THE END of the ELEGANTLY ORNATE LOOP Part Four

Before moving on, here are a couple of odds and ends:


Coloman Kirche near where we were staying.












A closer look at the branches in water for the holiday.
















Echelsbacher Bridge

We crossed this bridge on this loop drive. But first, we parked the car and walked out on the bridge so that we could both enjoy the view of Poellat Gorge.





























Our last stop on this loop drive was Ettal Monastery, another splendid Baroque church. From the guidebook: "In 1328, the Holy Roman Emperor was returning from Rome with what was considered a miraculous statue of Mary and Jesus. The Emperor was in political and financial trouble, so to please God, he founded a monastery with this statue as its centerpiece." It was originally 'suitably off the beaten path,' but today is a pilgrimage church and on one of the most traveled tourist routes in Bavaria.















The dome.
























Another organ loft.


















































A chandelier in the middle.
















They brought some of the branches inside.

















































































The grounds.












On the way 'home' we passed Plan See - or the Plan Lake. The water was a beautiful turquoise.

THE ELEGANTLY ORNATE LOOP Part Three

Oberammergau actually came between Wieskirche and Linderhof, but I guess that doesn't matter too much.



Oberammergau is known for its woodcarving, but probably more so for the Passion Play that occurs every 10 years. It will be performed in 2010. It is also an extremely tourist driven town and we were glad to be there on this holiday when most things were closed and there weren't very many tourists in town. And remember, this was a rainy day.






The church. Another amazing building. The holiday was something like the Body & Blood of Christ. (Our German neighbor said that when she was growing up they referred to it rather irreverently as Happy Corpse Day....) They have a procession through the streets in the morning. Anyway, everything was closed all over Bavaria, except a few restaurants and shops on the main streets for the tourists. Large tree branches were sitting in buckets of water on either side of all church doors and many businesses also.














Appropriately for a town known for woodcarving, many of the grave markers were wood.

Did I mention that I loved the German and Austrian graveyards? I am not one for cemetaries - they don't hold any real draw for me. But in Germany and Austria they are like many individual gardens. The plots are rented - 10 or 15 years at a time or more. Each family keeps up their own plot, so there is quite a variety of plantings. This sounds really, um, indelicate, but I will just explain how this all works in a straight forward way. If the rent isn't paid, the grave is 'emptied' and rented to a new 'tenet.' More than one person is buried in these family plots. Whenever a new occupant needs to move in, the current body is removed and cremated and then the ashes are reburied with the new body.



Notice the numerous names on this marker.

THE ELEGANTLY ORNATE LOOP Part Two

From Wieskirche we traveled to Linderhof Castle. (Look at a few of the pages of pictures on this link to see interior shots.) Linderhof was one of three castles commissioned by King Ludwig, but it was the only one finished during his lifetime and he lived here for much of the last 8 years of his life. The grounds are beautiful. The castle is small but so ornate and amazing that it is good it isn't any bigger!



King Ludwig, like his father before him, LOVED Wagner and his operas. The rooms are each decorated after a scene from one of Wagner's operas.


Things really started feeling Disneylandish here. The lines where you wait for your tour are like waiting for a ride. Tours are given in a few different languages, so you buy tickets for the language you want and stand in that specific line.




















You walk through these arbors to get to places all over the grounds.











The windows at the bottom of this waterfall are the King's bedroom windows. The bed faces the windows. It was a really nice view from the bed.














This sure looks like a shallow swimming pool, but we don't know if that is what it was.











The side of the castle.












Walking up behind the castle brings you to King Ludwig's manmade grotto, built for personal opera performances. This grotto had the first electricity generated in Bavaria. The space is 300 feet long and 70 feet tall. The 'rock' walls are actually concrete poured over forms.







Looking out over the valley from the castle.

























Looking out from the front of the castle.












Looking back to the front of the castle from the top point in the previous picture.















Don loved this :)
















The grounds are full of fountains.




































































The main fountain in front of the castle. Every 30 minutes it erupts, like a little Old Faithful.




























I loved Linderhof!

THE ELEGANTLY ORNATE LOOP Part One

This was supposed to be our castle day, but it was raining - and raining. We decided to do the loop drive and hope the storm would be gone the next day for castle hiking & touring. We had no idea what this day would hold.

Our first stop was at Wieskirche, Germany's greatest Rococo-style church, according to some. It is a pilgrimage church and is set in the middle of pastures away from everything. The statue that it is all built around is a carving of a scourged Christ. Because it was thought to be too graphic to be accepted by the people, a tiny, humble chapel was built to house the statue in 1739. But then, as people worshiped there, it was reported that the statue wept with them in their suffering. Larger and larger crowds began to come to see the statue and 2 great architects were commissioned to build the church.



Wieskirche sits amongst these fields and pastures.






















This is the original little chapel - not much bigger than a back yard shed.









































When we arrived at the church, a service was just letting out, so an organ postlude was being played. As Don started trying to move around and get pictures, I decided to just sit for a moment and take the whole thing in - sight and sound. And I had the sweetest feeling wash over me. This isn't my kind of art or worship, but I still felt the Spirit whisper to me of love and dedication. I am grateful for that.




























































Ceiling
















The empty organ loft. Their organ was out for renovation and they were soliciting donations to help with that.










The portable organ being used




























I'm sorry these didn't turn out. The art was nice.



The scourged Christ. I don't know if it was even 3 feet tall.