European Adventure 1 - Day 8 - Munich/Chiemsee Castle

Full last day in Munich and its still raining. Have bought the ticket to see the Chiemsee castle so hoping that it will not be raining out of the city. Breakfast is the same old stuff. Weather is also getting old. The line for the tour had already begun even though I thought I was early. There were many tours leaving from the same place. The tour guide was not very good in informing where the line was for the Chiemsee tour. The bus also was a little delayed, but not that much, just about 15 mins. The drive was okay. Saw the same sights of the city as yesterday. Ursulla, the guide, gave us a nice history of the city. Hitler had a strong connection to Munich. He got his start from here after he came from Austria. I need to brush up on my WWII history.

The scenery outside of Munich would have been nice except for the rain. Got off near the Chiemsee lake from where another guide, Alexandra, took over. I also had to pay E-25 more for the boat ride. That was not disclosed prior in the tour! Not good.

It was still raining. Two nice ladies shared their umbrella with me. Turn out to be a mother and daughter from California. And then we were all together for the rest of the day. They were really very nice ladies. Just like I always think about Americans. The whole day was cold, rainy and miserable.

Took the boat across to the island where the castle is. There was still a 10-15 min walk to the castle. Damn I miss packing shoes! The front of the castle was gorgeous with huge fountains and the most interesting looking statues in it. Took photos, despite the rain. After another 15 mins we were given the tour of the castle. I would classify it more as a palace.

The castle was Ludwig II’s, who was a fan of Ludwig XIV of France and so he replicated 4-5 rooms of Ludwig XIV Versailles castle in this castle. He must have been in love! The chandeliers were amazing and so was the wall work. There is a lot of gold everywhere. Apparently he got 5 kg gold and plated a number of things with it. He had a secret staircase going to the dressing room from his bedroom. His whole dining table went up and down a floor so he would not have to see his servants while eating. (Once the table was set, it was sent up). Sadly, we could not take pictures here anywhere. The bedrooms, the staterooms were just too beautiful, my hands were itching for my camera.

After the castle was a museum where we could take pictures. There were some replicas of things and other collectibles.

We then walked back to the boat ramp, in rain! Went to the Woman’s Island. It is a beautiful little island with a church for about 23 nuns. There were a few more houses and a couple hotels there.

We had lunch in one of the restaurants. The menu was all in German but luckily the owners spoke a little English. All three of us ended up having the same things: spinach soup and French fries! All really good. They served the fries with mayonnaise! We ended up asking for ketchup. The American ladies were ready to pay for me. How amazing! But no, I paid for myself and a little bit for them also.

After eating we took a tour around the island. It had stopped raining a bit. The church was beautiful. So simple. Outside of it was a small cemetery, really unique in it graves and beautifully kept. 

We left the island by 5 pm and waited for the bus. The ride back was quite uneventful. It was still raining in Munich. Not much to do, so went back to the hotel. Could not eat any dinner, the spinach soup was quite heavy. 

Tomorrow morning I have to leave. There is not much packing to do since I did not buy much. But I am worried about how much I will pay for the extra luggage.