My Best Memories of Bavaria

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Bicycling is one of our favorite activities while in Bavaria. The possibilities are endless and each turn of the road brings sites and sounds that have made our memories of this country absolutely unforgettable. If I could "market" this feeling, I would be a millionaire. The Germans refer to it as "gemutlichkeit"- the feeling of contentment and well-being, and we get a healthy dose of it each time we visit.

There are two ways to arrive at the Castle; most use the traditional one, driving up to the castle on a nice paved road. However, since we had expert German guides, we took the back way- hiking a trail that paralleled the raging water of the Pollat River on the backside of the mountain. The hike was relatively easy and by far the most scenic route. After touring the castle we went to the back of the castle and took pictures from the Bridge high above the waterfalls. This view is one of the most spectacular. It was the hydropower of the falls that allowed the Castle to have running water and flushable toilets, conveniences unheard of at that time.

There are four unique features of Linderhof that I remember:

The first is the water fountain that goes off every 15 minutes and shoots water high into the air above the castle.

The second is a man-made underground grotto complete with a lake. King Ludwig would sit inside a Swan-shaped boat on the water while listening to live performance of his favorite Wagner operas.

The third is a Moorish Kiosk that was originally built for the World Exhibition in Paris in 1876 and features a magnificent peacock throne. It was disassembled and moved piece by piece to its present location.

And the fourth is referred to as "tischlein deck dich". It seems that when King Ludwig was a child he heard a fairytale about a King who had a magic table. All this King would have to do is wish for whatever he wanted to eat and it would magically appear on the table. King Ludwig had a table built that could be hoisted up from three floors below (the kitchen) with whatever he wanted on it. For instance, he might announce his wishes through a metal tube that went to the kitchen, "I want a roast goose" The kitchen staff who had to anticipated several of his favorite meals, would quickly arrange the goose on the table and using a pulley system, hoist it up to where he was sitting. The floor would open the table would "appear".

Driving through this picturesque town is to step back 100 years. The houses are painted with beautiful scenes and there are flowers everywhere, the pride of the German household. The lawns are manicured and we did not see any litter, trash, or graffiti.

Traveling with two members of our "German Family", we hired a horse drawn carriage just outside the Olympic Stadium to take us to the beginning of the Partnach Klamm. This is a deep and narrow gorge with a raging river flowing between the walls. It has been adapted to accommodate visitors by way of safe walkways that meander along the river, at times through the rock itself. Although we visited during the warm months, we saw pictures of what it looked like in the winter. The sides of the mountain walls were covered with glistening ice, trees snow covered, making the entire area a "winter wonderland". It is an easy hours walk through the Klamm to the headwaters of the river. The return trip we made overland, climbing to the top of the mountain, with a spectacular view of the area we had just see at ground level. Towards the end of the walk and before we reach the place we started, there was a traditional German Pub. We purchased mugs of "Radler" (half beer-half lemon flavored seltzer water) pulled up a few chairs outside overlooking the Klamm and admired the awesome wonders that we, at that moment, were a part of.

St Martin’s Church in Marktoberdorf sits on a hill, overlooking the town. On many of our walks or bike trips, we would always "find our way home" by locating the church steeple. The interior of St. Martin’s is magnificent, although the pews are not at all comfortable. Obviously, the builders did not want anyone falling asleep.

There are big churches and there are little churches. The picture below shows a very tiny church we found while on a bike tour near Marktoberdorf. Do you know how to immediately tell if the church is Catholic or Protestant? The Catholic Church always has a cross on the steeple and the Protestant Church has a roster on the steeple.