we had to go to the airport.
So from Old Peter’s Church we crossed Marienplatz, passed Karlsplatz and there we were, at the railway station.
We bought one of those Munich transport cards, the XXL for two persons I think, to cover the airport as well. Then we went to the lockers to pick up our luggage.
I put the key in and tried to turn it, but to our shocking surprise it didn’t work. Immediately we looked at our watches to see how much time we had left till our plane was scheduled to take off.
We were still well in time. We both tried the key a few more times, read the instructions, made sure that we knew what we were doing. Then I went around in search for some offices where I could get help.
I asked at an information desk somewhere and I was directed through some entrances, some corridors, entrance to the left, corridor to the right, the again left and see a counter behind some windows...
I finally found the right desk and I was so relieved when I saw the guy behind the counter actually picking up a big bunch of keys and coming along with me.
I wanted to run ahead and make him run along, and I could hardly keep my cool. I walked calmly with him, and showed him the naughty locker.
He tried my key, then tried one of his, and then he banged the locker three times, turned the key and opened it.
We were so glad now that we had our luggage back. We went down to the “S” trains and left for the airport.
While waiting to board our plane we were thinking of this unique character, King Ludwig II. He was just too sensible, too poetic, a dreamer, a misunderstood loner.
He wanted to create this fairy tale world around him because he had the means and he could. And he almost succeeded.
Some of us are like this today, but we don’t have the means and the power to even attempt to do it. No, King Ludwig II was not mad, he was a dreamer, a beautiful dreamer.
This holiday in Germany was one of our best till now. We enjoyed the places we’ve been to, liked the people we met and overall it was a pleasant experience.
For us, the palaces and castles, as well as the museums that we visited in Germany, are among the best in Europe. Great finds for us were Ludwigsburg with its palace, Wurzburg with its churches, Residenz and the superb Stachel wine house, and Rothenburg, that beautiful picture book town.
The bier gartens with their Dunkels and Hefes by the litre? Well, we still talk and think about them. It’s a pity they don’t have them at the local pub, but then... why would one return to a country if one could find everything at home?
End of report.
Oct 1st, 2006, 08:55 AM
#74
Join Date: May 2006
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Gabriel,
Thank you so much for the report. I have really enjoyed reading it. I leave on Saturday for two weeks in Germany and can't wait. I am going to some of the same places that you went to and it was good to see the pictures and read about them.
Thank you so much for the report. I have really enjoyed reading it. I leave on Saturday for two weeks in Germany and can't wait. I am going to some of the same places that you went to and it was good to see the pictures and read about them.
