Prost to Bavaria!

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When one thinks of Germany, I believe that they often conjure up stereotypes from the state of Bavaria: bratwurst sausages, huge mugs of beer, leederhosen, white houses lined with brown wood outlines. While some of these stereotypes certainly do exist (much of the beer is served in one size, an entire liter!), it would be unfair to reduce Bavaria to such generalizations. Bavaria has so much more to offer, and with a strong sense of identity, often those who live in this state, with their own separate history and dialect, think of themselves first as Bavarian and then German.

The first day I arrived in Munich I left for the 2 hour train ride away to Fussen, a small quaint town near the border of Austria. I went to visit the Ludwig castles, one of them being the famous castle Disney copied for its own fairy tale castle. I was delighted on the train ride to see the snow and beautiful tall mountains, and as we approached the area of the castles, it was quite a site to see the white castle dazzlingly from the mountain side.

The first castle was the Ludwig's summer home, the Hohenschwangau. It is set next to the Alpsee Lake, with stunning views of the mountains. King Ludwig II was quite an interesting fellow. He had a habit of building ridiculously expensive and lavish castles, half the time never completing them due to substantial costs. Luckily he funded all the castles with his own money rather than putting Bavaria into debt. Although diagnosed legally insane during his lifetime, today he probably would be more considered eccentric. From the Hohenschwangau castle, he had a telescope to watch the construction of his much bigger project, the Neuschwanstein castle. This castle, about a 40 minute climb up the mountain, was breathtaking. Although only a few rooms were actually completed, the delicate details were over-the-top luxurious, including a palm tree column, a movable 2000lb chandelier, a fake grotto and swan facets. Unfortunately, Ludwig only lived in the castle for a total of 172 days. The day he was diagnosed insane, he was taken to another castle, and then next day after going for a walk with his psychiatrist, both were mysteriously found face down in the lake, drowned. Murdered, accidental or suicidal, the deaths still remain controversially mysterious.

Back in Munich I spent a day around the city with a family friend. Walking around the impressive town hall, churches, palaces of kings and queens, Munich is a wonderful city. For the million that live there, it is quite manageable to walk around or take transport. With sun bathing nude in the English Gardens being completely acceptable and normal, many enjoy a beer in the afternoon or a stroll in the nude (although I didn't see any since it was too cold). Beer gardens are plentiful, where old and young, male and female, German and tourist, alike seem to enjoy a jovial atmosphere. Due to a law passed in 1539, it was prohibited to brew beer in the summer. They stored the beer in caverns and planted chestnut trees to keep the beer cool. As a result, leaves would fall on the beer, hence the typical beer mugs with the silver top, but as my friend told me, those who couldn't afford a nice mug, would just put the coasters on top of the beer instead. I visited a few beer gardens, and even went to one that Hitler had frequented with his speeches and rallies.

Bavaria, with the exciting Munich capital, has quite a bit to offer. Yet with all the sausages, beer and bread I've eaten, I think I'm ready for a break from carbs.

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