As every year during our summer vacation me and my family head somewhere far far away from home. We try to disconnect as much as possible for at least a week or two. When I write we or my family this means my wife and me and the whole pack of our sons (three). I pick the destination, prepare the initial itinerary, present it to the family council. When I have the approval of the council I finalise the itinerary, adjust the timing to the dates with the motorhome vacancy and off we go. This year's destination was the south of Bavaria and with that said I have to further explain that our destinations usually take us north from our home. Our journey started with the motorhome fully packed and loaded for the adventure. After crossing the Slovenian - Austrian border and quite some kilometres on Austrian highway we finally reacher the German border and the first stop was already in sight. We stopped in a small town called Gstadt am Chiemsee with its name giving out its detailed location being the famous Chiemsee Lake.
We spent two nights there, visiting the castle on Herreninsel, a monastery on Fraueninsel, had a nice looong boat trip around the lake and enjoyed almost empty beaches of the lake. Herrenchiemsee New Palace is King Ludwig's most impressive castle modelled on French Versailles. We were impressed. However, the nicest place at this stop was the Fraueninsel. It is a very small island with a monastery and only 300 residents which makes it almost a private island. I could even go as far as calling it a private paradise if there would be no tourists, us included :-) Next stop was another small town called Bad Tölz which is a picturesque medieval town on the banks of the River Isar. The square was impressive as was the lively river and the church on top of the hill with a gorgeous view of the glacier valley. Bad Tölz was fantastic, but a bit too crowded for our taste. So we headed towards our next stop. It was an open air museum in Grossweil Oberbayern.
It is a museum with more than 60 original buildings have been conserved and translocated together with their equipment to be restored in the midst of a landscape cultivated to conform to historic patterns. It provides a detailed insight into everyday life of the people of Bavaria. We couldn't see all the 60 buildings, but we did visit all the ones we thought would be interesting for us. We all enjoyed it very much as there were a lot of interesting activities for adults as well as for children of all ages. A museum worth visiting. On our way to the next Ludwig's castle we stopped in Ettal where we strolled through the village and its famous Ettal Abbey. Ettal Abbey is a Benedictine monastery with more than 50 monks and it dates back to 1330. The interior of the church is fascinating. However, we had to move on as the storm was coming. We stayed in a camp offering motorhome stop over in Oberammergau.
The next day drove to Linderhof to visit the aforementioned castle. We were there before noon so it wasn't al that crowded. The whole estate gives you the glimpse of what Ludwig wanted in his life. Ludwig became king when he was still very young and he didn't have enough political experience. He wasn't taken seriously by people running the country so he retreated and build himself his own world. And this was it. His dreams. He just was a genius. He copied a lot from others, especially from his biggest idol the Sun King Louis XIV, but nevertheless his ideas were out of this worlds, sometimes literally.(Un)fortunately we had to move on to Füssen.
Füssen is a nice crowded town in Bavaria, crowded because it is the best starting point for visiting the next Ludwig's castle Neuschwanstein and equally impressive castle Hohenschwangau that belonged to his father. Here we experienced the flood of tourists at its best/worst. In this was also the reason why we left the place with the same speed as we arrived. The castles are different, but both gorgeous. With Neuschwanstein being a 19th century Romanesque Revival palace built with Ludwig's own personal fortune and by means of borrowing, rather than the public funds of Bavaria. The castle also served as an inspiration for Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle. On the other hand Hohenschwangau castle with its neogothic style of exterior owned by Ludwig's father King Maximilian of Bavaria offers great view over the valley and Neuschwanstein. So we come to the part of our trip when we start our way back home. We selected the steep and winding road over the mountains with fascinating views to enter Austria and then the road to Hall in Tirol, a neighbouring town with Innsbruck. We spent the night, had a walk through the main square of a beautiful typical Tirol town and left Hall at noon the next day. One more night in the village called Pürgg with the views of local mountains and a nice valley, a nice stop before the last push. The next day we sleep at home.
To summarise the trip accommodation wise, we slept a few nights for free, a couple for 10 €/night, a couple for 15€/night and the most expensive one was 27€/night all the stops found with the use of Camper Contact Parkings and park4night apps. All in all a fantastic trip with a lot of Sehenswürdigkeiten as Germans would say.
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