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.