Linderhof Palace

King Ludwig II built Linderhof Palace where he lived longer than in any other palace, including Neuschwan- stein. Linderhof is not a large palace but it is ornate to the extreme. Ludwig admired Louis XIV of France and modeled Linderhof after Versailles. No pictures were allowed of the interior.

The Palace includes every kind of marble you can imagine, countless porcelain figures and vases, and 22- and 24-carat gold leaf. Pictures are of French nobility. 

Ludwig didn't require many servants at Linderhof. He had a system installed so that meals could be prepared in the lower level (basement) and raised through the floor--table and all. So his meals could be served without the presence of servants. 

In one room of the palace, mirrors were so placed that the images were endless. When you look to the right (or to the left) the hallway in the mirror appears to go on forever. 

The grounds around Linderhof include many fountains and statutes and beautiful floral gardens and formal hedges. 

Ludwig, an admirer of the works of Richard Wagner, had a man-made cave built to feature the opera Lohengrin. It included warmed waters on which a small ship shaped like a seashell floated. It also included colored lights, a painted scene from the opera, and a waterfall. It's the largest man-made cave in Germany.

The Cows of Garmisch, Germany

It's important to remember that virtually all rural German villages were primarily agricultural at one time. Garmisch has grown; it is now heavily tourist-oriented. However, in Germany it is still permissible for farmers to have their livestock within the city limits.

So, every evening, cows come into town for milking from pastures on the edge of town and every morning they return to the pastures. This means traveling through what are normally busy city streets in a city like Garmisch. One of the neatest experiences we had in Germany was watching about 30 head of cows walk into town accompanied by their herders. Traffic comes to a halt while the cows walk down the middle of the streets and all seem to know which right or left to take. In addition, every cow wears a bell on its neck so you have a wonderful, melodious parade!

No one in a car rushes the cows. The reason for that is that under German law if you injure or kill a cow, you are liable for a penalty equal to all the milk that cow would produce in its lifetime PLUS all the milk that her potential offspring would produce--an amount in the hundreds of thousands of euros!

Barns in villages like Garmisch are usually the lower level of a residence. In most cases you would never guess from looking at them from the outside that it was a barn. While we were in Garmisch, we have watched farm tractors and equipment go through town routinely, including a tractor pulling a wagonload of manure. 

In our travels so far, German towns are the neatest, cleanest places we've encountered. Everything is painted and fixed up. There is no junk or trash in sight anywhere. Firewood, which can be found in great abundance, is neatly stacked. Flowerpots and hanging baskets are everywhere! 

Modern Pottenstein, Germany

Below the walled ruins of the old city of Pottenstein is a rural German village. It is similar in many ways to other German villages we've passed through. This village sits in a narrow valley. There is a pilgrimage walk in the valley that includes the village. Pilgrims walk from grotto to grotto. 

As you can see, houses are built together so that their eaves form valleys which drain water from between two houses. Farm homes and barns can be found within many of these villages. They are typically three-story buildings. Animals occupy the lowest level, the living and dining area are on the second level, and bedrooms are on the third level. In more rural areas, the barn may be separate from the house. However, the pattern of farmers clustering together into a village and driving their cattle out to graze in the countryside is common. 

Churches are a central feature of all of these villages. In this village you see a church surrounded by a terraced cemetery. 

Pottenstein, Germany

This German village was recom- mended to us by friends in the U. S. military who live in Germany. The old walled city (in the first picture) is unrestored. You can imagine, as you stand on top of the rocky abutment inside of the old walled city, serfs working fields in the valleys and herding livestock on the surrounding hillsides. It provides an excellent example of construction from its time. The city was begun in 918. 

The building on the right in the first picture is a museum which holds artifacts from the entire period of the city's history, from full suits of armor, pikes, and spears to early muskets and cannon. More significantly, perhaps, is that this was the home of St. Elizabeth of Thuringen (St. Elizabeth of Hungary). She was married to a noble who lived in Pottenstein to cement political ties between fiefdoms. She was widowed at 20 and died at 24. She is known for her holiness and her charity, as she gave all her belongings to the poor. 

The building on the left is an excellent example of early post and beam construction. The heavy timbers which form the frame were hand-hewn and are held together by wooden pegs. 

A German Village

As we were driving to meet a friend who is stationed near Weidon, we pulled off the road to give the little boys a break. As we looked around from the rest area, we noticed a walled town on a rise a short distance away in the center of a village. We couldn't even find the name of the town but were intrigued by its quaintness and charm. 

Many of these old walled cities have been turned into tourist attractions. This is a good example. One seldom finds falling down buildings even in these very old cities. This town was

apparently 

established in 1532.

Streets are very narrow and most are two-way streets, including the street through the arch in the second picture! The building in the third picture is old, we know, but we were uncertain what the artwork symbolized.

The final picture is a view of the village that has developed around the old walled city. This part of Germany reminds us a great deal of western Minnesota.

The Griesbrau in Murnow, Germany

The Griesbrau is typical of many local breweries in Germany. Our tour was guided by the brewmeister who is a good teacher but also a very good businessman!

After his informative presentation of the brewing process and opportunities to sample his product, we took a test to see if we remembered the details. We passed the test and each received a 'bierkenner" certificate. 

We also had an excellent meal complete with samples of several of  the Griesbrau beers! 

Ettal Basilica

The date of the endowment and foundation of the Benedictine monastery at Ettal is the 28th of April 1330. Legend is that an angel told the Duke of Bavaria to start a monastery, presented him with a marble statue (now known as the Madonna of Ettal), and told him his horse would give him an indication of the site. The horse supposedly "genuflected" three times in one location and the Duke made the assumption that was the site for the construction of the Basilica. 

The church is of Gothic architecture and, unlike other old churches we have visited in Germany, is very light and airy inside. The second picture depicts the horse kneeling to identify the site. The third picture shows the sanctuary.

The church and attached monastery completely surrounds a large interior courtyard. The entire construction is massive. Today it is a boys' boarding schools with some girls attending day school there. It is a post-high school/pre-college single year program designed for those entering professional college programs. 

The monastery supports itself through a number of undertakings including a brewery, hotel, publishing house, and school.

Southern Tyrol

We spent the morning after our overnight in the pensione exploring the area and letting the children run a bit. We parked near a pear orchard and watched men harvest Bosc pears from really interesting single-pole ladders. Across the street from our parking place was a very large brewery. We hiked over a covered footbridge and explored along the east side of the river. We actually found an RV Park! Apparently, camping with trailers or small RVs is quite common in this area. 

Adam and Isaac really enjoy spending time with their daddy! They also had a great time playing on the edge of the river that the footbridge spanned. 

Sean and Tom are pictured with the river and mountains west of the river in the background. 

We walked around the brewery and had lunch in their biergarten. The picture shows an overhead walkway which connects the brewery and the biergarten. The street beneath was very busy. 

As we were crossing the bridge, four Ferraris stopped beneath the bridge for a brief break before roaring off up the road. The Ferraris were SO colorful--one was black, one red, one yellow, and 

one orange. Not a muted shade among them!

La Pensione in Lana

After a day of touring in northern Italy, we decided it was too late for the drive back through the passes over the Alps to Germany. With the help of a local restauteur, we found a pensione, a small hotel. Driving after dark through very narrow streets to find an unknown location was interesting. Sean drove, Tom navigated and we found our destination easily.

St. Catherine's Street, where our pensione was located, would be a narrow alley in the U.S.A. In Italy, even more than in Germany, we found that every inch of space is utilized. Apple orchards butt right up against buildings, which are inches from streets. 

We were welcomed by a gracious, older couple and shown to our rooms on the second floor. Each family had a bedroom and a bathroom. The place is very neat and well kept. The bed--king sized--included two separate goosedown comforters. VERY comfortable and warm. 

Breakfast was at 8 the next morning. Our hosts served yogurt, eggs, a variety of eggs and meat, as well as coffee and tea.

This part of northern Italy, the Tyrol region, is in the Alps. Even though the slopes are very steep, vineyards cover every inch of ground that is not vertical. Apples seem to be the predominant fruit; however, grapes, hops, and pears are also grown here. We were amazed, given that it is the end of September, at how green the whole area is. 

The Church in Lipitano

On a drive into Italy, we found this medieval church in Lipitano. The church construction was begun in 1420. As you can see in the first picture, the church courtyard is a very interesting graveyard with a great many family plots.

As you can see from the photos, the interior is breathtaking! Paintings cover the entire ceiling and fine wood carvings and metal sculptures cover the walls. The wooden pews have doors at each end sort of like box seats. Kneelers are NOT padded but are well worn.

The church is located in an area that is part of the old walled city. The monastery next to the church is now a music conservatory. We saw children arriving

carrying instruments; the children were always accompan- ied by at least one adult--presumably a parent.

Neuschwanstein Castle

A major tourist attraction in southern Bavaria are two castles of King Ludwig II. Neuschwan- stein Castle is called "The Disney Castle" because of its imposing turrets and its mountaintop location. It was actually started in the 1860s but has never been completed. It was under construction for 17 years and is still missing a major section of the building and a turret. Many of the rooms within the completed parts were not finished. The castle is 12th or 13th century design (late Romanesque).

The King spent a total of 172 days at 

this castle before his mysterious death, shortly after he was declared "mad."  The King was a huge fan of Wagner and his operas; and art work related to the stories the operas tell fills the completed parts of the palace. During the week that we visited the castle, there were nightly concerts featuring Wagner's music. You can imagine the tickets for the limited seating available are nearly impossible to obtain!

The final picture is of Linderhof Palace, where Ludwig actually lived. Although we were close to Linderhof, we did not have time to tour that day.

Oktoberfest in Munich

One could hardly visit Germany during the season of Oktoberfest and not take in the event! We went to the Oktoberfest parade in Munich, which is really homebase for Oktoberfest in Germany. We took a bus from our resort because traffic and parking in Munich during Oktoberfest is insane. We were there on Sunday the 20th of September. Oktoberfest officially opened the preceding Friday. Oktoberfest is a celebration with beer-drinking at its core. 

Every major beer company in Germany has a "tent" at the fairgrounds in Munich. A "tent" is really a very large building with multiple levels for seating (see the first photo). One must have a ticket/reservation to get seated in a tent. A total of seven tents are said to be capable of seating 100,000 people. They were overflowing while we were there. During the Oktoberfest period in Munich 6 million gallons of beer will be consumed. 

Other aspects of Oktoberfest include what we would call a carnival. There is every kind of carnival ride that you can imagine! There were a number that we'd never seen before. 

The other major feature of the festival is food, primarily German specialties such as brats. 

One day during Oktoberfest there is a major parade. This year the parade was on the day we attended. There were MANY bands--we believe most are community bands--however, some included school age participants. There are also many huge horses pulling wagons from the primary beer distillers. All of the large well-known beer companies, such as Lowenbrau, had six-horse hitches very much like our Budweiser teams in the parade. Each was more impressive than the next!

The view from the top of Germany

From the Edelweiss resort we drove a short distance to a train station, rode the train up the mountain-side and through a long tunnel to a ski resort on Zugspitze. 

Zugspitze is the highest point in Germany at 2962 meters. 

The railroad we traveled on goes specifically to Zugspitze through a number of small villages. After the second stop, the train traveled on a track with a center cog rail. The climb from this point to the top of the mountain is VERY steep for a train. The last part of the ride was through a tunnel that continued to slant steeply upward. The train stopped near the top of the mountain, just at the end of the tunnel. 

To reach the mountain top, we took a cable car across a small valley. At the top, we explored the countryside and watched Sean climb to the cross marking the absolute highest point in Germany. The first picture shows all of us in the foreground with the cross/peak in the background. A climbing trail had been developed from the observation deck to the cross. It was a trail with steps and handrails in place. Nevertheless, it was somewhat treacherous. Sean climbed across and up to the marker as shown in Picture 2. 

Picture 3 shows the cable car descent to Eibsee, a lake and village, 7000 feet below the peak of Zugspitze.

The Garmisch-Partenkirchen Area

Garmisch sits at the foot of the Alps in the German state of Bavaria. As we drove into the area on Wednesday via the autobahn, we encountered picture postcard scenes that nostalgically reminded Anita of one of her favorite childhood books, Heidi. 

The first picture shows the mountains and the small farms near the resort.  The rock wall in the foreground in the picture surrounds the resort. 

Tourism is a major industry in the area. Parasailing (as shown in the second picture) is a major sport. Winter sports, especially skiing, are huge! 

The city of Garmisch is clean and orderly...and beautiful! All of Bavaria we've seen so far is the same. Buildings, even older buildings, are well maintained; there are flowers everywhere.

We've had a number of opportu-

nities to sample authentic German foods. We won't leave Germany hungry! This could be harder on our diet than our cruise from Alaska. How do you pass up apple strudel...or how often...?