Linderhof Castle

Our final sight for the day is none other than Linderhof castle. Personally for me, among the 3 castles, this has to be my favourite. This is the smallest yet the only completed finished castle built by the 'mad king', Lugwig II. 

Linderhof Castle is one of the most impressive castles in Germany. King Ludwig II commissioned the construction of three castles during his reign, but it was only in Linderhof Castle that he spent any significant amount of time. Linderhof Palace  is in Germany, in southwest Bavaria near Ettal Abbey. It is the smallest of the three palaces built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria and the only one which he lived to see completed.

 Love the gardens. We were given 15 minutes to explore the gardens before we had our castle tour. Hence, here I am soaking in the beauty and taking the pictures.

 Pat, Ailing & Gina

The terrace gardens form the southern part of the park and correspond to the cascade in the north. On the landing of the first flight there is the "Naiad fountain" consisting of three basins and the sculptures of water nymphs. In the middle arch of the niche you see the bust of Marie Antoinette of France. These gardens are crowned by a round temple with a statue of Venus formed after a painting by Antoine Watteau (The Embarkation for Cythera).

With Eunice and Cheryl

With Jeff ( think we are the only group of people who ventured this area before we ran back to the meeting point for castle tour)

As we are unable to take pictures in the interior of the castle, here's a brief information of what is inside the beautiful castle. The luxuriant interior of the castle includes the royal bedroom with an enormous bed and surrounded by magnificent drapes, golden candelabras and a magnificent chandelier. The dining room possesses a table that could be lowered into the kitchen that was located below.

Oberamergau

We were only given around 45min to explore the streets of Oberammergau. If we had more time, we would be soaking in the sights and the culture, and perhaps have a cup of coffee.

The village is also known as the home of a long tradition of woodcarving; the Bavarian State Woodcarving School is located there. Among the celebrated former students is the German artist Wolfram Aichele. His processional church staff depicting Christ on a donkey can be seen in the church of St Peter and St Paul. The streets of central Oberammergau are home to dozens of woodcarver shops, with pieces ranging from religious subjects, to toys, to humorous portraits.

Oberammergau is also famous for its "Lüftlmalerei," or frescoes, of traditional Bavarian themes, fairy tales, religious scenes or architectural trompe-l'œil found on many homes and buildings.

 One of the lanes that Gina & I explored

 Pat's love for teddy bear - imagine her delight at the bears :)

 Me & You having fun yeah

 The wall paintings are simply beautiful

 The last 10minutes, we manged to grab an ice-cream each. My first and only ice-cream on the trip. Took the risk despite my cough. It was only 1 euro for the ice-cream. I wish I had more.

Woodcarving of St Florian

All too soon, it was time to bid Oberammergau farewell. Here's to our next destination - my favourite castle of the trip :)

Oberammergau Passion Play

 Oberammergau is a municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria, Germany. 

The Oberammergau Passion Play was first performed in 1634. This was the result of a vow made by the inhabitants of the village that if God spared them from the effects of the plague then sweeping the region they would perform a passion play every ten years. The play is now performed in years ending with a zero, as well as in 1934 which was the 300th anniversary and 1984 which was the 350th anniversary (though the 1940 performance was cancelled because of the intervention of the Second World War). It involves over 2000 actors, singers, instrumentalists and technicians, all residents of the village. The recent performance was in 2010.

Over half the inhabitants of Oberammergau took part in the once-a decade Passion Play in 2010. This is an estimate of 2,000 villagers who brought the story of Jesus to life for the audiences that flocked in from around the world. The play started with Jesus entering Jerusalem, continued with his death on the cross and finished with the resurrection. Only natives of the village could participate

 The costumes for the play

We were given 45min to explore the place, which was way too short. There were so many interesting shops and building to view. Between shopping and photography, I chose photography. Stay tuned to more of Oberammergau.

Coffee Club @ Harbour Front

 Pat & Jane

I caught up with Jane on 30 June 2012, for lunch on Saturday afternoon where we met at Coffee Club located at #01-65/66 in harbour front. A cosy and quiet outlet. It was great fellowship and sharing. We met at a writing session in church a few years ago, and only connected back where we were at CSC for Friday growth sessions last year. 

The lovely Jane all set for her lunch

 Honey Blazed Chicken ($16.90)

Tender and delicious

 Seafood Ciopinno ($15.50)

Pat's love for seafood. The dish comprised of soft sell crab, squid, fish and prawn. Tasty and just the right portion for the gal.

 Lunch Time

 Chocolate Delice ($7.80)

Don't we gals always have space for desserts. The chocolate cake was simply rich and delicious. Blend with the ice-cream - it feels like floating in the sky. The berries and the strawberry was very sour though. Lovely presentation.

 Sweet Tooth Pat

 Jane is happy with her Caramel Hazelnut Latte ($6.80)

Our desserts for the afternoon and fellowship time :)

BK Lunch and Supermarket Shopping

Here we are heading to Burger King for lunch after our Zugspitze adventure. This place is just 10 min walk away from our hotel.

 Pat's lunch - Chicken wrap, salad and Sprite

 The gal all set to try Germany's BK

Love the salad

Chocolates galore 

The following pictures are from Jeff's camera (Thanks)

Hearing that there was a supermarket nearby, we decided to venture there. Apparently the supermarket was opposite the train station. We were delighted to spot the supermarket. Check out the series of chocolates. Pity I didn't get a chance to buy that many bars of chocolates this round as I did not have much space in my luggage due to my windbreaker. Instead I was stocking on water. Down with a bad cough and sore throat, I was really in need of water. Yes, I was happily carrying my 2 bottles of water.

Here we are with our shopping loot which we quickly walked back to our hotel rooms to deposit. Stay tuned to the next 2 adventures of the day. What a memorable day we had.