Alpine roads

A strange figure flanking the altar at St. Mang's

Schwangau seemed to be a good base from which to take an Alpine loop that Rob had in mind, and to visit yet another Ludwig II castle--Linderhof Palace.  So we booked a second  night and spent the morning in nearby Fussen, which to our pleasant surprise turned out to be much more than just a tourist hotel city.  Towering over the town and the river Lech is St. Mang's Basilica.  We walked the historic old town, checked out a lovely wooded local park, took a walk along the river, visited two very ornate baroque churches, and finally tore ourselves away at 1 pm for the ride to Linderhof Palace.

Linderhof Palace

This little "jewel box" of a residence is where Ludwig II actually spent most of his time.  Unlike the huge Neuschwanstein, Linderhof contains just 8 very elaborate baroque-style royal rooms, but no guest rooms.  On display was lots of Meissen porcelain which he collected, along with many varieties of marble, ornate crystal chandeliers, and much gold ornamentation.  The grounds include parterre gardens and fountains and a large grotto (we missed that tour, unfortunately) and a charming Moroccan chapel.  We managed to squeeze in a 3 pm picnic between the palace tour and walking the grounds, and departed at 4:30 to continue our Alpine loop ride.


25 kilometers along, yet another McDonalds stop in Garmische. Rob said he needed a navigation stop. Well, he did indeed chose some fine roads to explore.  Perhaps he'll post a map photo.  The sun shone all day and it warmed up into the 80s. A perfect day and ride, just 115 miles, returning to Schwangau at 8:15. May we have many more like it.