Schloss Linderhof and Garmisch-Partenkirchen (7/3/2019)

Wednesday, July 3, 2019
Because of the difficulty in finding a reasonable hotel, we knew today would be a long day as we had farther to go.

View from hotel window

Hotel breakfast

Typical house in Linderhof village

We took a bit of a detour to see another of Ludwig II's castles/palaces, arriving early enough for the first tour in English at 9:20.

Schloss/Castle Linderhof (1870-1872 by Georg Dollman in Neo-Rococo/
2nd Rococo style) is more of a palace/Royal Lodge on the site of
a hunting lodge for Maximilian II, Ludwig II's father

No photos allowed in Linderhof. Ludwig II was an admirer of King Louis XIV, the Sun King of France 200 years before Ludwig's time. Linderhof was inspired by the French Court, and everything in it was French with plenty of fleurs-de-lis. Most interior paintings depicted scenes from French history or the life of Louis XIV and Louis XV. Ceiling paintings and tapestries had subjects from Greek mythology. Portraits were of French aristocracy. There was that same dining table system that allowed the table to be raised from the level below. Linderhof was a retreat for Ludwig II into the world of French royalty. It was more impressive than Neuschwanstein!

Water parterre with fountain of Flora and putti/cherubs,
stairs leading up to the Temple of Venus, with a single
huge linden tree on the R (its twin on the L did not survive)

Chapel of St Anna (1684)

Western parterre

Fountain of Fama, goddess of fame (KSS)

Star landscaping and entrance to the arbor

The arbor was a semi-circle behind Linderhof (KSS)

Music Pavilion (KSS)

The Music Pavilion was to have the "best view"
(unfortunately the cascade behind the palace was under renovation)

The "must see" Venus Grotto Theater was also under renovation;
this is a photo from a signboard

The detour pathway around the Venus Grotto construction

Maurischer Kiosk/Moorish Kiosk (originally created for the
World Exhibition in Paris in 1867, purchased by Ludwig II in 1876)
was decorated so that Ludwig II could pretend to be sultan

Moorish Kiosk interior

Typical byway shrine

Now seemed to be the time to mow fields, use this farm implement
to rake the grass into ridges, to later be baled (KSS)

A reconstruction of Hundingshütte/Hunding's Hut (1876, then 1884),
which was modeled on Hunding's dwelling in the first act of
the Walküre/Valkyrie from the Wagner opera, Ring des Nibelungen

Ludwig II would come here to "rough it" (KSS)

The hut is known for having a tree in the center,
originally it was a real live tree

We made our way to the Temple of Venus

You can barely see the Music Pavilion up the
other side, where we were earlier

Between Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein yesterday, and Linderhof today, we climbed over 100 flights of stairs!

Water parterre view of Linderhof

Marokanisches Haus/Moroccan House was acquired at the
World Exhibition in Paris in 1878 and redecorated inside for Ludwig II

Moroccan House interior

We continued along the Alpenstrasse/Alpine Road to Garmisch-Partenkirchen, two towns that were amalgamated for the 1936 Winter Olympics.

A brand new "green" boutique hotel, Werdenfelserei

Fürstenstraße at Im Winkl, Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Frühlingsstraße patio with driftwood sculptures

Frühlingsstraße backyard with garden hut

Frühlingsstraße of chalet-style houses

Kent with a Bavarian gentleman

Tamiko with a Bavarian lady (KSS)

Some Lüftlmalerei/Façade painting

Garmischer Wetterstoa/Garmisch Weather Barometer

To forecast the weather, note the condition of the stone: If wet, it means rain; if white, it means snow, etc!

Covered bridge over the Loisach River

Loisachstrasse houses

Lunch at Bräustüberl/Brewpub Garmisch,
with the waiter wearing Bavarian Loferl/calf warmers
(traditional and worn only with Lederhosen!)

Nürnberger Würstchen/Nuremberger sausages with Sauerkraut

Bavarian dish called Tafelspitz/Top Dish; beef brisket
and vegetables served with grated Meerrettich/horseradish

Kent declined going to Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany. At the summit (which was higher before the Nazis blew off the top in World War II), you cross into Austria (but, this is not the highest mountain in Austria!).
Next: Mittenwald, Murnau, and Bad Tölz.