Day 35: More Ludwig, More Schloss, More Wagner

Now today we put into practice our well learnt lesson from yesterday; we were at Linderhof Castle not long after opening, joining the very next tour at 9:30. Yay!
Now this castle was a lot smaller, and set in large, extensive grounds and gardens, and so was very different to the Neuschwanstein Castle we'd visited the day before.
Ludwig had Linderhof built to replicate and celebrate the French baroque period and as a tribute to Sun King Louis XIV, who Ludwig totally idolised.

A mini Versailles: garishly and lavishly decorated throughout, and a complete, though not unpleasing assault on the eyes: with paintings, paintings in the style of tapestries, gilded gold filigree on all rooms; well except one servants room where silver was used for a better contrasting effect, dining tables that could arise through the floor laden with food, then descend into the floor again when the meal was done, all without having to be interrupted by servants while one was eating.  Now how do I get me one of those? Again, as for Neuschwanstein Castle, no pictures were allowed inside, so here’s one I found online.

Ludwig loved his vases, and he had over 200 adorning the walls and every flat surface throughout the palace.  As well there were his swans and peacocks.  He also loved blue, and especially lapis lazuli, horses, night time chatting with the common folk, and not women, as I think I mentioned before.
The mirror room was amazing, with the intended effect of increased size suitably achieved.  An intricate, very expensive, and very politically incorrect nowadays ivory chandelier hung from the ceiling.
One of the amazing things in the gardens was a grotto.  An artificial recreation of a huge underground limestone cavern: complete with stalagmites and stalactites, a lake kept at a comfortably warm temperature for Ludwig’s private swimming use, a couple of thrones suitably placed to offer an excellent view of the stage which was purposes built to house plays of Wagner’s operas; it was actually modelled on Tannhäuser.  Extravagance, amazing, incredible, passion.

Did I say the gardens are amazing?  There was an awful lot of boob, for somebody that swung the other way, so to speak.

After the castle we stopped off in Oberammergau.  Renowned for its passion play extravaganza, and woodcarvings.  The passion play wasn’t on (thankyou, that thing goes for 5 hours or so), so we found a wood carving shop and marvelled at the array of carvings of gods from mythology, every religious themed sculpture imaginable, including many varied and detailed nativity scenes, owls, animals, houses, nutcrackers, cuckoo clocks.  They had it all.

I’d been wanting another of those delicious weisswurst but they are breakfast sausages only, historically due to their lack of preservatives and the contents there-in not really being wise to eat more than a few hours after preparation.  There is a saying I believe that they are to be eaten before the clock strikes midday. Well midday had passed, so I settled on the plate of assorted Bavarian sausages, as well as lard and calf liver.  It was no weisswurst, but it was good.  And the cellar unfiltered beer was amazing in all of its half litre glory.  Best beer I’ve had in for ever.  And would you believe it, a beer tiramisu for dessert.

Back in Garmisch, we walked around the Michael Ende Kurpark.  A nice little place to relax in if it’s not raining, with a few statues here and there by various artists expanding some of the creatures and worlds from the poetry and literature of Michael Ende, who was born in Garmisch.

In the evening the rain cleared, and we watched the local band play various pieces from Richard Strauss, another product of Garmisch. 

We returned to our new favourite place again for dinner, welcomed by the waitress as though we were regulars, and ate inside this time as it was a bit chillier tonight. 
½ a roast duck, ½ a litre of beer, ½ a litre of radler and a crème brûlèe with the best ever blood orange ice cream and I’m done to the point of exploding.  Literally, I rolled back home.

Flickr pic album thingo of the day in the usual place...