This post will be all about Vienna and Munich!
To read other parts:
Part 1 - click here
Part 3 - click here
Continuing from where I left off, we woke up the next morning and were off for Vienna! Our final 45 minute water bus ride and we were at Santa Lucia train station. Since we had purchased train tickets from our travel agent and these tickets said "train Santa Lucia" on them. We figured we were in the right place.
We made it to the station with 20 minutes to spare. Our train wasn't listed on the departure board so we asked the travel desk where our train would depart. To our profound surprise, the travel desk assistant pointed to a little section on our ticket that said 'bus'. We weren't taking a train, we were supposed to be on a bus. A 4 hour bus ride to our train (a real train) connection in Villach, Austria. Fan-freaking-tastic. Naturally, we asked where the buses were parked.
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The bus station isn't at Santa Lucia at all. We had to walk 5-10 minutes down the road, cross a bridge, follow the signs for "Tronchetto", take the monorail to the Tronchetto stop and the bus station would be there.
We now had 15 minutes to make this bus. I asked the assistant if he thought we would make it. He said, nonchalantly, "If you run, maybe."
Immediately panicked, Carly and I exchanged wide-eyed looks and sprinted as fast as we could with our 50+lb suitcases out of the train station to find this bus station. We made it down the side road and approached the bridge. Every bridge in Venice is now fitted with handicap steps so we expected to cross quickly. We were so so so so wrong.
This is the bridge we had to cross. There were no handicap steps.
Fighting off a man who offered to carry my suitcase, obviously looking for a tip from a 'helpless' tourist, I lugged my suitcase up and down the 50 plus steps. We managed to find the monorail and got on just as it was departing the station. We now had 2 minutes to make it to our bus. I was nearly panicking that we weren't going to make our bus. If we missed the bus, we would miss the connecting train too and it would really mess up our travel day. As it was, we were travelling by bus/train until 5pm that day so I didn't want to spend any extra time waiting around. Carly was much calmer than I was and kept reassuring me that we would make the bus. But neither of us were really sure at that point.
As the monorail doors opened at Tronchetto, Carly and I flew out and saw the one bus in a parking lot, which was also apparently an unmarked bus station. The bus was still there! Totally relieved, we stowed our luggage and made our way on the bus. It was a double-decker charter bus and it was MUCH more spacious than I had anticipated.
The 4 hour ride to Villach, Austria (halfway between Venice and Vienna) was wonderful. At the train station, the driver helped us and the other passengers get our bags out. I was still waiting for my suitcase when the driver handed Carly her bag, locked the stowage compartment and walked back to the driver's seat of the bus....with my bag still inside the bus.
Not about to let some dippy Italian bus driver get my luggage lost for the SECOND time this trip, I flew at him like a bat out of hell and yelled that my bag was still on the bus. A bit harsh, perhaps, but it needed to be done. What was Carly doing this entire time?
Just laughing.
So once the giggles died down we got on the train and 4 hours later, we were in Vienna!
Here are some pictures of the Alps that I took while we were on our way to Villach
Here are some pictures of the Alps that I took while we were on our way to Villach
Vienna - April 1 - April 4
Vienna is both the largest city and capitol of Austria. Vienna is home to many famous foods, cultural activities and historical events. The city has been inhabited since 500 BC and was fortified by the Romans in 15 BC. In the Middle Ages, Vienna was the home of the Hapsburg family and the capitol of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Vienna is was known as the cultural capital of Europe because of the abundance of influential musicians, opera writers and artists who were born there or called the city their home.
When we arrived we were starving and since it was so late at night on a Sunday, we had to eat at McDonalds. I know, I know, its so cliche and American but hey, it was the only thing available. And I was willing to play the stereotype for some immediate food. By the way, when I say McDonald's, its the same chain as in the US but it looks nothing like any McDonald's I've ever experienced at home. Each McDonald's might as well be a coffee shop because there are seats, benches and tables everywhere and it is usually surprisingly well decorated inside. Its like they want you to spend time there, unlike the beige/yellow/red monstrosities at home. So with the McDonald's in Vienna, I have officially eaten McDonald's in 3 other countries. Anyway, back to the story.
When we arrived we were starving and since it was so late at night on a Sunday, we had to eat at McDonalds. I know, I know, its so cliche and American but hey, it was the only thing available. And I was willing to play the stereotype for some immediate food. By the way, when I say McDonald's, its the same chain as in the US but it looks nothing like any McDonald's I've ever experienced at home. Each McDonald's might as well be a coffee shop because there are seats, benches and tables everywhere and it is usually surprisingly well decorated inside. Its like they want you to spend time there, unlike the beige/yellow/red monstrosities at home. So with the McDonald's in Vienna, I have officially eaten McDonald's in 3 other countries. Anyway, back to the story.
After ordering food, Carly and I came to the conclusion that neither of us know any words in German. When we got back to our room, we asked one of the other girls staying with us to give us some translations. She was a student in Vienna so we knew we could trust her to give us real definitions and not fake/offensive ones.
The next morning we were up and touring! First we went to Stephansplatz. Stephansplatz is the geographical center of Vienna, named after Stephansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral in English). St. Stephen's is the mother church of the archdiocese of Vienna. There has been a consecrated Catholic church on this location ever since 1147.
Front of St. Stephen's
Interior structure
Organ
Paintings which were all around the interior
Left exterior. Most of the cathedral had to be reconstructed after World War II.
We tried to go to Peterskirche (St. Peter's Church) which is an equally important church but it was closed for services. No worries though. We decided to try back another time.
Next place was Belvedere palaces. The Belvedere complex consists of 2 Baroque palaces (Upper and Lower Belvedere) built as summer homes for Prince Eugene of Savoy. Now, the buildings serve as art/artifact museums. Carly and I researched Belvedere before we left and saw that there was a special exhibit featuring Viennese artist Gustav Klimt so we decided to just go to that building.
You couldn't take pictures inside Upper Belvedere so here' the website if you'd like to check it out: Upper Belvedere Website.
After Belvedere we were off to somewhere spookier! We had seen on a map that our hostel gave us that the Zentralfriedhof was a really cool place to visit. It is the Central Cemetery for Vienna and has been for hundreds of years. Many famous Viennese are buried there including Brahms, Schubert, Beethoven and Strauss are interred there along with 3 million regular people. Zentralfriedhof has burial areas for all faiths, military and even different parts of human anatomy.
You couldn't take pictures inside Upper Belvedere so here' the website if you'd like to check it out: Upper Belvedere Website.
Exterior gardens with Lower Belvedere in the distance
Entrance gate to Upper Belvedere
Woman/Eagle/Lion statues that surrounded the gardens
All of Upper Belvedere
Me & one of the statues
After Belvedere we were off to somewhere spookier! We had seen on a map that our hostel gave us that the Zentralfriedhof was a really cool place to visit. It is the Central Cemetery for Vienna and has been for hundreds of years. Many famous Viennese are buried there including Brahms, Schubert, Beethoven and Strauss are interred there along with 3 million regular people. Zentralfriedhof has burial areas for all faiths, military and even different parts of human anatomy.
Here are some super awesome pictures of all of these cool graves.
Can you see the pictures? No? Well good, because I don't have any. The map we followed had us searching around the complete WRONG section of the 590 acre cemetery. We were no where near where all these famous people were buried. After 3 hours of fruitless searching, we gave up. St. Peter's had defeated us and now so had Zentralfriedhof. The final place we had scheduled to visit that day was the State Room of the Austrian National Library so we headed there.
It would have been a lovely visit to the State Hall, except it was Monday and the State Hall is closed on Mondays. Feeling utterly defeated by Vienna and the fact we were only able to see two things in the city today, we went back to the hostel to decompress, eat dinner, and claim our free drink we were given upon check-in.
After a full night's rest, we were ready to give Vienna one more chance to impress us. We went straight to St. Peter's Church. There has been a church on this site since since the Early Middle Ages and there is speculation that it is thus the oldest church in Vienna.
After a full night's rest, we were ready to give Vienna one more chance to impress us. We went straight to St. Peter's Church. There has been a church on this site since since the Early Middle Ages and there is speculation that it is thus the oldest church in Vienna.
Front entrance. St. Peter's is surrounded by buildings on all sides
Altar
Adorned bones of saints taken from the Roman catacombs in the 1700's
Looking good, bro
Dome
Organ
We had a free tour scheduled right after this visit. It wasn't with Sandeman's New Europe, who we usually tour with, but it was just as good!
State Opera House (more about this later!)
Art Nouveau architecture (particular of Vienna)
Naschmarkt, the most popular market in Vienna. You can buy anything from fresh fruits and vegetables to meat and seafood to clothes to beer.
The Secession, an Art Nouveau building that houses an Art Nouveau museum.
Holocaust Memorial at the Albertina Museum
Next to the monument is the preamble of the Austrian Constitution
The Dorotheum, the oldest working auction house in the world
Spanish Horse Riding school in the Hofburg Palace
The horses kept there. They are a special breed called Lipizzan. They are born black and change to white as they age.
Remains of the Roman settlements in Vienna
Plague monument to protect the city
Allegory of the city conquering the plague
King Leopold praying to save the city
Archangel Michael sending Leopold's prayers to the Holy Trinity so they may be answered
Map of the world at the time. Notice anything missing? Australia! It had not yet been discovered by Europeans by the time this statue was built.
We had to move quick to get to our next site because it was getting late. Schonbrunn Palace is a Rococo-style former summer residence for the Habsburg monarchs. The building and grounds are now owned by the Austrian government and are open as museums.
We had to move quick to get to our next site because it was getting late. Schonbrunn Palace is a Rococo-style former summer residence for the Habsburg monarchs. The building and grounds are now owned by the Austrian government and are open as museums.
Entrance court
We weren't allowed to take pictures here either unfortunately. So here is the Schonbrunn Palace website if you would like to see inside: Schonbrunn Palace Website
Aaaaand FINALLY we headed back to the State Hall! This was the place I was most looking forward to seeing the entire trip!!
Emperor Charles VI commissioned the State Hall to be built as the Court Library as part of the Hofburg Palace in Vienna in 1726. The State Hall is now part of the Austrian National Library (which is still located within the Hofburg Palace). The ceiling frescoes were completed by 1730. Random Fact: The Hofburg Palace is now the official residence of the President of Austria.
This was the most beautiful library I've ever even heard of existing! I think we spent almost an hour in there just walking around and taking everything in. It reminded me of the library from Beauty and the Beast, which is my favorite library.
Next we went back to our hostel and took a much needed nap. We had some really exciting plans for the night and we had to make sure we could stay awake! While on the tour, our tour guide told us that the State Opera House sold cheap standing-room-only tickets for tourists for €3 ($4) each! We thought this would be a great opportunity to do something cultural. And luckily, the dress code for the poor people seats is come as you are so we didn't have to worry.
The opera is a cultural institution in Austria. To put it in perspective, when the State Opera was destroyed in World War II, the Viennese people salvaged what they could from the wreckage and transported it to a smaller opera house elsewhere in the city and the scheduled nightly performance still went on.
All photos of Vienna - click here
Next we went back to our hostel and took a much needed nap. We had some really exciting plans for the night and we had to make sure we could stay awake! While on the tour, our tour guide told us that the State Opera House sold cheap standing-room-only tickets for tourists for €3 ($4) each! We thought this would be a great opportunity to do something cultural. And luckily, the dress code for the poor people seats is come as you are so we didn't have to worry.
The opera is a cultural institution in Austria. To put it in perspective, when the State Opera was destroyed in World War II, the Viennese people salvaged what they could from the wreckage and transported it to a smaller opera house elsewhere in the city and the scheduled nightly performance still went on.
Entrance Lobby
Main Staircase
Ceiling
Staircase again
The stage
The screen on stage gives a brief synopsis of the opera. It was called L'elisir d'amore (The Elixir of Love) and was really popular between 1838 and 1848 in Italy. Basically, there's this simpleton guy and he's in love with a kind of bitchy, really pretty girl who is being sought after by a military general. It's the story of how the simpleton gets the girl to fall in love with him. It seemed kind of campy & RomCom-ish but it was entertaining to watch! And I'm really glad we got to see an opera since we both hadn't ever seen one before. The opera was performed in Italian but each seat had a little digital translator that you could use to follow along in either English or German.
The next morning we caught our train to Munich!
All photos of Vienna - click here
Munich - April 4 - April 7
Our first city in Germany was Munich!
Munich is the capitol of the Bavarian region of southern Germany. In German, Munich is spelled Munchen which roughly translates to "the monk's place" because Benedictine monks founded the area where the city now stands around 1158.
After sleeping the entire first day away, we were feeling much less zombie-like and were ready for our first Sandeman's New Europe Tour of the Trip!
We didn't get to spend too much time in this church since we were on our tour but we managed to get a few photographs.
The next church we visited on our tour was the Church of our Lady (Frauenkirche) which is the city cathedral.
This cathedral has an interesting legend surrounding it. This cathedral was built in 20 years from 1468 to 1488. A seemingly impossible timeline considering this was the 15th century. One of the reasons it was so quickly built was that it was made of brick which is cheaper and easier to use for construction than sandstone or other building stones.
But, legend has it that the Devil had a hand in speeding up the construction. Wanting a place he could prey on the souls of the pious, the Devil appeared in the cathedral as it was being constructed and made a deal with the master mason. The Devil said that he could guarantee the cathedral be completed in record time if the mason agreed to not put any more windows in the church.
The picture above shows view point from which the Devil made his deal. Twenty years later, the Devil returned to the church and was shocked to find that there were massive windows lining the cathedral! Enraged, the Devil found the master mason and demanded to know why he had been betrayed (not like it mattered since he was the Devil after all) and the mason informed him that when they had made the deal, the windows had already been constructed but could not be seen from where the Devil was standing, which is totally true if you look at the picture I took. Furious that he had been tricked, the Devil stomped his foot into the cathedral floor and it is there to this day.
German resistance to the Nazis isn't something you hear of very often but, it did exist. The methods of resistance were subtle and nearly passive, as Germany was the center for the Third Reich so resistance always meant death. To explain this memorial, I need to give you a quick background story first. Hitler tried to take over the government in the failed Beer Hall Putsch of 1923, so named because he trapped the leaders of the government in a beer hall (a common place for meetings like these). Hitler lost control of the coup and he and his Nazi followers had to escape. The Nazis tried to run down to the Feldherrnhalle, or Field Marshall's Hall, which is a building located on the next street over to the left from the one above. Before they reached the Feldherrnhalle, they were stopped by the State police. When the State Police opened fire, 16 Nazis were killed and 4 police officers died in the gun battle.
Fast forward to the Third Reich. Hitler commissioned a memorial plaque to those fallen Nazi soldiers in the wall next to the exact spot where they had been killed. Every time anyone passed the plaque, they were required to give the Nazi salute. The memorial was located in a busy, well-traveled area of Munich so many people saluted the plaque daily. Some Germans who did not want to solute because they did not believe in the Nazi party would instead travel down the street in the picture, nicknamed Druckebergergasse, or "dodger's alley". Anyone caught doing this would be arrested. In the 1990's the bronze cobblestones were installed as a commemoration to the brave Bavarians who resisted the Nazis, even in the smallest amount.
36 official court paintings is pretty impressive. But these women are only the ones Ludwig I thought were the prettiest. The grenades are all stores in the basement. In total there are 100 other portraits stored away from the public; 98 women and 2 men.
Ludwig I's favorite, Lola Montez. An Irish prostitute who convinced everyone she was a Spanish dancer. She used her position as the king's mistress to influence him to make liberal policy decisions.
And an hour later, we were done! We were both so proud of me that I finished my beer. It may be the first beer I've ever finished.
Inside the Hofbrauhaus. This part of the Hofbrauhaus is opened to regulars and tourists. It's a fully-functioning restaurant too. If we weren't so stuffed from 1 liter of beer, I'm sure we would have ordered food too.
The next morning I woke up and wasn't hung over at all thankfully. Thanks to the Beer Purity Laws of 1487, the only ingredients allowed in beer are: water, hops and barley. This makes for a higher quality beer since its not filled with junk. Replaced by the Provisional Beer Law, acceptable ingredients now include, cane sugar, yeast and wheat malt. One way to tell a good beer is to check the ingredients. The fewer the ingredients, the better the beer.
We had our Neuschwanstein Castle tour today. It was commissioned by King Ludwig II, grandson of player-player Ludwig I. Ludwig was known as "Mad King Ludwig". Two hours from Munich in a town called Schwangau (Swan Town) is the castle Neuschwanstein.
Our first city in Germany was Munich!
Munich is the capitol of the Bavarian region of southern Germany. In German, Munich is spelled Munchen which roughly translates to "the monk's place" because Benedictine monks founded the area where the city now stands around 1158.
After sleeping the entire first day away, we were feeling much less zombie-like and were ready for our first Sandeman's New Europe Tour of the Trip!
New Town Hall
Our tour met outside the New Town Hall in Marienplatz. The morning free tours start here so tourists can see the glockenspiel! Installed into the clocktower in the New Town Hall in 1907-1908, it goes off every day at 11am.
Clock Tower
Coat of arms of the city of Munich. The little monk boy in the center refers to the monks who founded the city. The man on the left represents Munich and on the right the man represents Bavaria (flying their respective colors)
The Glockenspiel before the show began
So the glockenspiel depicts a royal wedding, jousting match between a Bavarian and French jouster (with the Bavarian winning every time) and a special dance. The royal wedding is a retelling of the marriage of Duke Wilhelm V to Renata of Lorraine (Lorraine is in France hence the French jouster) in 1568. It was one of the most expensive and decadent weddings of the Middle Ages. The jousting is meant to be climactic so the knights travel around two times since they miss each other the first round. See the glockenspiel in action for yourself - click here!
The special dance at the end (not featured in the video since my arms got tired) is a traditional dance called the Shafflertanz. Know in English as the dance of the coopers (coopers are barrel manufacturers), legend states that the dance was first performed in 1517 as a means to reassure the public that the plague no longer controlled the streets and that they were free to continue their lives as usual without fear. Since the 18th century, it is performed once every 7 years You can watch on of the the 2012 performances here.
Old Town Hall
Just across the square (or platz) from the New Town Hall is the Old Town Hall. But the funny thing is, this isn't the Old Town Hall anymore. It is newer than the New Town Hall but they never changed the names. Why? Built, as it is seen now, in 1874, it was almost completely destroyed in WW2. Reconstructed, or rather recreated in the 1970's, this makes it the new Old Town Hall which is newer than the older New Town Hall. In short: Old Town Hall was built in 1970's; New Town Hall was built in 1907. Old is newer and New is older.
Recreated buildings are a feature in Munich since the city was leveled by Allied bombs. Munich was destroyed because it was seen as the center of the Third Reich for many reasons: The National Socialist German Worker's Party (Nazi for short) was founded in the city in 1919; Hitler tried to overthrow the Weimar Republic in Munich; The infamous Goebbels speech that is the accepted prelude to Kristallnacht was given at the Old Town Hall; British Prime Minister agreed to allow Germany to annex the Sudetenland in a meeting in Munich; the White Rose Movement, students against the Nazis, was born and crushed in Munich and countless others.
Knowing their city would be razed, hundreds of Munich citizens organized the largest and possibly quickest archival and photographic collection of the architecture and infrastructure in Munich. Blueprints were taken from archives and files and stored in the suburban areas. Photographs were taken of every building, house and sidewalk in Munich so that they could be rebuilt exactly as they were when the war was over. We will see an example of this coming up soon.
Inside the New Town Hall
Continuing on our tour, our tour guide Tom showed us a lovely statue of Juliet from Romeo & Juliet
It is legend that if you give Juliet a rose or a bouquet of roses, you will win undying love. The Bavarians take it one step further and add a little second-base action in with the flowers (hence the discolored boob)
A cannon ball in a building
Remember when I mentioned that the people of Munich rebuilt their city EXACTLY as it was before WW2? This cannon ball is a testament to that determination. This building, pictured above, is St. Peter's Church (Peterskirche). That cannonball on the window's edge originally became lodged in the church during the Swedish invasion of the Thirty Years War (1618-1648). This part of the church was destroyed by the Allied bombs. While clearing the rubble, a worker discovered the cannon ball. Searching through archives and photographs, the original location of the cannon ball was discovered and when the church was rebuilt, the cannon ball was put back in exactly where it originally landed!
We didn't get to spend too much time in this church since we were on our tour but we managed to get a few photographs.
This cathedral has an interesting legend surrounding it. This cathedral was built in 20 years from 1468 to 1488. A seemingly impossible timeline considering this was the 15th century. One of the reasons it was so quickly built was that it was made of brick which is cheaper and easier to use for construction than sandstone or other building stones.
But, legend has it that the Devil had a hand in speeding up the construction. Wanting a place he could prey on the souls of the pious, the Devil appeared in the cathedral as it was being constructed and made a deal with the master mason. The Devil said that he could guarantee the cathedral be completed in record time if the mason agreed to not put any more windows in the church.
The picture above shows view point from which the Devil made his deal. Twenty years later, the Devil returned to the church and was shocked to find that there were massive windows lining the cathedral! Enraged, the Devil found the master mason and demanded to know why he had been betrayed (not like it mattered since he was the Devil after all) and the mason informed him that when they had made the deal, the windows had already been constructed but could not be seen from where the Devil was standing, which is totally true if you look at the picture I took. Furious that he had been tricked, the Devil stomped his foot into the cathedral floor and it is there to this day.
The Devil is a size 11, if you were wondering
Some of the beautiful windows
Another important historical aspect of this cathedral is the roll it played for the Jews of Munich during WW2. Greatly endangering their own lives, a few priests of this cathedral hid Torahs and other religious items of the Jewish community in Munich inside this cathedral to keep them from the Nazis. When the war was over, the Jewish community helped finance the rebuilding of the cathedral. There is a small menorah painted on one of the vaults of the cathedral ceiling to thank the Jews. My camera had a mind of its own at that point so I don't have a picture of it to share with you.
Also, I didn't know this before we came, but, the Pope is Bavarian. Joseph Ratzinger was Bishop of Munich and Freising and cardinal in 1977 and then obviously Pope in 2005. Being a Bavarian son through and through, the Pope loves his beer. He loves the Augustiner Natural beer so much that he has it to the Vatican bimonthly. You can only get this particular brew, made by Augustinian monks in 2 places in the world: Munich and the Vatican.
And speaking of beer, here is the famous Hofbräuhaus. Founded in 1589 by Duke of Bavaria, Wilhelm V (same guy from the glockenspiel) the Hofbräuhaus became a beer hall in the 1800's.
The Festival Hall
I'll show more of the Hofbräuhaus later on!
The Munich Residenz
Residenz is the former home of the Bavarian monarchs. The Wittlesbach family ruled Bavaria from 1180 to 1918. Pretty impressive! We stopped here on our tour but we never got to go inside :(
To take a look at the Residenz yourself, click here - Residenz Museum
Memorial to the German Resistance in Munich. Bronze cobblestones mark the path of resistance.
German resistance to the Nazis isn't something you hear of very often but, it did exist. The methods of resistance were subtle and nearly passive, as Germany was the center for the Third Reich so resistance always meant death. To explain this memorial, I need to give you a quick background story first. Hitler tried to take over the government in the failed Beer Hall Putsch of 1923, so named because he trapped the leaders of the government in a beer hall (a common place for meetings like these). Hitler lost control of the coup and he and his Nazi followers had to escape. The Nazis tried to run down to the Feldherrnhalle, or Field Marshall's Hall, which is a building located on the next street over to the left from the one above. Before they reached the Feldherrnhalle, they were stopped by the State police. When the State Police opened fire, 16 Nazis were killed and 4 police officers died in the gun battle.
Fast forward to the Third Reich. Hitler commissioned a memorial plaque to those fallen Nazi soldiers in the wall next to the exact spot where they had been killed. Every time anyone passed the plaque, they were required to give the Nazi salute. The memorial was located in a busy, well-traveled area of Munich so many people saluted the plaque daily. Some Germans who did not want to solute because they did not believe in the Nazi party would instead travel down the street in the picture, nicknamed Druckebergergasse, or "dodger's alley". Anyone caught doing this would be arrested. In the 1990's the bronze cobblestones were installed as a commemoration to the brave Bavarians who resisted the Nazis, even in the smallest amount.
The discolored square on the side of the Feldherrnhalle is where the former memorial once was. It was doubly disliked by the Bavarians because Hitler had the names of the police officers included as fallen Nazi officers. Small symbols of resistance and the Third Reich are present all over Germany. They are subtle so as to not attract neo-Nazis or Fascists and have them create shrines or memorials to Hitler.
Nymphenburg Palace
Okay so on to non-depressing things! After our tour we went to the Nymphenburg Palace. This was the summer residence of the Bavarian monarchs. We were actually allowed to take pictures in here!
The Great Hall
Entrance gardens
Gallery of Beauties
Painted between 1827 and 1850, the Gallery of Beauties features 36 portraits of beautiful women from all social classes; shoemaker's daughters to princesses. All these women were sexual conquests of King Ludwig I of Bavaria. They lined the entrance to the Queen's wing so she got lovely views of all these women every single day.
36 official court paintings is pretty impressive. But these women are only the ones Ludwig I thought were the prettiest. The grenades are all stores in the basement. In total there are 100 other portraits stored away from the public; 98 women and 2 men.
Hidden bookcase
Chinese Lacquer Cabinet. Painted in 1763 when the oriental-style of decoration came into fashion.
Since it was getting late, we decided to go back to our hostel and rest before we went out for the night. We decided to go to the Hofbrauhaus! The thought of drinking a gigantic beer made me want to die (since I don't like beer) but I figured I'd take one for the team since, after all, we were in Munich,
Hofbrauhaus menu
Luckily, there was a small selection of beers that I ended up liking. Shocked, right? Me too. I had a liter of the Radler. Well, I'm pretty sure I liked it because it was half lemonade and half beer but whatever.
And they had pretzels as bar food. Which were friggin' amazing by the way.
Me drinking my beer
The next morning I woke up and wasn't hung over at all thankfully. Thanks to the Beer Purity Laws of 1487, the only ingredients allowed in beer are: water, hops and barley. This makes for a higher quality beer since its not filled with junk. Replaced by the Provisional Beer Law, acceptable ingredients now include, cane sugar, yeast and wheat malt. One way to tell a good beer is to check the ingredients. The fewer the ingredients, the better the beer.
We had our Neuschwanstein Castle tour today. It was commissioned by King Ludwig II, grandson of player-player Ludwig I. Ludwig was known as "Mad King Ludwig". Two hours from Munich in a town called Schwangau (Swan Town) is the castle Neuschwanstein.
The castle from far away. It is under almost constant construction because it is made of sandstone which wears down in the Bavarian weather.
Neuschwanstein was built from the picture by Christian Jank in 1869.
Construction began in 1869 and finished on Ludwig II's death in 1892. Only 1/3 of the castle was ever completed. This area of Bavaria was important to Ludwig II because he grew up in a castle here. He was very much a Bavarian country boy and did not like the busy atmosphere of Munich. He wanted to build his castle out here as an escape.
Hohenschwangau Castle where Ludwig II grew up.
Swan at the top of Hohenschwangau
The lake near the castles. Ignore the rain drainage pipe.
Ludwig II was enchanted by Germanic fairy tales and he based his construction of Neuschwanstein on many famous tales and operas especially Lohengrin.
Buildings at the base of the mountain on which is Neuschwanstein
Panoramic view from the top of the mountain
Side of Neuschwanstein
Through the entrance
This is another place we weren't allowed to take pictures :(
You can take a virtual tour of the castle here - virtual tour of Neuschwanstein
And I TOTALLY recommend that you do because the completed parts of the castle are stunning.
Absolutely everything in the castle is original and nothing is a reproduction. Due to the decadence of the castle, reconstructing any part of it would cost too much money.
For our final site to see, we went to the place that Munich is most famous for: Theresienwiese.
The big open field of Theresienwiese
Every September/October for 16 days, this field fills up with beer tents, Bavarians and tourists for Oktoberfest! Oktoberfest began in 1810. Ludwig I married Theresa of Saxe-Hildberghausen in this field and then gave it to her as a wedding present. A field. That's it. Taking this into account, and the fact that this is the same Ludwig I who hung up pictures of his booty calls in Theresa's living quarters', Ludwig I was kind of a dick.
Oktoberfest is a huge economic event for Munich and much of the breweries income for the year comes from this event.
Oktoberfest at night (courtesy of Wikipedia)
Over the years, security has been increased at Oktoberfest because of the obvious intense intoxication of the visitors. Our Free Tour guide mentioned two problems in recent history
1. Lost Children - there's and entire security team dedicated to reuniting families who get separated in the crowds.
2. Australian Consulate Tent - So many Australians lose their passports at Oktoberfest that the Australian government has a permanent tent set up to reissue Australian passports.
And that's it for Munich! The next day Carly and I set off for Prague!
All photos of Munich - click here
To continue reading:
Part 1 - click here
Part 3 - click here
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