Oberammergau, Germany Sunday, August 5, 2012

Breakfast

There was one cow in the meadow this morning making a ruckus with his mooing echoing off the mountain walls. I closed the window and slept a little more. We are in no rush this morning as the bus to Linderhof Castle does not leave the station until 1035. I forgot to mention that from dinner time to this morning, it rained. It rained quite hard last night and is quite cloudy this morning. We get to breakfast around 0830 and it is a nice spread of cold cuts, cheese, hard boiled eggs colored like we do at Easter, cereal, yoghurt, and fresh fruit. They bring a nice pot of coffee to your table and there is juice as well.

Carol and Father Ron

After eating, we stop to talk some more with Sid and Father Ron. A little more history of the area and discussion about King Ludwig and we are on our way. The bus is on time and it takes about a half hour to drive to the castle. It is a nice ride and by the time we get there the clouds are lifting and there is a little sun peaking through. We had told Sid and Father Ron about what we call the Zerilli Luck. In all our years of travel with the kids and on our own we have probably only been rained on all day like 5 times. Even hiking the Colorado trail, all we had to do was put on our ( anti) rain gear and it would clear up. Seems like it is holding up on this trip as well.

In Front of the Palace

We go the ticket window and get an 1120 tour so only a 15 minute wait. Linderhof Castle does not look like a castle at all. It is more of a palace. It is the only castle of King Ludwig’s that was finished in his lifetime. He spent his last 8 years here, coming at least 2 weeks every month. He mostly lived here alone, rarely entertaining guests. The tour was very nice giving us more insight into the King. He had a dinner table that could be pre set with dishes and food and then raised from the floor below so he did not have to see his servants and could eat alone. The rooms were modeled after Versailles, and his bed room looked out at a fountain and up a series of waterfalls. There was also a hall of mirrors which used mirrors to make it look like there was a never ending hall in front of you. Apparently, you can try this at home with just two mirrors.

Lovely Design

The highlight for us was the gardens. The Castle gardens are incredible and vast. Geometrics gardens, fountains, and pools surround the castle. In addition to them there are several buildings along paths through the woods with different motifs and themes. There are huts from stage sets of Wagners operas. The king was friends with Wagner and a great admirer of him. We walked to the grotto, an artificial cave the king had built. It had a lake which could be heated so the king could swim in it. A huge painting shows a scene from a Wagner opera and the swan boat from it. The king could sit in the boat and become part of the opera. In 1878, it was installed with lighting in which the colors could be changed by replaceable discs. This was the first electricity installed in Bavaria. They played some Wagner music while we were in there and the acoustics were phenomenal.

Peacock Throne

We saw several more buildings as we walked, but the peacock throne in the Moorish Kiosk was the highlight. It was quite astonishing. I do not know if King Ludwig was mad, but I could see why he liked to spend his time in this place.
We finished our walk around the grounds and rode the bus back to town. We visited the Oberammergau Church. It was a very beautiful small church. There was a kiosk with a computerized tour that explained all the various alters, statues, and paintings in the church.
When we were done, we strolled a little through town and then worked our way back to the hotel. Sid was sitting on the back patio and we stopped to chat for a while and then he went to get his car keys to take us to the Weiskirche. I think this stood for church in the meadow which is exactly where it sat out in the country. The ride over was beautiful although there were some pretty menacing clouds building around us.

Wieskirche

We got to the church and went inside. It is a huge domed church and done in the Rococo style. I asked Sid what Rococco was and he said it was a period of time when things were built in a particular style. This style is very ornate and elaborate, with gold trimmings and many other exquisite features. While we were in the church, it stormed quite hard outside but by the time we got out, it was just lightly raining.
Sid wanted to take us to another church that Eric had mentioned he liked better than the Weiskirche, so we drove over to the small town of Rottenbuch to see it. This church was not dome like and because it was smaller had a much more intimate feel to it. It was also done in the Rococo style and was very beautiful. Unlike the Weiskirche, we were the only ones in it. Very nice.

Sid and Carol

When we exited the church, Sid was talking about a small cafe up the street where he had spent some time last year. They were just recently opened at that time. He had told us that there was a waiter there named Charlie, and there was something odd about him. This meant that he was nothing like me!
Sid told us that he said he was the owner, Lena’s husband but she had told him that he was a boyfriend. Sid also said that he only spoke English being from America and would not even try to speak German to the German guests which was awkward. Sid wanted to stop by the cafe, so we walked over for some cappuccino.
The owner, Lena remembers Sid, and even more amazing to him is that her father Walter remembers him also. Sid had not realized that Walter was her father. Crazier yet, he had heard Sid ask Lena about Charlie who no longer was around. Walter came over and opened up to Sid that Charlie was in jail. He had stolen over 900 Euros from them, Charlie was not his real name, and he was not American but German. Sounded like a real con man who had apparently been in jail before for similar things. You could see that he had really hurt Lena and thus Walter too.

Erik and Carol

After another great meal, boiled beef which tastes much better than it sounds and curry schnitzel, followed by apple strudel, we were invited to sit own with Father Ron and Sid. Sharing some wine and more great conversation, we were holding the dining room hostage until past 1030.
Not knowing if we would see them the next morning, we said our heartwarming goodbyes. We meant it when we had told them that they truly enriched our travels. We hope we will stay in touch as we exchanged information. They still have all of August here and we can see why they like it so much. We wish them well in their journeys.
A special thank you to Sid for taking us around in his car to two wonderful places that we would not have seen otherwise. One we had heard of in the Weiskirche and the other, Rottenbuch, that was a total surprise for us. Thank you again, Sid, and based on the title, older brothers do not always get to be first!
CNC

Expenses
3.10E- Beer on the patio
1E- Parking
6.20E-2 beers
67.60E-Hotel and dinner

Miles Walked- 5.85 miles