Behold the nice gazebo at the top of the big hill at the back of the palace.  From here you get a nice view of the whole property, including the man-made waterfall. There are plenty of other water features and fountains… this one just behind the palace.     Ludwig was completely enamored with J. Wagner and his Ring cycle and so the property and the interior reflects some of the characters and scenes from those operas.     There... Read more

In some ways this is a much more beautiful place due to the spectacular setting– a palace, modelled on Versailles and its gardens, between two hills (even Versailles doesn’t have this beautiful a setting).  Whereas at Neuschwanstein you can go inside and take photos, it’s not all that exciting, here at Linderhof, you can go inside and there are some impressive rooms including the throne room but no pictures are allowed (boo, hiss). Here are your tour guides…   Here... Read more

The monastery or Abbey at Ettal in Germany is an important destination for both Catholics and Protestants, the latter because here Dietrich Bonhoeffer hid out for 4 months at the invitation of Father Rupert in late 1939 into 1940. Above is Father Rupert and below is the plaque about Bonhoeffer This plaque is in the prayer room near the door when one enters the abbey.   The Cloister and cathedral themselves are huge…     The cathedral is very ornate... Read more

Sometime you just have to wonder what in the world the builders of some cathedrals were actually thinking.   I mean build an ornate cathedral in the middle of a cow pasture…. quite literally.  But then they tell you this was a pilgrimage church, a church one would stop at on the way to somewhere else like a major cathedral in a major city, say Saltzberg.  But I digress.  And while we are at it… those Guernseys really stink! O.K. on... Read more

Let’s start with the Merry Maids—– you guessed it, it’s Ann on the right, and the cool one on the left, her sister Elaine The church is very odd. It has a central aisle, and then another aisle on the left, and none on the right. Perhaps because the one on the right was added later to honor St. Notburga.  Here’s the tale told about her… That’s her in the town square, and what she is famous for, among other... Read more

On August 7th we went for a boat ride on the Achensee to Rattenberg.   It was a nice please smooth ride to a quaint little village, otherwise known as a tourist trap. So when we arrived at our destination we saw this… There was the expected demonstration of glassblowing.  Joke of the day— What happens when a glassblower inhales? He gets a pane in his stomach. Honestly, we did much care for the product— too gaudy, and too thin as... Read more

The fairy castle of King Ludwig, which became the model for the castle at Disneyland and Disneyworld, is in many ways a sad place. Ludwig hardly got to spend any time here before he and his doctor were found drowned in the nearby lake.  His other residence, which we will see in the next post, he spent more time at, but mainly to be alone.  He was most definitely a loner.  The main thing to see at Neuschwanstein which means... Read more

Tucked away in the northeastern corner of Switzerland is St. Gallen, and the St. Gallen or St. Gall Abbey.  This was our first venture into Switzerland after going to Lichtenstein.  St. Gallen is a beautiful town in and of itself, but the reason to go and see the Abbey is the ancient library there, on which see below.  Here are some shots from the town. Of course if you get lost, this guy me able to give you directions.   Turns... Read more

As one of the four smallest countries or states in Europe (can you name the other 3), Lichtenstein can easily be missed.  Our tour involved not just eastern Switzerland, but also Lichtenstein, Austria, and the Bavarian part of Germany as well.  This country is only 61 miles in area, operates on Swiss Francs, as it doesn’t have it’s own currency, has basically just the one city, Vaduz the capital.  Basically it’s just a 25k long space between Austria and Switzerland,... Read more

As I mentioned, Zurich is on a river and a lake, like Lucerne. Complete with swans.   One of the nearby places with visited was the municipal building where the burgermeister and others do official business. I don’t know of any mayor’s offices that look like this in America, but we do have a few cathedrals that have windows like these… And speaking of interesting church rules, the picture below (actually from Lucerne, but these rules were common) I like to... Read more