Today I wanted to visit Linderhof. It is one of the 3 castles that King Ludwig built and the only one that was actually completed. I believe he had planned a fourth but both his money and his life were gone before that happened. Linderhof is about 15 kilometers away from Oberammergau and I took up Erik's offer to borrow a bike to get there rather than drive. He suggested I take the bike trail there and then ride the road back. I figure each day I can do stuff without driving is a day I don't have to spend money on gas. As long as I enjoy what I am doing it is a good plan. I got up and had breakfast and was able to borrow some of Sid's sun block before I left. I had to wait a couple minutes after I was finished for Erik to return so I could borrow the bicycle. He had ridden his into town to buy a newspaper. He let me borrow his own bike mainly I think because it was the easiest to get. I borrowed a lock and basically with my camera bag strapped to my back was on my way. I think I left about 9:00 to 9:15 or so.
The ride started out along trails I had already walked for some distance including part of what we had walked by accident to get to Ettal the day before. The bike route to Linderhof is clearly marked with signs so you always know which way to go. It is sometimes along the road and sometimes in the woods. I liked the shady parts of the ride a lot. It was a little bit cooler to start the day than the previous day and with the motion of the air around the bike it felt quite good. I even didn't sweat too much. I can admit my legs were still tired from the two previous days of walking and I actually was able to take my time riding, something I am not normally able to do. I think I exited the gate quickly but as soon as I was on new trails I slowed up a bit to keep my legs from being too destroyed for the ride back. It would be another 13km back by the road. There was some stunning scenery along the way and that gave me the excuse to stop and take pictures also which helped me pace myself a bit more. I am sure I rode through Graswang along the ride although it didn't look like much to see. Less than Ettal which would be nothing without the monastery. The ride to Linderhof is up hill generally but the slope is very slight most of the time so overall it was not that difficult a ride. Erik said one area was going to be tough but I really didn't notice it much if at all. When I finally made it to Linderhof it was probably about 10:40 or so. I arrived into a parking area with one small souvenir shop. I found there were not bike racks so had to lock the bike to a tree. I think if it were my bike I might not have worried about it so much. I don't think it would have gotten stolen, but where it wasn't mine I had to be responsible and make sure. After I secured the bike I bought a bottle of water at the shop and drank it down rather quickly.
From there it was a matter of following the signs to the castle ticket office and buying a ticket for the tour. This works similarly to Neuscwanstein in that you buy your ticket for the tour and then walk to the castle and are let in by an automated barcode reader. It was a little bit looser than Neuscwanstein but it effectively worked the same. I was a few minutes ahead of the tour but not much so I used the time to take pictures of the outside of the castle and the surrounding grounds until it was time for my English language tour. I guess maybe a lot of English speakers don't go to Linderhof or something because my tour consisted of a mother and her 4 children and one other girl who didn't say a word the whole tour. I like the fact that the group was so small but I would rather the kids were a bit less restless than they were. I suppose a couple of them were to young to get the process. Nonetheless they really weren't that bad and their mom only shushed them a couple times. The guide was a woman who brought us through basically all the rooms of the castle.
Linderhof is the first castle that Ludwig built and the only one that was completed as I said before. It is the castle that he lived in the longest, which I think was about 3 years. As with Neuschwanstein the castle construction was dedicated to someone, basically Louis XIV. So it is designed to look like the palace of Versailles in miniature from the inside. The outside has a similar feel to with the French style gardens and fountains. Each room was somewhat based off the idea of Versaille though there are not that many rooms. It is a small castle. The king's bedchamber was quite magnificent as the bed was huge and the room very detailed. The room was set up to be a receiving room for guests the same as if it was Louis XIV's time. The view from his bed is of a large waterfall type fountain that is quite impressive looking. Additionally, the castle had a hall of mirrors. It is fairly impressive if not quite up to the hall in Versailles. Standing in the right place makes the room look gigantic of course as the repeated reflections go on forever. It is a cool effect. Apparently it was Ludwig's favorite room to read in. The guide said the many candles that could be seen in the room would typically be lit and that would add to the effect incredibly. I am sure it was a great sight. They won't light the candles now I am sure for fire safety and to protect the room from damage. I think the tour was about a half an hour long and ended in the hall of mirrors. From there they send you down the servants steps to a small gift shop in the bottom of the castle. No pictures allowed inside the castle again so I bought the book.
After the castle proper I walked up the hill to the Moorish Pavillion which is also quite stunning looking. I did not write down the German name and my book is only in English without reference to the German names of the sites. The pavilion is supposed to be themed after the book 1001 Arabian Nights. The door is covered by curtains and as you go inside you find the room is protected by glass panels so you can look in but cannot actually get in. I am sure that is because too many people cannot look but not touch. It was very cool looking inside but the glass made it tough to get good pictures and to see the whole building. Still, I liked it.
After the pavilion I headed over to the Grotte which is a fake cave built into the ground made to look like a natural cave. I believe Ludwig used it as an entertainment chamber. It was set up so he could have musicians play while he either was pushed around in a small boat or perhaps sat in his special booth. The ticket price for the castle includes the tour of the Grotte but it is not set for a specific time on the ticket so you can go when you want but they only appear to do tours every 10 minutes or so. The tour is initially done in German by a guide. There were a lot of people who went in and it was difficult to see at first but fortunately they have a prerecorded audio version of the tour for after the German part so I got to stay around and listen to that with only myself and girl from the castle tour still inside. She didn't say anything this time either. The Grotte is definitely something that points out the eccentricity of Ludwig beyond some of the other stuff they had. They were playing Wagner when we entered. Something from Tanhauser. Of course all I could hear is, "What's Opera Doc?" Still it was kind of cool. I guess it was the first structure in all of Germany to be set up for electricity which is also a cool fact to know.
After the Grotte I walked back towards the ticket office with a brief stop for the Moroccan house which is a neat structure that also had a set of glass panels to allow you to see inside without being able to enter. I took a few pictures but as I was doing so a large crowd started assending the steps to the house noisily and I beat a hasty retreat. From there I worked my way back into the ticket and souvenir shop area and decided to have lunch at the Hotelshloss Linderhof's restaurant.It is basically the only location I could see to have a sit down meal though a few of the shops also sold on the go type food. I wanted to sit down and relax though so I chose to eat there. I had a dark beer from Haubrau Munich. The glas said it was a weisbier but I think it was just the wrong glass because it didn't taste like a weisbier. Either way it was quite good. I ate a turkey cutlet with asparagus which was white asparagus. The food was tasty and filling. After eating I also had a Shokokuss which was a chocolate sundae with both chocolate and chocolate chip ice creams. They put a macaroon on the spoon and it had a wafer cookie stuck in it as well. I really enjoyed it a lot. I am sure it was more calories than I really needed but I earned it with the biking I think.
After lunch I basically headed back to the bicycle and mounted up for the ride home. Taking Erik's advice I took the roads rather than the trails. He said I wouldn't have to pedal at all on the way back. This probably would have been true if it wasn't for the giant headwind I seemed to find as soon as I got on the bike. I am not saying I had to struggle to get back but it definitely wasn't pedaling-free as the wind kept pushing me to a near stop on the flatter surfaces. Still it was basically downhill the whole way. Where the trails were probably about 15km the road is about 13km. I did like the trails for being able to hide from the sun somewhat which was not something I could do as much on the road. Either way it was basically a pleasant ride and I fell into town about 2:45 or so. I have to admit my legs were jelly and I couldn't ride up the hill to the hotel. I am embarassed for that but I walked the bike up and locked it away for Erik.
After a quick run up to the room to get some water and wash up a bit I walked back into town to see if I could find some sun block of my own and was able to get some for a reasonable price at a sporting good shop that I am sure seasonally changes from hiking to skiing. I had washed my face so I applied some more as soon as I bought it and then walked around town a bit more sort of randomly then headed back to the room at around 3:30. Sid and Juliano were in the lobby talking and I chatted with them a few minutes. Sid convinced Juliano not to follow his plan to hike to Pershling which really would have been about 9 or 10km out and then back and instead offered to drive him to another town where he could see something different and get some hiking around a pond that is there. He offered for me to go too but my legs were just too shot to consider anything and I figured my best bet was to climb up to the room and get on the balcony and write the blog to this point. The nice thing about my balcony is it is on the shady side of the house so I could sit out and relax and write in the cool breeze with my friends the bees.
After I was done writing the early part I took a short nap because I was exhausted then headed downstairs to dinner. I had 2 Koenig Ludwig Dunkel beers and the chicken fricasee with rice and peas. The fricasee was a cream sauce with mushrooms and was quite good. There was a lot of food and I managed to eat it all which surprised me. I guess I was really hungry. Along the way Sid and Juliano came back and had their dinners and we chatted. They found a mud treatment area and put their feet in the mud and they said they felt much better after doing it. I followed dinner with a coffee and no dessert since I had the big dessert at lunch. After that we still chatted for a while longer then it was off to finish up this and get some well deserved sleep.
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