Summers in Europe are one of a kind. Especially when you are in Bavaria. The lush green fields and mountains take your breath away. The pleasant air on your skin and the beautiful landscape gives an impression of being in a paradise.
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| Village Ettal on the way to Linderhof |
A very special thing about Bavaria is its Castles made by King Ludwig II. He built three of them: Neuschwanstein, Herrenchiemsee and Linderhof. I have been able to visit two of them till now Neuschwanstein and Linderhof. A first glance at these castles will bewitch your mind as these are probably one of the most beautiful castles I have ever seen.
During one of the weekends on my exchange program to the Technical University of Munich, I had an opportunity to travel to Linderhof castle with a service packet tutor program which is mainly meant for international students to help them see nearby places. The group consisted of roughly 12 people. We met at the central station around morning and took off on a train towards Mittenwald. The weather was perfect and the spring was at its best in Bavaria. There could have been no better time to be outside in this place which otherwise had been gloomy and rainy during the initial part of the summer. Huge amounts of rain caused landslides at various places along the railway and we had to change to a bus and a train again. So the journey which generally takes about 2 hours took nearly 4 hours. Since the weather was good, we did not mind that.
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| Spring in Bavaria |
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| Ettal Abbey on the way to Linderhof in the village Ettal |
Besides due to these changing schedules, we stopped at various beautiful locations such as the village Ettal. This small village has a wonderful monastery and an amazing landscape. People pass through this village as a part of bike rides and hikes, the trails of which one can see from the main street. So this place is ideal for weekend bike rides and hiking.
No doubt, the bus ride from Ettal to Linderhof has a great view. Linderhof palace was the center of attraction in the area. Various tourist shops sold souvenirs, ice creams and there was a beer garden as well (which is probably quite common in Germany: anywhere you go, there will be a beer garden.) The palace is surrounded by mountains on all sides and its white color stands out between the green landscape.
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| Linderhof Castle |
Kind Ludwig II made this palace sort of as his weekend getaway. This is one of his three castles and the only one to be complete. He used to come here for couple of days in a week or two and spent his time all alone in the midst of the pleasant atmosphere. The inside of the palace is beautifully decorated and he has, in modern terminologies, a music room, bed room, dining room, audience room: almost everything here. He preferred not to see his servants during his stay there. And yet, he had to have food which had to be served by them. A solution to this: He dined in the first level and his servants used to serve him from the ground floor. The dining table was kept on a platform which could be shifted from the ground to the first level using ropes. There are loads of mirrors and paintings in this small castle. In short, King Ludwig II must have had an awesome time here. He constructed an artificial cave as well where he used to have his "party" by inviting female dancers over (at least that is what the guide explained.)
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| Swans in an lake in the palace garden |
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| The fountain in front of Linderhof Palace |
A beautiful garden surrounds the palace and provides a natural recreation for everyone here. It is not just the palace that takes the credit for its splendid construction, but the location that the king chose makes all the difference. This is quite the feature of King Ludwig's castles: Neuschwanstein and Linderhof. If you are anywhere near Bavaria any summer, do squeeze your time to visit this castle.
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