Schloss Linderhof & Oberammergau

Grandma, Stefanie & Rachel

Today took us to Schloss Linderhof and Oberammergau.  Schloss Linderhof is one of "mad" King Ludwig's castles. In fact it is the only one he ever finished and the one where he spent the most time. Although it is the smallest of his castles it is incredibly ornate.  It even includes a hall of mirrors. This is an amazing room and when you look into the mirrors you feel like the room never, ever ends.

A small extra bit of information, Ludwig's most famous castle is Neuschwanstein. This is the castle that Walt Disney used as the model for the Sleeping Beauty castle.

Although it was well below freezing it was a glorious day. The sky was blue, the sun was shining and the mountains were visible. The paths along our drive were filled with cross country skiers and snow shoers!


There is a small downside to visiting Schloss Linderhof in the winter. The gardens are covered with snow, the fountains are covered up and most of the grounds were closed off for safety. However, viewing the grounds full of snow was quite enchanting. And? It means we have a reason to visit again. The biergarten on the grounds looked quite nice! Actually, we also have a second reason, the boys opted out of our trip today, their loss.

After touring the castle, exploring the grounds and of course taking pictures we drove to Oberammergau.

We have visited Oberammergau before (Oberammergau) but we thought Kay would also enjoy the little village.  Plus we were hoping more of the cute little shops would be open.

Pilatushaus

Unfortunately not as many stores as we hoped were open but it is still a picturesque place to explore and a wonderful wood carving shop and an outstanding Christmas store were open.  I now have my eye on a new Christmas spinner as well as a cuckoo clock!  The girls also found a candy store that was open.  They were thrilled.

We had read in one of our tourist books to look for Lüftmalerei which are paintings on the fronts of the buildings done in an illusionist style. The Pilatushaus is painted in a way that the columns develop a 3-D effect as you get closer. I actually think Steve's picture captures the effect.

Steve, Grandma, Stefanie & Rachel

Once we were done shopping we walked through the rest of the town ending at Alte Post for a traditional Bavarian lunch.  We were not disappointed.  Traditional Bavarian food is delicious and after spending the day outside on a cold, snowy day it is absolutely marvelous.  We even sat next to a typical Bavarian Kachelofen which is a wood burning stove.