We have a soft spot for Munich as we have been there many times and love visiting our friend Renate who used to teach at Timbertop in Victoria. She now lives south west of the city of Munich very close to the train station so travelling to the city is a breeze.
We flew out of London's Gatwick Airport which, from Earl's Court, is a bit tricky to get to as the London Underground doesn't go there. Laurie had researched this problem and found the EasyBus company which pick up from West Brompton about 20 minute walk from home. We subsequently discovered we could take the bus from right outside our house to within a five minute walk so that's what we did this time. EasyBus is an off shoot of the company EasyJet which provides low cost fares all over Europe. The bus trip was a journey of an hour at the very reasonable fare of 17 pounds return for the two of us which converts to about $A27. Imagine Mansfield Mt Buller BusLines providing two people a return journey from Mansfield to Mt Buller for $27!!
Back in Munich Renate met us at the airport which was fantastic as we didn't have to think about trains to catch etc. Her fabulous house at Ebenhausen, is the top storey and superbly located for easy access everywhere pretty well.
Renate's lovely home during our stay - before and after snow
We'd forgotten how fantastic German breakfasts can be. Our stay at Renate's was punctuated by fantastic meals. Our breakfasts consisted of wonderful breads, croissants, variety of cheeses, different meats and brewed coffee. With this great start to the day we headed for Munich on the Sbahn to wander through the Marienplatz, various beautiful churches, the open air market and of course the Munich Hofbrauhaus.
Laurie & Renate bonding :-) over a fabulous Bavarian breakfast and then the market
The Munich market and then a visit to the famous Hofbrauhaus
The marienettes in Marienplatz
One of the amazing towers at Frauen Kirche and the beautiful interior
The Devil's Footprint
The story of the devil's footprint says the architect of the church, Jรถ
rg von Halsbach, told the devil that he would not be able to see a window from inside the church. Because of this promise the devil said he would help build it. When the church was completed the architect reportedly took the devil to a section of the church where no windows could be seen. The churchgoers would sit in a different area where there was light from a window. When the devil found out he stamped his foot with such force itleft an imprint in the stone floor which is still there today!
On returning home from our day in Munich Renate suggested dinner in a nearby restaurant which is about a 10 minute walk from her house. On the way it started snowing and in the few street lights it looked beautiful. While we were eating the snow kept on bucketing down and the landscape looked so different from our walk up to the restaurant.
One of the things we'd hoped to do while in Bavaria was to return to the Zugspitze, at 2962 metres, is Germany's highest mountain. We hadn't been able to make the ascent in 2007 due to cloudy weather. The weather forecast this trip wasn't too flash either although early afternoon in the mountains was reported to expect sunny periods. We headed off anyway hoping it would clear a little. And it did.
Pictured from the cable car the frozen Eibsee at the base of the Zugspitze
The views were magnificent. The mountain straddles the German/Austrian border so at one point in the building at the top, you walk from Germany into Austria. There are no border controls these days.
On top of the Zugspitze. There's a pattern emerging here! Ah my turn for a hug :-)
Through to the Brenner Pass and Sydney 16,504 kms away
One of the amazing ski runs on the mountain and one of the craggy outlooks from the lookout on top.
Climbers queue for their short abseil down the rocky cliff of the Zugspitze
We couldn't believe our luck with the weather. We headed back down the mountain in the cablecar and then opted for a walk along the Eibsee which was just gorgeous. Surprisingly there were several people walking on the frozen lake. The ice really didn't seem thick enough for our liking so we didn't venture very far. It was a lovely walk along the edge of the lake and although we were going to walk around it, the hour of the day was a bit late so we turned back.
The path winds its way around the lake - about two hour walk.
Ehrwald and the Zugspiste from Ehrwald
After our walk we returned to the car and headed for Ehrwald, just over the Austrian border, to fill up with fuel which is substantially cheaper than in Germany.
Linderhof Castle
After such a great day on the Zugspitze we could only hope for decent weather to visit mad King Ludwig’s smallest castle, Linderhof Palace about an hour south of Munich, in a similar location to yesterday’s excursion.
Linderhof Castle and Renate sitting on the wall in front of the Temple of Venus
This castle was created to emulate the great palaces of France as Ludwig idolised King Louis XIV of France, the sun King!
The interior of the palace was in stark contrast to the weather on the day. Gray and dank outside, the interior has incredibly opulent decor, full of Meissen candleabras, over 100 beautiful vases, gold leaf gilt everywhere. Superbly rich colours, royal blues (of course), deep reds and gold everywhere. I cannot adequately describe the ornateness of this palace. Incredibly beautiful tapestries and paintings everywhere. Themed on France of course. No photographs allowed inside though. There are a few at this website to give you an idea http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linderhof_Palace
The particularly amazing thing about the palace apart from its opulence is a room called the Hall of Mirrors. Mirrors have been installed on opposite sides of the room and if you stand in the middle between them it appears there is a hall way leading into the distance. Of course reflecting the chandelier and gilt frames ate. Quite spectacular. The King’s bedroom is, as expected, incredibly extravagant. A huge bed, quite high, as he was quite tall.
We were fortunate to be the only group in the English speaking tour guided by a very knowledgeable young lady.
Outside the gardens are also modelled on the French idea of sweeping space from the front. Ludwig described it as his Verseille. Although covered in snow the lines of the design were clear. Unfortunately the gold statues decorating the garden were enclosed in wooden boxes to protect them from the harsh winters’ experienced here.
The terrace up to the Temple of Venus, located on the opposite side if the little valley to the castle
With a beautiful lake, complete with swans, walks through the forest the garden is lovely even though we couldn’t see it properly because of the snow. St Ann’s Chapel perched majestically on a little hill is just lovely. Opposite the castle high on another hill is the Temple of Venus.
St Anne's Chapel and a little further down, the little ornamental lake complete with swans
All in all a worthwhile visit if ever you get the chance.
Andechs Monastery
Next day we headed for Andechs Monastery for lunch. This is an amazing place perched on a hill not too far from Munich. It is a mecca for the locals and visitors alike and we were happy to slot in to the pattern and visit for the third time. This visit showed us they have done a lot of work on the building and eating area. The food however is still the same which is OK because it is fantastic. There’s nothing like a roasted pork knuckle and sauerkraut.
Andechs Monestery and Laurie and Renate being cheeky
The alter at the chapel
The detail - just beautiful
Last day in Munich
Renate's car, house and street on the last morning after snowing most of the night
We went for a long walk along the Isar Canel south of Munich.
A little path took us through the snowy forest to beautiful Lake Stausee
The Isar Canal where it runs into the Isar River
Next day we returned to England and a side trip to Andover in Hampshire to visit friends and on to New Milton to visit another family friend then Cornwall to Doc Martin country, Port Isaac (alias Port Wenn).
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