On our second day in Munich, we rose early and met a coach for the escorted German- and English-speaking tour of the Royal Castles of Ludwig II, the Fairy Tale King.
We were thrilled, as we went south, to spot the Alps for the first time. At the same moment, we turned to each other and said, “Well, we can scratch ‘Go to the Alps’ off our bucket list.”
Our first stop was in Oberammergau, a tiny village known for three things: woodcarvings, house paintings, and its passion play, which it has been putting on every ten years since 1634. The residents at that time swore to God that if they would be spared from the bubonic plague, they’d do a passion play every ten years. So far, no plague and holding strong.Oberammergau is also famous for its Lüftlmalerei, or frescoes, of traditional Bavarian themes, fairy tales, and religious scenes painted on the exterior of many homes and buildings.
After doing some quick shopping (and having a homemade glühwein), we headed to Linderhof Palace, the royal villa of Ludwig II. Here Ludwig holed himself up, pouting that he couldn’t rule as an absolute monarch. Ludwig was known for wanting to live in a fantasy world of his own making, and he rarely ventured from his palaces to the real world. Rather, he surrounded himself with fairy tales and the stories from Wagner’s operas. Ludwig II was deposed on grounds of mental illness without any medical examination, and he died a day later under mysterious circumstances. We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the furnished palace, but we were especially impressed with the Hall of Mirrors and the table that could move through the floor to be loaded with food by servants.
After Linderhof, we rode to the village of Hohenschwangau. From here we could see the two great castles of the Mad King Ludwig: Schloss Neuschwanstein and Schloss Hohenschwangau.
You’ll recognize Neuschwanstein; Disney modeled its castle after the fairy tale castle. We ate at Hotel Mütter. I had spaghetti and Michael had a ham sandwich. Then we hiked a mile up, stopping once for more glühwein, to Neuschwanstein. Here we snapped a zillion photos of the famous castle and admired the frescoes of Wagner’s operas on the exterior.
We toured the inside of Neuschwanstein, with no photos allowed. This experience just reminded me of how glad I was that we were on our trip alone, and not with a group. There were probably 80-100 tourists in our group of people, and all of them were loud, rude, and obnoxious. Especially the Americans. We didn’t have a very good time touring the castle because we were so jarred by the tourists’ behavior.
We rejoined the coach and slept on the long bus ride back to Munich. When we arrived, it was late. We went to Hofbräuhaus, a famous brewery founded in 1589. We sat at a long bench with strangers in a casual, loud setting. Traditional Bavarian music was played on stage, tuba and accordion and all, and all the staff wore lederhosen. Michael had a liter of beer—the smallest portion they served—and I had a riesling as usual. We both ordered the roast pork and bread dumplings and had a wonderful time.
We staggered out some hours later and walked to Marienplatz again just in time to hear the Glockenspiel play again. We took some beautiful photos of the square and then walked back to the hotel.
We were thrilled, as we went south, to spot the Alps for the first time. At the same moment, we turned to each other and said, “Well, we can scratch ‘Go to the Alps’ off our bucket list.”
Our first stop was in Oberammergau, a tiny village known for three things: woodcarvings, house paintings, and its passion play, which it has been putting on every ten years since 1634. The residents at that time swore to God that if they would be spared from the bubonic plague, they’d do a passion play every ten years. So far, no plague and holding strong.
After doing some quick shopping (and having a homemade glühwein), we headed to Linderhof Palace, the royal villa of Ludwig II. Here Ludwig holed himself up, pouting that he couldn’t rule as an absolute monarch. Ludwig was known for wanting to live in a fantasy world of his own making, and he rarely ventured from his palaces to the real world. Rather, he surrounded himself with fairy tales and the stories from Wagner’s operas. Ludwig II was deposed on grounds of mental illness without any medical examination, and he died a day later under mysterious circumstances. We weren’t allowed to take pictures inside the furnished palace, but we were especially impressed with the Hall of Mirrors and the table that could move through the floor to be loaded with food by servants.
After Linderhof, we rode to the village of Hohenschwangau. From here we could see the two great castles of the Mad King Ludwig: Schloss Neuschwanstein and Schloss Hohenschwangau.
You’ll recognize Neuschwanstein; Disney modeled its castle after the fairy tale castle. We ate at Hotel Mütter. I had spaghetti and Michael had a ham sandwich. Then we hiked a mile up, stopping once for more glühwein, to Neuschwanstein. Here we snapped a zillion photos of the famous castle and admired the frescoes of Wagner’s operas on the exterior.
We toured the inside of Neuschwanstein, with no photos allowed. This experience just reminded me of how glad I was that we were on our trip alone, and not with a group. There were probably 80-100 tourists in our group of people, and all of them were loud, rude, and obnoxious. Especially the Americans. We didn’t have a very good time touring the castle because we were so jarred by the tourists’ behavior.
We rejoined the coach and slept on the long bus ride back to Munich. When we arrived, it was late. We went to Hofbräuhaus, a famous brewery founded in 1589. We sat at a long bench with strangers in a casual, loud setting. Traditional Bavarian music was played on stage, tuba and accordion and all, and all the staff wore lederhosen. Michael had a liter of beer—the smallest portion they served—and I had a riesling as usual. We both ordered the roast pork and bread dumplings and had a wonderful time.
We staggered out some hours later and walked to Marienplatz again just in time to hear the Glockenspiel play again. We took some beautiful photos of the square and then walked back to the hotel.
As you can tell, I love the big beers!
ReplyDeleteWho DOESN'T love the big beers? ;-)
ReplyDeleteWhen we visited the Linderhof, they let us take pictures inside. I love those pics of Munich at night.
ReplyDelete