Friday June 28 - Munich and a drive through Bavaria

 Jessica’s observations:  

• - They all drive like maniacs, so you must be aggressive.
• - The houses and buildings are better than SF.

Still raining this morning.

Drove to Linderhof Palace, a retreat for King Ludwig II of Bavaria.  Of the three palaces he built, this is the only one that was completed.   

The fountain in front of the palace.   

Lots and lots of gold.  

Behind the castle was a long staircase of water. 

Wandering the gardens. 

The grotto was up in hill behind the palace and was small but interesting.  There was a swan boat in the lake. 

Went to Partnachklamm gorge, which has a beautiful walk through the gorge.  However, the river walk was closed – too much rain.  We hiked above the gorge to a café at the top.  Took the “easy” way down but ended up a mile below our car!  Paul hiked up, got the car (kids were pooped), and we drove back down. 

Next stop was a drive through Oberammergau.  This village hosts a passion play every 10 years.  Paul saw it when he was in the Air Force in Germany in 1970.  Still pretty rainy so we didn't stop to wander around. 

And we stopped at nearby Ettal Abbey...

then up part of the German Alpine Road.

The drive took us by Schliersee, a pretty lake. 

and through the small town of Tegernsee, 

Along the way we saw a McDonalds, built in the rustic, alpine architecture of the region. 

also on another pretty lake. 

and eventually back to Munich.