Munich, Linderhof Castle, Oberammergau

German Royal Residence
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Today our sleep-in was disturbed by a wrongly timed wake-up call. This did not bode well for the day as Joe also had an upset tummy. On the morning schedule was a coach city tour of Munich. This was a drive-by of the major sights of the city. Unfortunately we did not get a chance to get any good photos of the buildings and statues as there was no stopping and getting off the bus. Afterwards a number of people commented that they would have preferred to have missed the morning tour and just walked around with a map to see the places they were interested in.

Munich Golden Statue
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We were dropped off at the Opera house building where we were instructed to meet the bus for the afternoon tour. We had an hour and a half of free time to walk around the pedestrian area of the city centre. Maria walked us to the Rathaus where the famous Glockenspiel clock is located. At midday we saw the figures moving and telling their story. The music of the glockenspiel however was not operating as it was under repair/cleaning for the Munich birthday celebrations for next year. We walked down to one end of the pedestrian mall which was bordered by one of the original city gates.

Ding, Dong goes the glockenspiel...

Munich Rathaus Glockenspiel
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We stopped at a small cafe and ate nachos for lunch and just watched the people go by. We decided to venture down to the farmers market which was at the other end of the mall. Here you could buy every sausage known to man, and I am still not sure how the locals decide which of the 10 or so sausage shops to buy their raw sausages from. The market also contained bread, fruit and vegetables and the usual mixture of snack and food shops for the tourists and locals to buy a snack for lunch. We had time after this to stop at the local starbucks to get a latte machiatto before getting back on the bus.

Napoleon Obelisk
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An hours ride brought us to our location where we had a guided tour inside Ludwig III residense. This small palace contained only 5 rooms whcih were extravagently decorated in ginded gold framework and walls and ceilings painted with pictures reminicient of the favorite location - Versailles. In the dining room, his table was situated near the centre of the room and sat atop a mechanism that allowed the table to be lowered into a lower room. Ludwig III was a loner and did not want to interract with anyone, so his 12 course meals were served on the table so that he did not have to even interact with his trusted servents while he had his meal. Inside the castle we were not allowed to take photos because of copyright, but outside we took many photos of his french gardens, golden statues and fountains. We trudged up a steep slope to get a photo of his palace and waterfall. He had also built a moroccan tea room which he decorated with what he thought an arabian prince should have inside a tea room.

Munich City Gate
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Our group then travelled on to the small town of Oberummergau where we strolled around the small shops and then sat down at a small cafe/restaurant for an afternoon snack. Joe decided that the apple strudel looked good and had it served with custard, icecream and cream. I chose marbel cake but also snuck some of Joe's yummy warmed strudel. The cappacino's were also I think the best we have had so far in Germany.

We returned to Munich at 7pm and straight away I headed out to dinner with a couple fo the other people on the tour. Joe decided to stay in the room due to his tummy upset. We ventured down to a nearby Bavarian restaurant which was recommended by Maria. This turned out to be the best meal of Germany so far. I chose the lamb chops with grean beans flavoured with bacon and garlic and potato pancakes. I also decided to drink a Randle - which was the German word for a shandy. This half litre glass went down a treat. After this I was peer pressured into having dessert as well as all the other people at the table were ordering. Here I had pancake with walnut icecream and fruit. I love the walnut icecream here and could have eaten it alone without the pancake - but hey, what's a girl gunna do?

Ludwig II Linderhof Palace
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It was a slow stroll back to the room, trying not to get taken out by the many bicycle riders that are in town. They have their own bike lanes on footpaths and have right of way in this area. A quick side-step after the hearing of a ding-ing bell behind me averted what would have been a nasty scene. We all agreed that the meal was fantastic and were all looking forward to the evening rest.