Fünf Tage in Bayern (Five Days in Bavaria)

Grüß Gott!

Neuschwanstein, Ludwig II's magnificent, fairytale-like folly

I have recently returned from five lovely and freezing cold days in the Bavarian capital, Munich.  Grüss Gott is the regional variation to 'Guten Tag', which I'm glad I knew. I imagine foreigners with no real knowledge of German look thoroughly confused when they don't hear the words they are expecting.

Because Kevin is a teacher, if we want to take holidays together we always pay through the nose because everything costs more in school holidays. With Kevin heading back to Australia for a couple of weeks during his Spring/Easter break, I decided I'd nip away on my own before school holidays commenced, and for once take advantage of some bargain fares. 

Das Neues Rathaus (The New town Hall) in Marienplatz, Munich's main square since 1158.
Miraculously, most of this neo-gothic building survived World War II, when
two-thirds of Munich was flattened by bombing

A touch of modernity next to the ancient - Ludwig Beck department store in Marienplatz

Das Altes Rathaus (The Old Town Hall) in Marienplatz

Ooh, I would love to see this musical!
Falco was an Austrian pop/rock musician who had quite a lot of international success in the 1980s.
He died in a car accident at the age of 40 (under the influence of drugs and alcohol)

I've always had an interest in Germany and indeed majored in the German language at university, as well as almost completing a third major in film studies which focused on European (mostly German) film. We've been to Berlin a couple of times - it's one of our favourite cities - but the closest I'd ever been to Bavaria was Heidelberg in the neighbouring state of Baden-Württemberg, back in the mid 80s.

My friend Anja, who lives just outside Cologne, had told me that the transport system in Munich was fantastic - as it is in Berlin, and I daresay most German cities (I do so love the order, precision and punctuality of Germany... I think it's my Norwegian genes). Thus it was easy for me to make my way from the airport to my Air BnB digs near Sendlinger Tor, one of the ancient stone city gates, which is only a 15-minute walk to the centre of the city. 

The trip to Munich was off to a good start in meeting my utterly charming (and rather handsome) host Stefan, whose funky little studio apartment was a great place to base myself. His building is within spitting distance of hip cafés, restaurants and antiques stores, yet very quiet and peaceful because next-door is a university research building which is unoccupied at night and on the weekend, and across the street is a lovely and historic cemetery (which is obviously extremely quiet most of the time!). I had wanted Stefan's apartment for the entire four nights of my stay, but unfortunately he was already booked up either side of my two nights so I spent the last two in a pension right in the centre of the city.

My Air BnB accommodation for the first two nights

This is the lovely, snowy view I woke up to on my first morning in Stefan's apartment

The Southern Cemetery, across the street from my Air BnB property

This fab vintage bus was parked down the street from Stefan's apartment

*swoon* Ah, the lovely antiques stores in Munich

Stefan and I spent a little while commiserating with each other about Brexit (the Germans are really sad about Britain leaving the EU), and chatting with animation as we took a shine to each other immediately. In his review for me as a guest on the Air BnB website, I was flattered to read Stefan's description of me - he said I was 'one of those guests you want to have as a friend because she is a wonderful person!'

Awww... what a lovely, sweet chap.

Having shown me around the apartment and given me directions to an amazing organic supermarket just down the street, I was left to settle in. By this time it was late afternoon so I trundled off to the 'bio' supermarket and bought just a small supply to keep me going for that evening and breakfast the next day.

Oh, the delights of the German organic supermarket! I spent about 45 minutes in there - they had everything from fruit and veg to a full range of alcohol, ready-made meals, a bakery, vitamins, cruelty-free cosmetics... all of it organic. Not to mention the traditional dipped Easter eggs - pretty!

Seriously - where else but Germany are you going to find a heart-shaped loaf
of organic rye bread?

Pretty dyed eggs on sale in the local organic supermarket

Stupidly, I had forgotten that in Germany generally - and particularly in traditionally Catholic Bavaria - everything is closed on a Sunday.  I didn't remember this fact until late on Sunday, having spent most of the day on the Hop On Hop Off bus, and after noticing that none of the supermarkets or even the little corner shops were open... and in fact most of the restaurants and cafés were also closed. Yikes.

Thus it was that I pretty much lived on the proceeds of my brief jaunt to the organic supermarket for the first 36 hours of my trip. 

Most distressing of all - I HAD EXHAUSTED MY SUPPLY OF COFFEE.... *the horror* 

Stefan had left me a few capsules for his Nespresso machine, and a large quantity of tea bags, and I had intended to buy some more pods but of course the eco-friendly organic supermarket doesn't sell them. No bother, I had thought at the time. I'll pick some up tomorrow... (ie Sunday) 

Heiliggeistkirche, near Marienplatz

Bavarian Dirndl (traditional costumes)
- check out that groovy male mannequin!

Munich's glam Tesla store

Anyway, I diligently spent about six hours making the most of the Hop On Hop Off tour (in other words, hopping on and hopping off) whilst nearly all the other passengers steadfastly retained their seats and simply rode the full circuit, grim looks on their faces - due to the sub zero temperature and Siberian wind chill. Despite my numerous layers of thermal, wind-proof and snow-proof attire, being out-of-doors most of the day really did chill me to the bone and it took hours to warm up when I returned to the apartment... to a cold supper of rye bread and cheese.

Yes, for once TMC* was working in reverse and I was lucky enough to experience the coldest Spring weather since weather record keeping began. Blimey, it was chilly! Overnight temperatures hovered around -8ºC to -4ºC and the daily maximums ranged between -7ºC to +2ºC. We had snow every day! 

* The Maree Curse 

The freezing conditions were evident all over town - the snow had started to melt....
and instantly froze into icicles.
Statues, rooflines, cars - everything had icicles attached

Munich is full of lovely little nooks and crannies,
like this beautiful tiled courtyard
(slightly diminished by the advertising for Starbucks...)

Lenbachhaus, located in the Kunstareal area - Munich's museum and gallery quarter

One of the buildings in Königsplatz, where some of the largest rallies were held
during the Nazi era - see historical photo below

 

Wonne bi (Bliss bi) bronze sculpture by Dietrich Klinge (2006)

Lenbachhaus art gallery

After several hours of braving sub-zero temps and Arctic wind chill factor,
I fuelled up in a very civilised, traditional little café

Müller'sches Volksbad, located right on the Isar River.
This gorgeous art nouveau building houses one of Europe's most beautiful swimming pools

The Isar River, which eventually feeds into the Danube

Side portal to the Neues Rathaus in Marienplatz

Munich is a lovely, safe city - as I anticipated - which made visiting as a solo traveller very pleasant and easy. It's full of history and beautiful boutiques and restaurants. I walked about 10-13km each day which was wonderful. Whenever I travel, being on the move instead of chained to a desk all day is the thing that has the most positive effect on my wellbeing. I've always loved walking and clearly I picked the wrong kind of work.

Max-Joseph-Platz - to the left, the grand portico of the National Theatre,
and to the right, the former Palais Toerring-Jettenbach, a rococo mansion

The gobsmackingly ornate interior of The Antiquarium, 
inside the Residenz München (Munich Residence)

On my second-last day I took a guided bus tour into the Alps. Our first stop was the delightful 'small' castle of Linderhof, one of the palaces that King Ludwig II actually finished. Its design was inspired by Ludwig's idol, the French monarch Louis XIV ('the Sun King'). Visitors are not permitted to take photos inside any of the castles, but luckily the setting provides ample photo opportunities.  

I have previously mentioned in posts that whenever I visit an iconic building for the first time, I seem to have the rotten luck of it being hidden under scaffolding. Thus it was for some of the sights around Munich, though I suppose it's not unreasonable in the winter when historic buildings are traditionally undergoing maintenance.

Ludwig was a very interesting character - a real recluse, to the point where he designed Linderhof's dining room with a table that could be lowered to the kitchen below, where the servants could load it up with food, crockery and so on - and it would then be raised back up. In this way Ludwig could dine in splendid isolation without servants coming in to serve dishes. 

Not actual scaffolding... but some kind of construction ruining my photo!
*groan*

The formal gardens at Linderhof - opposite the palace

The chapel at Linderhof Palace

Accommodation just a short stroll away from Linderhof Palace

As part of the bus tour, en route to Neuschwanstein we stopped in the very cute village of Obergammerau, where once every ten years the Passion Play is performed in a purpose-built theatre. It's a sweet little town, with many buildings covered in frescoes and other traditional decoration.

It also is known for its 'wolf hotel' - accommodation to which you may bring your dog in the knowledge that he or she will experience a similar kind of hospitality and comfort as you.

The main street of Obergammerau

The Wolf Hotel - https://www.hotel-wolf.de/en/hotel-dog-oberammergau-bavaria/ 

And lastly, we arrived at Neuschwanstein - the fairytale castle that was the inspiration for Walt Disney's castle logo.

With 1.3 million visitors annually, this place has got the whole tourist thing down to a fine art. The little village below the castle (Hohenschwangau) has gift stores and restaurants in abundance, and even on a snowy, freezing day in March the place was thronged. You have to book your timed entry and guided tour in advance, and if you're one minute late you miss your slot.

It's a 30-minute walk uphill (along a road) to the castle, and unfortunately you don't get a good view of the building from up close. In any case - yes, you guessed it - part of the castle was hidden by scaffolding. 

The interior is quite dark, and because the castle was not completed before Ludwig II's mysterious death (he and his doctor both drowned in shallow water close to the shore of Lake Starnberg), some of the rooms, whilst gloriously decorated, are devoid of furniture. Still, it's a fascinating tour and I decided it was worth the expense and journey - particularly given the cracking photo I got (at the top of this post) as we approached the village.

One of the lovely tourist buildings in the Hohenschwangau village

Hohenschwangau Castle, which is right opposite Neuschwanstein.
It was built by Ludwig II's father, King Maximillian II

Poor, cold kitty! This little puss was looking pitiful on the long trek up to the castle

The administration building for the castle, just down the hill a bit

... and more scaffolding!

As we left Neuschwanstein the sun came out and we were treated to beautiful snowy fields and mountains, dazzling in the sunlight. 

It was a long day - joining the coach at Munich's central train station at 8.00am, and returning at about 7.00pm.

Excuse the reflections in these photos - taken from the moving coach

I had managed to score a great price on my airfare to Munich, which was fortunate because *oh, my giddy aunt* the eye-watering prices! It's acknowledged as a very expensive city, and of course with the British Pound quite weak against the Euro (almost 1:1), even a takeaway coffee from a snack bar was the equivalent of £3. 

Still, I enjoyed window shopping, even if the prices made purchases beyond my reach. How I would dearly love to go to Munich with an empty suitcase and unlimited funds - such beautiful clothes, shoes and homewares. I also loved all the seasonal Easter displays, which one also enjoys in Scandinavia at this time of year. 

Get your Easter outfit and home accessories here!

Less secular accoutrements to decorate your home for Easter

Awwww.... Mr & Mrs Wabbit in their Bavarian Dirndl Easter finery!

More Lindt gold bunnies than you can count

The beer drinkers amongst you will be disappointed to know that I declined recommendations to visit the famous Hofbräuhaus, or any other sites associated with Oktoberfest. It's not really my thing, and visiting a beer hall as a solo traveller was even less appealing - I might have been persuaded if Kevin was along for the ride.

Then again, if Kevin had been with me we would have had to call it the 'Munich Bread Tour' as neither of us can resist the fabulous offerings of the German Bäckerei, and we'd have returned a couple of kilos heavier... probably with a few loaves tucked away in our luggage as well. 

Germans have a reputation of being quite officious and humourless. To the contrary, I've mostly found them exceedingly polite and friendly, with a great sense of humour. Moreover, like the Italians (and unlike the French) they are particularly obliging when you try to converse in their language. If they're competent English speakers they'll switch to that willingly. If they're not, they are eager to try and meet in the middle with charades and facial expressions supplementing the attempts of each party to make themselves understood.

Munich has such a wealth of interesting sights and stories. Once again I'm reminded of why I choose to live in Europe (though technically, not for much longer with Brexit now only a year away... boo-hoo!). Being able to visit endless locations with centuries, even millennia, of history is enriching to my soul. I am meant to be here.

I can recommend Munich as a tourist destination and would happily return - particularly to do one of the historical walking tours, such as the 'Third Reich' tour. I feel quite lucky to have experienced this city under snow but would I'm sure it's lovely in the warmer months too. 

Servus!

Until next time,

- Maree xo