Bavaria

I think i must have offended the weather gods.  Of the 12 days I spent in Germany, only 4 were sunny and 2 of those were travel days. Probably another 2 full and 2 half days were just overcast and threatening while the rest were fairly consistent rain.

The Sunday I travelled by train from Strasbourg to Munich then onto  Garmisch-Partenkirchen was sunny as was the next day when, seeing the forecast, I did hike up into the hills about 450 metres. This photo is taken where I had a coffee at Partnackalm about 300 metres above the town. I do like the way you can find restaurants with some accommodation up in the hills. Many people hike up for lunch.

On Tuesday I went to a lake near my accommodation, Riessersee, and you can see the clouds were already low so I only went up about 100 metres and was back in my apartment for a late lunch as the rain set in.

With pouring rain on Wednesday, I decided to go by bus to one of King Ludwig’s castles, Linderhof. I had visited it in the 1970’s. I got drenched just waiting in the queue to enter and as I left, not spending much time in the gardens, it began to snow although it did not settle in the valley. I think the mountains would have been beautiful if I could have seen through the clouds.  I had to change buses in a favourite town of mine, Oberammergau, so cheered myself up with a big plate of strawberries, cream and ice-cream.

The next 2 days were just drizzle so on Thursday I walked in the hills just above the town but only up about 100 metres and travelled by bus to Munich on Friday. That evening I went to the impressive Herkuulesaal in the Munich Residenz where I heard the Bavarian Radio Orchestra. Sir John Gardiner was the conductor. I think I have seen him conduct Last Night of the Proms.   I was in the very centre 2nd row but I actually prefer to be up high so I can look down and see all the orchestra.
Berlioz 'Harold en Italie' was first with Antoine Tamestit playing the viola solo. He was excellent and quite a showman.    The 2nd half was Schubert Symphony Nr 8.

Saturday in Munich was overcast but did not rain until evening. I went to the Nymphenburg Palace. I do not remember going there on my previous visits to Munich. After going through the amazing Baroque and Rococo rooms in the main pavilion, I wandered in the 200 acre park somewhat reminiscent of Versailles, and visited the 4 garden pavilions, each in a different style. This photo shows the hall of mirrors in the Amalienburg Pavilion.

Sunday morning was rain again and I wandered in various parts of Munich but it fined up in the afternoon allowing me to go to the English Garden which is a vast urban park. As in 2008, I joined many locals in sitting, drinking beer and listening to a Bavarian Oompah brass band. I only managed a half litre unlike the litre jugs being drunk all around me.

Monday was fine and sunny again as I travelled by train to Berchtesgaden but the rain returned on Tuesday so all I managed was a 2 hour soggy historical walk around the hills above the town.
Wednesday was better but still overcast so I decided to take the boat ride on Konigsee. I had taken this twice before, in the 1970’s and in 2008 but both were in the off season when the electric boats do not go all the way up the lake. This time I went to the end and took a walk to a smaller lake, Obersee. The track was a bit rugged in parts, but, even with the clouds, the views were magnificent.

Finally on my last full day in Bavaria, I had the sun and blue skies which I would have liked to have seen more often.  I took the Jennerbahn, a 1,170 metre cable gondola almost to the top of Jenner Berg 1,874 metres where we could see over 100 German and Austrian peaks. 

I tried to climb the final metres to the very top but even with my boots and stick the icy steps and dizzy heights forced me to retreat. However, after descending to the middle station, 1534 metres, I walked down a muddy track with lots of steps to the bottom at about 700 metres.

Wanting to make the best of the weather, I took a bus in the afternoon to another lake, Hintersee

 and walked around it and followed a nature trail through the Zauberwald, or Magic Forest, probably about 7km in total.  No wonder I had trouble going down to the town for my dinner.

It was another sunny day as I travelled into Austria and the Salzkammergut region.

Return to Germany

It has now been just over a week since I posted from Finland. I spent 24 hours sailing from Helsinki to Rostock in Germany. I was pleased and surprised to find that I had internet connection in my cabin on the ship. Every time I looked, there was at least one other ship in sight and often we could just see the coasts of Sweden, Poland and Germany. As we approached Rostock, I tried my mobile phone and it was trying to connect to Danish telecoms. There was a bit of a hassle trying to get from the ship to the hotel, the company does not really cater for the few travellers without cars. However I had an English couple with whom to share my frustration. I spent an hour wandering in Rostock the next morning and the city centre is very pleasant despite the surrounding depressed factory areas and ship yards. There is still some evidence of the old city walls and the Steintor or stone gate was just a few yards from my hotel.


I caught the train to Leipzig with a 30 minute change back in Berlin. For several reasons I was not impressed with Leipzig. It is still undergoing great changes and rebuilding including an underground railway which meant construction sites everywhere. You can tell you are in the old East Germany by the dilapidated, often empty buildings near the railway and those horrible 50's flats in the suburbs. My hotel was located amongst some of these. I knew it was a 20 minute walk from the station but did not expect nearly as long to reach a restaurant.

Bicycles are far more in evidence in European cities than in Australia but in Leipzig they were a plague. Pedestrians are definitely bottom of the pecking order. Lights generally control cars and while trams do not follow the same light system they are large and noisy but bicycles creep up on you from all directions sometimes at speed. They have their own paths which must be crossed but I found they were quite happy to infringe on the marked pedestrian paths if travelling abreast or overtaking each other. I am afraid I will not be so sympathetic to more bike paths in Sydney in future.

I mainly chose Leipzig as a base from which to travel to nearby towns and found Weimar much nicer. I spent quite some time in Goethe's house. Goethe is the German's equivalent of Shakespeare for the English. In fact he was far more prolific, having lived to a good age and had wider interests than just literature. I remember learning some of his easier poems when I studied German at school. The photo shows his house from the garden, no photos were allowed inside.

I have since found there are Goethe houses in several towns and passed the one in Frankfurt. I guess he moved around a bit in over 80 years. Weimar was also the home of the dramatist Schiller and composer Lizt. They also have their houses on display but I preferred a walk in the park which includes another pleasant house with garden where Goethe lived first.
Northern Germany was now having what they referred to as a heatwave and while not equal to those in Australia it was much more pleasant sitting in the shade of trees during the day. I also enjoyed some musicians playing in the main street, a brass band, they played popular classics but also some more recent tunes like "I did it my way".

The next day I travelled to the town we all know as Wittenberg, now called Lutherstadt - Wittenberg. It was where Luther nailed his 95 theses to the wall of the church and later established the Lutheran church. I discovered it was the main festival day for the town which was a mixed blessing. My aim to move quickly through the town and get back to see some sights in Leipzig was thwarted by the crowds. While I spent a long time in Luther's house and could have spent more, the Castle church,where he is buried and where he nailed his theses had a free organ concert in progress. I listened for 20 minutes but could not get near the pulpit to see where he and his friend Melancthon are buried. All this revived memories of my early modern history course at Sydney University way back in 1964. I did buy lunch of bratwurst and crepes from stalls (much like I usually buy at the Katoomba mid-winter festival which is in two weeks time) and saw a bit of the parade with everyone in medieval costume.

However, I rushed back to Leipzig to visit the Bach museum, only to find it is closed for renovations until next year. I did visit St Thomas Church where he wrote some of greatest works from 1723 until his death in 1750. His tomb is in front of the altar.
He also worked in Weimar but the church there was closed for a meeting and his works were also performed at the Nikolaikirche in Leipzig which I visited. It is very ornate.

On Sunday I moved on again by an ICE train to Frankfurt am Main. These trains have whizzed me through Germany at speeds of about 120-150km per hour occasionally passing 200km/hr. You are served drinks at your seat (First class) and given free pretzels or cookies. Sometimes the conductor has attempted to help the grey haired old man with his case. I must point out, the rail passes sold outside Europe are only available in 1st class unless you are a student. On the days when I have purchased a ticket, I have joined the masses in 2nd class.

I stayed overnight in Frankfurt way back in 1974 and have changed planes in the airport several times since but thought it would be good to see the city again. It is, of course, the financial hub of Europe which is evident in the skyscrapers. I made the mistake of going up one of these to the observation platform. When I saw the fence was made of clear plastic, I stayed way back. Some parts of the old city have been rebuilt since my first visit, they were all destroyed during the war. It was Monday so all the museums were closed therefore I mainly wandered the city and along the river. To avoid the heat in the afternoon, I spent over an hour travelling with my day pass on the airconditioned trams.


I made sure I visited the first memorial in Europe to the homosexuals who were also persecuted by the nazis but whose sufferings were not recognised for many years afterwards.
The core of the monument is Rosemarie Trockel's "injured" angel. As a cast of a 19th-century bronze sculpture the angel cites history; time has left its mark on it. Only at second glance does the viewer discern what Trockel herself has changed: the head was broken off, turned to one side and then placed back on so that a noticeable scar remains. As an androgynous being, the injured angel stands as a symbol for "being different", and likewise as a symbol of the violence which homosexuals faced during the Third Reich. A circle consisting of four benches, enclosed by four hedges of box trees, creates a sense of intimacy and tranquility, enabling viewers to contemplate the statue and remember the past.

Located in the heart of Frankfurt's downtown and in the midst of the city's gay/lesbian sub-culture, the Monument to the Persecution of Homosexuals on what is now Klaus Mann Platz is a public symbol against the past being forgotten. As a "village square" it is also a preferred meeting point for the local community and an expression of the self-confidence with which gays and lesbians live in society today.

I referred to my visit to the Holocaust monument in Berlin when I was there. Since my visit only 3 weeks ago, a monument to the homosexuals who were killed by the Nazis has been opened across the street.

Of course, Germany is now in the grip of Europe Cup fever. Fortunately I am not in Austria or Switzerland. However choosing a restaurant for dinner has involved finding one in which the match is not too loud. I decided it was better to be in my hotel by the end of the match between Germany and Poland on Sunday night just in case. However Germany won.

I continued my journey south yesterday and am back in Munich where I started my European odyssey 8 weeks ago. I went to dinner with my host, Rodney, last night but the planned beer garden choice was booked out due to the Football and we went to a nearby restaurant which strangely did not have a TV but was much better for conversation if not for atmosphere. Now to pack and have a final wander through one of my favourite cities before that awful plane journey with again a stopover in Bangkok. I spent the last few days looking forward to getting home but a return to Bavaria and Munich has me wishing Germany and Australia were much closer.