Our last day in Bavaria, we signed up for a tour of one of the palaces in the region, Linderhof Palace. This guy, Ludwig something or other, built several Over The Top castles/palaces back in the mid 1800s. His most famous castle, Newshwanstein, (not how it is spelled, but close to how to pronounce it) is the one that inspired Walt Disney’s Cinderella Castle . We did not go to Newshwanstein because it tends to be very crowded and because Ludwig died before he finished, so supposedly the outside is the beautiful part and the inside is a bit disappointing. We were told that Linderhof was the one worth visiting.
The grounds are gorgeous. This is Bavaria. Green and lush with mountain peaks all around.
From the parking lot it was about a 10 minute walk through the greenery until we came to this clearing where the palace sits.
We made it in time to watch the fountains — waiting for the water to spring up.
I don’t know how they do it, but the fountains are run using natural pressure. It builds for 30 minutes and then shoots for about 3 1/2 minutes until it dissipates. I was expecting small shower, not a huge geyser!
It’s impressive.
The palace was smaller than I expected. My kind of place — huge grounds, small house. That’s my dream for our house someday.
We couldn’t take any photos inside, which is tragic because it was so crazy and ornate . . . I’ve never seen anything like it. Fortunately, they have a fabulous website so you can see all the rooms for yourself if you want. Take a tour. I liked that we saw every room in the palace. We started in the music room and made a full circle. It’s small (for a palace), but every surface is covered with gold, mirrors, feathers, or crystals.
These photos are from the Linderhof website. This was his throne room, or what they call the “audience room.” Basically it was his office. As you will see, he was kind of a nutter — his life was in Germany, but he imported French palace life to the countryside.
His bedroom was huge. The biggest room in the house. The gigantic velvet bed, the tiered chandelier (think of the servants that had to balance on a ladder to light all those candles!), and the part of the room that isn’t shown would be big enough to hold a dance. I guess the French used to entertain guests in their bedrooms so he thought he should do the same. There was also some amazing porcelain sculpture work around the windows in this room. Flowers and scrolls and vines winding up the side of the wall with spaces for candles to add extra light.
The king’s dining room. This table would be lowered through the floor by a crank mechanism, set with dishes and food and then raised up again. I guess so they didn’t have to walk the food through the other rooms in the house to get to the dining room? (They are all connected in a circle so the only way to get there would be through the other rooms.)
Remember when I said he was a nutter? All the paintings and sculptures are of Louis the 14th and other famous French royalty that he idolized. That is weird on it’s own, but I just read this quote from the Linderhof website about his dining habits:
“He (the king) wants no one around him (at meals). Nevertheless, the dinners and suppers always have to be large enough to serve at least three or four people. This way, although the king always sits down to eat alone, he does not feel alone after all. He believes himself in the company of Louis XIV and Louis XV and their lady friends, Madame Pompadour and Madame Maintenon. He even greets them now and then and carries on conversations with them as though he really had them as his guests at table.”
Yep. Crazy town.
This is his Hall of Mirrors, the most ornate room in the house. I guess he liked to hang out in this room at night. Alone.
Back outside.
Another surprise on our palace tour. About 10 minutes away from the palace, hiking uphill, is a hidden man-made cave called the Venus Grotto where he used to put on opera numbers in this underground lagoon. I couldn’t even make this up. So crazy. He had his people dig out this cave and then disguise the entrance with fake rocks so it couldn’t be seen.
Then he’d invite people to parties I guess?
The guide said he liked for his people to row him around the lagoon in this boat while the opera players would be performing in the background. It’s like the Pirates of the Caribbean ride 100 years ahead of its time.
After the tour we explored the hills around the property and checked out a few of the other buildings that Ludwig had brought to Germany.
Like this mosque that he called the Moorish Kiosk. He used to come here and smoke shisha (and who knows what else). He brought it in from France (of course!) in pieces and had it reassembled on his property.
Who expects to find a mosque in the middle of a German forest?
Funny that for us, the green trees and the mountains are the most unusual parts of this scene.
We hiked around and made it to the hill overlooking the palace.
He might have been a bit strange, but he has a beautiful property.
Another out of place outbuilding: An imported Moroccan teahouse.
gorgeous ceiling and tilework
The boys showing off their days of the week socks that we bought in Poland. They are very particular about wearing the right socks on the right day. It’s Wednesday today.
Back to the bus for the second half of our day: A visit to Oberammergau.
This German town during the time of the Black Plague cut itself off from the rest of the world and prayed to their crucifix that they would be saved. When they were, they committed to performing the entire Passion Play (the crucifixion of Christ) every 10 years. It’s a 6 hour play, performed 5 or 6 days a week and to be in the play you have to be a resident of the town. No outsiders. Josh came to see it back in 1990.
We visited the church
The famous crucifix (In the glass box underneath are some human remains — clothes and bones. I don’t know who the person was because the signs were all in German.)
Pretty place, but I’d seen enough gold to last a lifetime by then. It was HOT out. Germany was in the middle of a heat wave and while we are used to the heat, we are not used to no AC.
We spent the rest of our free time eating ice cream and shopping for German clothes. The boys (Carter and Caleb) wanted lederhosen SO BADLY, and yes, they are adorable, but completely impractical for desert weather. I promised them if we moved to Germany ever that I would buy them a pair. Since they are made out of leather, they aren’t cheap.
Yes, she got a dirndl because she will be able to wear it. Josh bought her one 3 years ago and she’s worn it until she’s almost outgrown it. You can look back on that one in this post. What a doll!
We’ve been home for a week and Camille has already worn this one 3 times. Desert style — without the blouse underneath. Money well spent.
For our last evening Josh and Calvin went on a brewery tour and had lots of fun tasting and learning about beer making and I stayed home with the kids where they ran on our lawn to their hearts’ content and spent one last evening with their friends.
Sunset on the mountains.
Bavaria was a paradise in every way.