Lonnie and Bob in Europe

Since we have heard that our time is limited in having our own car here, we have been traveling on our P-days to see as much of the country as possible. We headed with the Dearings for Southeast Germany to the Bavarian countryside. It was a rainy day, but the green fields with their growing crops were refreshing. Everything seems to grow fast in Germany’s climate with its abundant rainfall intermixed with sunshine and clouds. Even our tomato plants on our patio are doing well.

We pulled off the road at the Kapfenburg Castle so that Karen could do a counseling conference call with one of her missionaries. This castle, built in 1538, overlooks a beautiful valley and is now a private music school.

Then we drove past Harburg with one of Germany’s best preserved castles, then to Nordlingen, a beautiful walled city dating back to the 14^th century. It is one of only three towns in Germany that still has a completely established city wall, the other two being Rothenburg ob der Tauber and Dinkelsbuhl. It's history is unique as the city is built in the center of a huge crater where a meteor crashed into the Earth 15 million years ago. Nördlingen is also known for it's Willy Wonka and The Chocolate Factory fame (1971). It is the town that the glass elevator floats over in the final scenes. We drove around the inside wall of the city and were fascinated to see that when doors opened in the wall, we could see either gardens on the other side or actual homes that had been built into the wall.

The houses that lined the cobblestone streets were charming.

Timbered houses.

Interesting architecture.

The Old Town.

We went to St. George Church, one of the largest churches in Southern Germany. The exterior is not very ornamental, but it is ornately Gothic inside. The silver on white brought a peaceful feeling.

That evening, we stayed in Irsee at the Irser Klosterbrau Hotel that was once an old brewery that has been renovated into an inn.

This is the view that we woke up to from our bedroom window.

We were greeted in the morning by a fabulous display of food. It was a wonderful experience just to eat there. Germans really know how to do breakfast!

Then we headed off for a wonderful day. As we drove through the southwest Bavarian countryside, we saw wonderful farms, one with a large, old working water wheel. We even saw swans, a cow, and a few deer along the way, which Jerry assured us would bring us good luck, as his last name is Deering.

We arrived at the Schloss Linderhof, the third palace that we had not yet seen of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, and the only one that he actually saw completed and lived in. Ludwig already knew the area around Linderhof from his youth when he had accompanied his father King Maximillian II of Bavaria on his hunting trips in the Alps. When Ludwig II became king in 1864 he inherited the Königshäuschen from his father and in 1869 began enlarging the building. He added three new rooms and a staircase in the rococo style and a stone façade to the wooden exterior. He spared no expense in this jewel box.

The Entry Hall

A few of the rooms

We wandered around the gorgeous grounds. This is the backyard.

This is the front yard.

We climbed a hill to the Venus Grotto that was built for Ludwig as an illustration of the first act of Wagner's "Tannhauser." Ludwig liked to be rowed over the lake in his golden swan boat. He also wanted his own blue grotto of Capri, so he had 24 dynamos installed to illuminate the grotto in changing colours.

We walked over to King Ludwig’s Moroccan Kiosk, designed by the Berliner architect Karl von Diebitsch for the International Exhibition in Paris 1867. Ludwig loved this kiosk so much that he bought it and had it reassembled on his property.

We hopped back in the car and headed to Ettal Abbey, a Benedictine monastery in the village of Ettal close to Oberammergau.

This church was magnificent. I loved the live trees potted inside the church.

While there, a tour group quietly came inside, sat on the pews, and began singing hymns acapella in harmony. It was kind of a flash mob moment for us. The acoustics in the Church were so fabulous that everyone sat down and reverently listened. They were a choir group on tour of many cathedrals, and they sang in each one.

We then drove to Oberammergau, a city renown for woodcarving. The carvings we liked were extremely expensive, so we just took pictures.

Our next stop found us at the Wieskirche, a gem of Rococo 18^th century German architecture created by the brothers Zimmermann. It stands out in the middle of nowhere and has an intriguing story. In 1732 the figure of the Scourged Saviour was carried in Steingaden in the Good Friday procession and was later put away in the Church’s attic and no longer carried in the procession. In 1738 it was removed to the farmhouse of Maria Lori in the Wies where Maria Lori and her husband reported seeing tears in the eyes of the Scourged Saviour. As word got out, pilgrimages began toward the small chapel that had been built on land donated by local farmers. But because so many people were now coming to visit, the nearby Steingaden monastery decided that a large church must be erected.