Day 12 - Wednesday May 26, 1999 - Munich, Germany: After paying the 30ATS rail ticket supplement, I took the early 9AM train from Salzburg to Munich, the trip took about 1½ hours. I headed to the EurAide office in the train station, they provided me with a map of the city, directions to my hotel, directions on how to get to Herrenchiemsee Castle by train, and sold me tickets for a one day bus tour to visit Linderhof Castle, Oberammergau, and Neuschwanstein Castle (78 DM). My hotel was within walking distance of the train station so I headed out to the Hotel Bristol at 2 Pettenkoferstrasse, 129 DM per night with breakfast included. I was using Munich as a convenient home base from which to explore the castles built by Mad King Ludwig II, so unfortunately I did not have the time to visit much of the city itself. I arrived at my hotel, and although the furnishings were a bit worn, the room was pleasant, and clean with a nice size modern bathroom.

My goal today was to visit Mad King Ludwig II's Herrenchiemsee Castle, the king built this castle on an island named Herreninsel (Man's Island) that is in the middle of the Chiemsee, the largest lake in Bavaria. Herreninsel is the largest of three islands on the Chiemsee, the next largest island is named Fraueninsel (Woman's Island), and the smallest island is named Krautinsel (Cabbage Island). Thus, I headed back to the train station to catch the train to the small town of Prien that lies southeast of Munich, Prien is the nearest train stop to the Chiemsee. I got off the train, and purchased a round-trip ticket for a small green 19th century train (it looks like a kiddie ride train) that takes you to the edge of the lake, and then on a ferry boat out to Herreninsel. It was another nice warm sunny day, and there were a lot of locals with their kids around the lake. The Chiemsee is very large, and picturesque because it is totally surrounded by green mountains with many sailboats dotting its calm dark waters. I boarded the large ferry boat that takes you out to the islands in the middle of the lake along with the rest of the crowd. The first stop is Fraueninsel, shortly followed by Herreninsel, I got off the boat, and headed towards the castle walking on a long winding trail that is surrounded by very thick, and lush green woods. After about 15 minutes the trail lead me out onto the castle's garden grounds to a magnificent view of the castle, and its water fountains all spouting huge jets of water into the sky, a beautiful sight. My only disappointment was due to the scaffolding that was covering up about half of the castle's facade, still it was a very impressive sight. King Ludwig II built Herrenchiemsee Castle from 1878 to 1884 as a replica of Versailles in honor of the Sun King of France, Louis XIV, whom he greatly admired. It was the last of the three grand castle projects he started, Neuschwanstein Castle being the first, and Linderhof Castle the second. Unfortunately, Ludwig ran out of money, and he was only able to build the central U-shaped section of the castle without the two side wings. However, Ludwig did outdo Louis by making his Hall of Mirrors longer than the one at Versailles at 100 yards long, its many chandeliers contain 2200 candles, and it takes about 15 minutes to light them all. The garden grounds are much smaller than those at Versailles, nonetheless the gardens are very impressive with the large round central Latona Fountain out front facing a grass clearing framed by tall trees that leads to the edge of the lake at the far end. The Latona Fountain is based on the similar fountain at Versailles, it is named for the white marble statue of Leto on the top level, she was the mother of Artemis, and her twin brother Apollo. The four lower levels of this magnificent fountain have a myriad of frogs, tortoises, and fish all spouting water from their open mouths. Following the Latona Fountain up a set of stairs onto the terrace of the castle are two other water fountains with bronze statues spouting large streams of water up into the air. On the other side of these fountains is the castle building itself, with the Hall of Mirrors overlooking the garden, and fountains just like in Versailles.

The exterior of the castle is almost identical in color (a pale yellow), and style to Versailles, unfortunately there was scaffolding on one wing of the building for reconstruction. The interior of the castle itself can only be visited by taking one of the scheduled guided tours, so I purchased my ticket and awaited the start of the next English guided tour. The interior of the castle is divided into the Parade Rooms, and the Royal Apartments. The Parade Rooms are the first eight rooms in the tour, and were designed as a tribute to the Sun King (Louis XIV), and his palace at Versailles. Throughout these rooms are numerous paintings, and statues of the Sun King, Louis XVI, and Marie Antoinette. My favorite rooms in the Parade Rooms are: 1) the State Staircase with its walls of marble, marble statues, and glass ceiling; 2) the opulent State Bedroom with its giant canopy bed whose bedspread took 30 embroiderers' 7 years to complete; 3) the Great Hall of Mirrors with its 17 large arched windows facing the garden, each with a matching mirror on the interior wall. The Royal Apartments, are the last five rooms in the tour, and they are the rooms created for King Ludwig to actually live in. Still these rooms are just as lavish, and opulent as the rooms in the earlier part of the tour. My favorite Royal Apartment Rooms are: 1) the King's Bedroom because of another magnificent canopy bed, and the extensive use of the color blue, down to a blue lamp because this was Ludwig's favorite color; 2) the Dining Room features a "Magic Table" that rests on a platform allowing it to be lowered, and raised through the floor down to the kitchen so that the shy Ludwig could dine alone without being bothered by servants. Sadly, Ludwig only stayed at this magnificent castle on one occasion, and then for only a couple of weeks.

Day 13 - Thursday May 27, 1999 - Munich, Germany: I woke up extra early in the morning to go on my Gray Line Panorama Tours of the Royal Castles of Neuschwanstein, and Linderhof (Tour Number 16). The bus was quite large with spacious comfortable seats, full of passengers we left the station promptly at 8:30AM. The ride through the Bavarian countryside is very scenic, many green pastures with cows, framed by tall green mountains in the background. The next time that I visit Bavaria, I will rent a car to more leisurely drive through this beautiful countryside. Along the way we passed Stanbergersee, this is the lake in which Ludwig was found drowned along with his psychiatrist, Dr. Gudden, on June 13, 1886. The official version of Ludwig's death is that the psychiatrist died trying to prevent him from committing suicide. Just five days before his death, Ludwig had been declared insane by the government, and several members of the royal family for draining the Bavarian treasury in order to build his fairy-tale castles. Ludwig's uncle, Prince Luitpold, became regent, and Ludwig was confined to Castle Berg near the lake. As a result, there has always been speculation that Ludwig did not commit suicide or die as a result of an accident, but was murdered instead. Continuing along the Bavarian countryside, we went through several beautiful scenic small towns. These small towns have a sign post in the center of town with signs identifying the types of shops within it. The bus had to stop in a couple of towns, in the first town to allow a herd of cows to cross the road, and in another town to allow a sheep herder to drive his flock across the street. Many of the small towns also had painted houses, one very nice house was decorated with the story of Little Red Riding Hood with the wolf, and the grandma exquisitely drawn.

We arrived at the Linderhof Castle parking lot which was already full of cars, and tour buses. The tour guide informed us that first we would go through the required guided tour to see the inside of the castle, after which time we could visit the castle grounds on our own. The tour only gives you a couple of hours at Linderhof, and we were told to be back at the bus on time or they would leave without you. After a short walk you come to the front grounds of Linderhof Castle, the castle is in a valley surrounded by tall mountains. In front of the castle is a large fountain with a golden statue of a reclining Flora, and her nymphs from the center of which would periodically spout a stream of water a hundred feet into the air. In front of the Flora fountain is a terraced hill on top of which is a classical rotunda with a marble statue of Venus. This rotunda is reached by climbing a beautifully symmetrical set of stairs, and from there you get a spectacular view of the castle, and the Flora water fountain. To each side of the castle, there are flower gardens each with a smaller fountain, and several statues. Directly behind the castle is the Cascades Waterfall which sends water down a long series of marble steps sloping down onto the Neptune fountain at the base of the castle. This fountain features a statue of Neptune riding a carriage that is being pulled by three horses, each horse spouting water from its nostrils, and mouth.

A set of stairs leads you from the Flora fountain up to a terrace in front of the castle's entrance. Linderhof was designed in the elaborate Rococo style, it is the smallest of Ludwig's castles, the only one to be completed, and is the one in which he spent most of his time. The castle was built between 1870 and 1878, the second of the three castles to be built by Ludwig. The interior of the castle is elaborately decorated in the ornate Rococo style with once again many statues, and paintings of the French kings Ludwig so admired, King Louis XIV (the Sun King), King Louis XV, and King Louis XVI. There are also several statues of peacocks, and swans which were Ludwig's favorite animals. My favorite rooms in the castle are the King's Bedroom, and the Hall of Mirrors. The King's Bedroom with its large blue canopy bed, remember blue was Ludwig's favorite color, is spectacular, and it overlooks the Cascades Waterfall and Neptune fountain behind the castle. The Hall of Mirrors is smaller than the one at Herrenchiemsee Castle, but it is exquisitely decorated, and overlooks the Flora fountain in the front grounds of the castle. Like at Herrenchiemsee, the dining room's "Magic Table" is capable of being lowered to the kitchen on the floor below.

I enjoyed walking around Linderhof so much that I lost track of time, and had to run back to the parking lot before the tour bus left. Which brings me to the only complaint I have about the bus tour approach to seeing these castles, they really do not give you enough time to truly enjoy these magnificent places. So the next time I visit Bavaria, I will drive to the castles, and spend the better part of a day in each one to really enjoy the visit. Due to the rushed bus tour, I was unable to see the Venus Grotto, Hunding's Hut, and the Moorish Kiosk.

The tour bus stops at Oberammergau for a very short time to visit this beautiful little town, and let the tourists shop to their hearts content. This town performs a Passion Play, a play of the suffering, death, and rebirth of Jesus Christ. The play is performed by some two thousand local townspeople every 10 years, as they have done since the mid 1600's in thanks for deliverance from the Black Plague. The next performances of the Passion Play are scheduled for May through October 2000. Oberammergau is a very charming little town, but sadly it has been overrun by shops catering to the tourists by selling wood carvings, cuckoo clocks, beer steins, and other assorted souvenirs.

The bus tour's next stop was the little village of Schwangau that lies at the base of Neuschwanstein (New Swan's Stone) Castle. This was the first castle started by Ludwig, it was worked on from 1869 to 1886, and like Herrenchiemsee Castle it was never completed with only 16 rooms being finished. Unlike his other two castles, Ludwig built Neuschwanstein perched up on a cliff on Swan Rock towering over the Hohenschwangau valley, Alpsee lake, and near Pollat Gorge. When approaching Schwangau you can see the castle with its white walls, and tall towers perched up on the mountain cliff from quite a distance away, it is a very impressive sight. If Neuschwanstein Castle seems familiar, it is because it inspired Walt Disney's design of the Sleeping Beauty Castle at Disneyland's Fantasyland, and today it is the most visited tourist attraction in Germany. When we arrived at the little village of Schwangau, the tour guide gave each of us our ticket for the requisite guided visit to the castle, and we were left on our own to get up to the castle on the mountain's cliff. There are three ways to get to the castle; 1) a minibus runs from the front of the Hotel Lisl leaving you at the base of the Marienbrucke (Queen Mary's bridge, named after Ludwig's mother) just above the castle, unfortunately the road was blocked, and the minibus service was not operational the day of my visit, 2) carriages drawn by two sturdy horses runs from the front of the Hotel Muller, taking you about three fourths of the way up to the castle, from there you walk the rest of the way up, and 3) you can walk up the steep incline all the way to the castle in about an hour. Upon seeing the steep incline, I opted to pay, and take the horse drawn carriage route up to the castle. The horse drawn carriage holds eight persons, looking at the horses straining so hard to pull us up to the top made me feel a little bit guilty, and about halfway up the driver gets off the carriage to lighten the load on the poor animals. After about a ten minute ride we reached the top, and I proceeded to walk the rest of the way to the castle's entrance. Since Neuschwanstein is built on a cliff on top of the mountain it does not have any garden grounds like Linderhof, and Herrenchiemsee. However, its impressive white stone turreted towers are five stories tall, and standing in the castle's upper courtyard made me feel like I was in the center of a mediaeval castle. The entrance to the castle's lower and upper courtyards is through a red brick gate which nicely contrasts with the white limestone of the castle. There are great views from the upper courtyard of the Marienbrucke off in the distance.

King Ludwig was an admirer of the composer Richard Wagner, and he was deeply influenced by the composer's operas "Lohengrin" (The Knight of the Swan), "Tannhauser", and "Parsifal". Neuschwanstein's external fairy-tale castle appearance is due the inspiration of these Wagner operas, as well as to its having being designed by the stage scenery designer of the Court Theater, Christian Jank. Next I went on the guided tour of the interior of the castle, almost all the rooms are decorated with murals of scenes from Wagner's operas, and there are magnificent views out of the windows of the castle of the valley, and lake below it. The two most impressive rooms are the Throne Room, and the Singers Hall. The Throne Room is based on the Grail Hall from "Parsifal", it is designed in the Byzantine style with a throne platform that is reached by climbing a white carrara marble stairway. The throne platform is empty, since the gold, and ivory throne was never built. The walls around the throne platform contain murals of Christ, the Virgin Mary, Saint John the Baptist, the twelve Apostles, and six holy kings. In the center of the Throne Room hangs a magnificent gilt brass chandelier in the shape of a Byzantine crown, it holds 96 candles, and weighs 1800 pounds. The Singer's Hall is based on the Minstrel's Hall of "Tannhauser", but it is decorated with murals depicting the scenes of Wagner's "Parsifal" opera. It is the largest room in the castle occupying the entire fourth floor, and concerts are now performed in it. After the tour, there wasn't enough time for me to walk up to the Marienbrucke because the tour bus would be leaving, so I walked all the way back down to the village. There, I had a little time to walk up to the yellow Hohenschwangau Castle that is at the base of Swan Rock, near the Alpsee lake. Hohenschwangau was built by Ludwig's father, King Maximillian II, and it was the castle in which Ludwig spent his childhood. It resembles the more traditional mediaeval square keep castle with towers at each corner. We returned to Munich on the tour bus, once again travelling through the beautiful Bavarian countryside.

Day 14 - Friday May 28, 1999 - Munich, Germany: I took the train out to Dachau station, and then a bus to the Dachau Concentration Camp. I went into the museum that is filled with pictures, artifacts, and documents detailing the horrific story of the holocaust, and this camp. It is so hard to believe that these atrocities could actually have occurred, that it is indispensable that these camps be preserved as reminders to never let this happen again. Dachau was the first concentration camp setup by the Nazi's in 1933, it is the only concentration camp built within Germany itself, and it is believed that over 31,000 prisoners died in the camp. The camp's main building (now the museum) used to hold the kitchen, laundry, storage room, and showers. Behind the main building is the "Bunker", the camp prison where torture, floggings, and executions took place. In front of the main building is the roll call square, where prisoners lined up daily to be counted. To one side of the roll call square is the camp entrance building with its slogan "Arbeit macht frei" ("Work makes one free") built into the iron gate, this was the only entrance to the camp. In front of the roll call square are two rows of prisoner buildings, separated by a "main street" along which the prisoners planted poplar trees that are still standing today. The first two buildings on the right side of the "main street" used to be the infirmary, and the morgue. Whereas, the first two building on the left side of the "main street" used to be the canteen. Behind these four buildings, used to be two rows of fifteen prisoner barracks (the blocks), for a total of thirty prisoner barracks. Each prisoner barrack was designed to hold 208 prisoners, but during the war the Nazis crowded as many as 1600 prisoners per barrack. Only the first building on each side of the "main street" still exist today as reconstructions of what the prisoner's barracks used to look like. All other barrack buildings no longer exist having being destroyed for sanitary reasons after the war, however their foundations are still clearly visible. All around the periphery of the camp is a deep ditch, followed by a tall barbed wire fence interspersed by several guard towers. Right outside the camp, the crematorium still stands along with a gas chamber. The gas chamber was camouflaged as a shower room, but it was never used. I returned to Munich late in the afternoon, and walked through the pedestrian zone from Kalrstorplatz to Marienplatz at the center of the city. The next time I am in Munich I hope to be able to spend more time exploring this historic city.

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