Ettal

If the Romantic Road wasn't scenic enough for us, on Sunday, we took an incredibly scenic route to Ettal. We had plans to see Schloss Linderhof and Ettal Abbey. So we set off. And our GPS asked us if we wanted to avoid a road that was closed. And we said yes. She apparently didn't care.  

We ended up driving along this incredibly picturesque road, winding around in a valley along side a gorgeous lake with mountains looming up all around us. We stopped so often for photos, we probably could have walked faster. But it was gorgeous and we didn't really have to be anywhere by any time so we kept stopping. Then, when we were about 3km away from Schloss Linderhof, there was a road block. The road was closed. So we reprogrammed the GPS and got sent on an 86km route for something that was literally minutes away. ARGH! It ended up taking us nearly two and a half hours to make what should have been a 45 minute drive but the mountain/lakeside road was probably worth it.  

Eventually, we made it to Linderhof. It's the only palace that Ludwig II had built that was finished in his lifetime. And it was a palace for one. No guest rooms, only one chair at the dining room table.  He was very shy, becoming more so as he got older, to the point that he didn't know want servants around so his table was built on a platform that could be lowered into the kitchen, loaded up and sent back up to Ludwig without him having to see anyone. His fireplaces weren't proper fireplaces. They were actually vents for hot air to be pushed up to him from below - no servants needed to tend to the fires that way.  Ludwig also had a secret grotto built where he could go and chill out, listening to opera music and having servants row him around his artificial lake in a sea shell boat. Seriously. It was heated and had a waterfall and had coloured lights. It was something else.  

From there, we headed back into Ettal, where Schloss Linderhof is closest to and after lunch, we wandered around the abbey where the big claim to fame is the liquor that the monks make. They make several kinds and I believe the monk we spoke with told us the recipe they use dates back to the 12th century. The basilica was also a sight to see, there were even trees growing under the dome. But really, the liquor is the big draw. 

The Romantic Road

The Romantic Road is a totally, 100% marketing ploy. It was created in the 1950's as a way to get more tourism to the area. That being said, it's pretty great.

We left Rothenburg on Saturday morning and headed down the Romantic Road. It was very scenic - much nicer than the autobahn - kind of like a winding country road with lots of tiny villages to drive through. One of my favourite things to see was the bright poppies growing all along the side of the road. Way better than the dandelions or milk weed you see in Canada. We stopped in Harburg to see Harburg Castle, which is one of the oldest, undamaged castles in Germany. The castle has been set up so that you can wander the grounds or take a tour that leads you along the castle walls and into various rooms, which is a neat way of letting people see the grounds without paying for a tour, if they like. The sun was shining on us so we had a lovely visit before climbing back in the car and continuing on our way.

We did pull over a few times on the trip to take some photos. It's hard not to when, especially when you get into the mountains and when the Germans have helpfully put places to pull your car into along the side of the road with decent frequency. We did have a few instances where the signage for the Romantic Road wasn't clear and we managed to get on the wrong path but the biggest problem came when one of the roads was closed entirely. From that point, since we were nearing the end, we just took a regular highway into Fussen, our final destination for the day. As we were heading into Fussen, we got our first glimpse of Neuschwanstein. The day had clouded over by that point so it wasn't a great look but it was exciting to see it just appear on a mountain. We certainly weren't the only car on the side of the road along that stretch. 

Once in Fussen, there was no escaping the rain, so we relaxed in our hotel bar with some overly generous glasses of wine before heading off to a delicious Italian dinner, complete with tartufo. The Bavarian food (and wine!) has been delicious but it was a nice change of pace. 

Rothenburg and Wurzburg

After Dachau, we headed up to Rothenburg, a very popular tourist town that looks pretty much like Shrek could be your neighbour if you lived here. We headed inside the walls of the old city and became exchanted with the picturesque buildings. The city has amazing gates and watch towers with the most medieval of buildings inside. Rothenburg was a very rich city in its heyday since it was at the intersection of two major trade routes and because it had such abundant harvests they could export. However, the trade routes moved and Rothenburg never needed to stay up-to-date with its technology, leading to the beautifully persevered state it's in now. It became a very fashionable tourist spot in the 1800s, so much so that when part of the town was destroyed in the war, they were able to raise money from around the world to help restore it. 

We learned this on our tour with the Night Watchman, which was awesome.  George, the last remaining night watchman in the city took us on a walking tour to share the city's history with us. It was awesome.  He was dry and sarcastic and has such a wonderful intonation that you didn't even notice the other 98 people on the tour (seriously - I bet there was at least 100.) 

Today, we headed up to Wurzburg, where we took in the Residence, which has been beautifully restored after pretty much being destroyed during WWII. There are many photos of the city as just shell after shell of buildings - about 87% of the city was destroyed in under 20 minutes just before the end of the war as some Nazis were hiding out there. The work that went into restoring the building is amazing and they've included displays of photos of the work being done, along with how things looked after the bombing. From there, we walked to the Alte Mainbrucke and up to the Festung Marienberg, the fortress where the prince bishops originally lived. We cut our wandering short as the rains rolled in, getting drenched on our way back to the car. 

We got back to Rothenburg early this aft and after a restful nap, we went back into the walled city to walk the city walls, where there are inscriptions of everyone who helped fund the restoration. I believe you can still purchase space on the wall for the low price of €1,200. Then, it was on to a pre-dinner schnapps and another traditional meal. Tomorrow, we're heading off down the Romantic Road to see Harburg Castle and make our way to Fussen. But now, it's time for some sleep. 

Dachau

Yesterday started with a trip to Dachau, which was the model for all other concentration camps. The camp is large, as expected, and our audio guides took us through the camp from arrival to the crematorium.

Because of expected rain, we didn't follow the route in order but started with the crematorium. It started pouring pretty much as we got inside and it quickly became a popular spot to wait out the rain. While nothing like the overcrowding that would have actually happened at Dachau, it was an unsettling feeling. Dachau claims to have never used their gas chamber for mass killings but there is one and I think the general consensus is that it was used. There are also several graves where thousands are buried (and the graves are not large) as well as two places where executions where carried out (I think one was firing squad and the other for hangings.). The barracks are no longer standing but the foundations are still in place, plus two reconstructed barracks, one of which shows the progression of the barracks over the years. They get more and more cramped as time passes. And while originally built for around 50 people, they held up to 450. 

The original maintenance building has been turned into a museum where you learn more about particular prisoners, life at the camp, the progression of SS officials, and the eventual liberation of the camp. It's been open for quite a long time and was created with the input of camp survivors. The memorial out from, in the roll-call square, is very large and prominent, as you would expect. Generally, the camp is a tribute to survivors as opposed to a grisly history, focussing on the people who were there. It was an experience that will stay with me for a long time.  

Munich

We arrived in Munich on Tuesday morning after our overnight flight from Toronto. It was an uneventful flight, which is always nice, and after catching a train into the city, we got settled into our hotel and headed out to see Schloss Nymphenburg, a summer residence of Bavarian rulers. It's Great Hall was pret impressive but what was really mind blowing was the carriage museum. It had many of the carriages used by various kings, queens and princes, including a few used for coronations that were really elaborate, entirely covered in gold. The grounds of the palace are really extensive and open to the public. There are formal gardens right outside the palacios, itself, but also extensive wooded areas with paths and four pavilions used by the rulers to get even further away from it all.  It was raining lightly and I had forgotten my umbrella but we made it to all four. They were very impressive on their own - one had an indoor swimming pool and another was built to look like ruins and had a grotto inside. 

From there, we headed back to our hotel before heading out to dinner. We landed at a packed restaurant where I had a sampling of three different kinds of dumplings and EDP had duck and pork. A kindly gentleman sitting near us advised EDP what to do with the sauce that came with his meal - and even interrupted a bit later to insist EDP put the sauce on his dumpling since it would be too dry without it. We finished with a type of apple pancake, which was quite tasty, and then headed back for a good night's rest. 

On Wednesday morning, we started at Alte Pinakothek, an art museum with an extensive Rubens collection, including one painting that is one of the largest paintings in Europe. The building was actually designed to fit the painting and it hangs in the best spot in the gallery and has never been moved. It also houses the first known Da Vinci, which was exciting to see. From there, we went to Marienplatz to catch the glockenspiel before sitting down for some lunch at a cafe with a very impressive dessert selection. I took the recommendation of the gentleman behind the counter and it was delicious, though I'm not really clear what it was. As we left, he tried to convince me to take a piece to go but we still had things to see.

And that thing was the Munich Residence. We started at the Cuvillies Theatre, which was built in the 1750's but destroyed in WWII. Before the war, someone had thought to store the interior in a safe place so they just reinstalled it in another building. Sadly, there were no performances happening while we were in Munich, but we were able to go into the theatre to take a look and it was beautiful. After that, it was into the Residence Museum. And wow, I don't think I've ever been in a palace where so much of it was open to the public. It felt like every king built his own apartments and all were on display. There were some highlights - like the Antiquarium and the Ornate Rooms and the Imperial Hall - but after a while, it all started looking alike. 

We headed back to the hotel after that, stopping in a shop that we thought was a liquor store but when we got inside, we decided it was like German Williams Sonoma. But then it turned into German Lee Valley. And German Staples. And German Home Hardware. And several other shops. All rolled into one. It was quite the store. We then headed out for dinner, which was pizza. We ordered a sampler pizza meant to feed 3-4 people. The waitress seemed concerned when we ordered it and asked if we were sure. We were. It had four kinds of pizza - cheese, margherita, salami and prosciutto & mushroom. It was SOOO GOOD. We polished off all but three pieces of the 36 pieces it was cut into. Then we stopped for some ice cream where I had a delicious chocolate and EDP had an amazing apricot and basil. It was a good way to end a few days in Munich. 

This morning, we picked up our rental car and headed north. It's been a long day and I'm nodding off as I type so I'll have to pick this back up again tomorrow after a good night's sleep. Auf Wiedersehen! 

So.... I'm going to Germany tomorrow?

Yep, true story.  At this time tomorrow, we'll be packing up the car and heading to the airport for an exciting adventure in the Bavarian Alps, driving the Romantic Road and German Alpine Road.

We've had this planned for a while - booked flights back in February, roughed out an itinerary & hotels in March...  Yet somehow, I haven't had the chance to sit down and really do the final planning until this week.  And really, most of it was today.

So what's the plan?  Well, we leave tomorrow for Munich, landing around 10 on Tuesday.  We'll check in to our hotel and spend the next day and a half in Munich, checking out The Residenz Munchen (home of Bavarian Monarchs), Nymphenburg Palace (summer home), Alte Pinakothek (one of the oldest art galleries in the world), and Marienplatz (the main square where the Rathaus-Glockenspiel is).  There's also a dessert place I'm pretty interested in finding.  

From Munich, we're heading to Dachau to visit the concentration camp.  It was one of the first concentration camps to open in Germany, originally intended for political prisoners but ultimately  housed over 200,000 prisoners from all over Europe, of whom, 41,500 were murdered.

After Dachau, we're heading onto the Romantic Road up to Rothenburg ob der Tauber - a village rumoured to look exactly like the village in Shrek (though, I presume it's not animated.)  The Romantic Road isn't really as delightful as it sounds - it was dreamt up by some travel agents in the 1950's but does take you through a number of quaint towns.  We're not doing the whole thing but we will get to Rothenburg where I'm looking forward to trying as many of the varieties of snowballs I can get my hands on and we're going to take an evening tour of the village.  We're also driving up to Würzburg, which is the northern most city on the route where we'll take in their  Residence, which was commissioned by some prince-bishops, and the city's fortress.  

After Würzburg, it's over to Harburg to visit their castle, which is one of the most impressive medieval castles in Germany.  It is one of the oldest castles that wasn't damaged in the war and has the claim to fame that Michael Jackson once tried to buy it.  I'm not making that up.  

Harburg will lead us to Hohenschwangau where there are two castles that were fairly important to Ludwig II.  One is Hohenschwangau Castle, which was his childhood home and the other is Neuschwanstein, which Ludwig had built as a retreat and a homage to Wagner.  But, more interesting, it's the castle that Walt Disney used as the inspiration for the castle in Sleeping Beauty.  I, obviously, am referring to it only as Sleeping Beauty's castle.  There are also some hiking trails in the area that we're trying to figure out how to get on to, since the famous Marienbrücke bridge is closed for repairs and the gorge isn't accessible due to rock slides.  

That's the end of the Romantic Road so we're then picking up the German Alpine Road, which winds through the Alps.  Again, we're not doing everything, just a small piece of it.  We'll visit the Ettal Abbey which was founded on my birthday, except in 1330 instead of the 1980s.  Another Ludwig had it built and is pretty famous for it's beauty.  There's also a distillery and brewery on site, so I think this Ludwig and I would have been friends.  We're also visiting Schloss Linderhof, which is another palace that Ludwig II built.  It sounds like it is the most beautiful of the three Ludwig II castles we're visiting so I'm really looking forward to it.  We're also going to visit the little village of Oberammergau, which is known for the Passion Play that it puts on every ten years.  Our visit does not coincide with the next production.  But they are well-known for their woodcarving and frescoes on the buildings.  So that should be fun to see.

After that, we're going to spend a day hiking in the Partnach Gorge and then another day heading over the Austrian border to see the Eisreisenwelt ice cave.  Then, it's back to Munich to catch a flight home.

Oh, and you can bet your bottom dollar that I'll be eating as much Black Forest Cake and German Chocolate Cake (though, I assume it's just called chocolate cake there) as I can get my hands on.  It should be an excellent trip.  Now I just need to finish packing.