August 28, 2015

August 28, 2015

We checked out of our hotel in Munich and picked up a rental car.  Our goal over the next week is to explore Bavaria, not easy if we stick to trains only.  From Munich we caught the Autobahn headed south.

An hour later we exited and drove through small towns to the World Heritage site of Wieskirche.  This pilgrimage church was still having a mass so we participated until it was over.  Even if I could have understood German, I couldn’t have followed the Mass.  My mind was focused on the interior.  It was gorgeous, decorated in the late Baroque, over-the-top Rococo style.  The all-white interior had a ceiling painted with a blue fresco and the walls were ornamented in gold leaf.  During the Reformation, Bavaria was the hotbed of Catholic fidelity to the pope.  Whereas northern churches were getting rid of statues and ornamentation, Baroque and Rococo was the Catholic Church's Counter Reformation response showing the power and splendor of the church.

Our next Bavarian stop was nearby Oberammergau. This little town is famous for putting on a Passion Play since the Middle Ages. The townspeople promised to do this if they were spared from the plague. Unfortunately we are a little early.  It is only performed every decade and the next one is not until 2020. Oberammergau is also famous for woodcarvers.  We strolled through a few shops. While some artisans are working on monumental pieces, most of the action is in smaller tourist items, especially nutcrackers and cuckoo clocks.  Some of the cuckoo clocks are large and very intricate.  Alas they also come with a hefty price tag.

Ettal Monastery is on the outskirts of town.  We stopped there, ate our lunch, and then visited the Basilica.  It is large and similar to the Rococo decoration of Wieskirche.  We sat and admired it for a few minutes and then continued our Bavarian tour.

Our next stop was six miles away at Linderhof Palace.  Bavaria is well known for its dreamy castles built by Mad King Ludwig II. He built several fantasy castles in the second half of the 19th century. Linderhof is the one he lived in most frequently.  We have to take a guided tour with no photos allowed of the interior. Linderhof is probably not much bigger than our house, but it is definitely something special. It is hard to describe but no money was spared on its decoration. The master bedroom has a window with a view out to a huge waterfall cascade.  The living room has mirrors along the wall situated so it looks like there are an infinite number of reflections. The paintings have carvings so the characters look like they are climbing out of the pictures.  What Aimee and I really like is that this is the first palace that didn’t take several hours to tour.

We finished our day driving to Hohenschwangau in the foothills of the Alps.  To get there we had to drive a very narrow winding road through the mountains that had lots of two way traffic. We passed a teal colored alpine lake and even dipped into Austria.  We saw heavy traffic leaving Hohenshwangau as we pulled in.  That is why we are staying right in town.  Our hotel has a view of Mad King Ludwig’s most famous castle, Neuschwanstein.