Baroque, beer and blockbusters: Bavarian holiday surpasses all expectations

I owe Germany an apology.

Over two decades of prolific European travel, I've never given it much consideration.  I enjoyed a trip to Bavaria and the Tirol in 1986 (old travel diary entry resurrected here) but never felt the pull to return.  Other places always seemed more exotic, offered better food, dangled history and culture that was closer to my heart.  Germany was the home of close colleagues, and a useful place to add a bit of sightseeing on top of business trips (search "Berlin" for several earlier blog entries).  But as the venue for a proper two-week holiday, it never even made my top 20.

Then came my Germanophile husband.  The lover of Wagner and Mozart's German operas. Whose culinary foundations rest upon pork and potatoes.  Whose historical interests include the rise of Nazism, Napoleon's campaigns and the European wars surrounding the Protestant reformation.  A man with family roots stretching back to Western Bavaria in the 17th century.  A guy literally allergic to tomatoes, and spiritually allergic to sun-drenched beach holidays.  So it came as little surprise that, in control of the destinations for leisure travel during his big birthday year, he opted for a fortnight in Germany.

And thus he deserves all the credit for my revelation:  Bavaria is magnificent.

In culture, history and landscape it can hold its own against any other European destination.  In fact, on many fronts, it beats them.  The Wittlesbach family palaces, frankly, make the Windsors look like poor cousins.  This region arguably contains the finest flowering of the Baroque and Rococo in Europe, leaving more famous Italian and French examples looking tired.  (Admittedly, part of that may be because so much of what you see here has been painstakingly re-created since WW2 destruction; thus colours, gold gilt and fabrics are quite literally "like new".)  The Alpine landscape is jaw-dropping.  Should you be an active type, this is dream hiking country.  Meanwhile, down in the flat valleys and along rivers, bicycle trails abound.  Great music, history, art and architecture seem to be around every corner. While most of the dining falls into the hearty comfort food category, you can discover innovative modern cuisine if you look.  And, of course, there's some of the best beer in the world.  When you can't take any more "liquid bread", German whites shipped in from the northern part of the country remind you that their wines are deserving of much greater fame.  All this is delivered by an efficient, elegant and friendly people whose national pride is growing as the spectre of the last great war fades.

Our itinerary looked like this.

First up, Dillingen, a charming town on the Danube about 90 minutes northwest of Munich.  Well off the beaten tourist track, its appeal lay in personal history.  Some Bencards were famous printers here in the 17th century and this town, along with nearby Augsburg, is the earliest point of origin anyone in the family can trace.

Dillingen's glory days were the 17th and 18th centuries, when the Jesuits established a university here and made this their impressive headquarters for running the counter-reformation north of the Alps.  Today it's a relatively unknown place devoid of foreign visitors (the Jesuits are long gone), but the history means you'll encounter impressive architecture and some stunning churches.  And probably have it mostly to yourself.

The main street, Konigstrasse, is stage-set charming. (photo above) The university's Studienkirche and the Franciscan convent church deliver rococo religious fireworks; there's also a cathedral that's supposed to be equally impressive but is currently closed for renovation. The Golden Hall inside one of the university buildings (now a secularised teacher training college) is, frankly, worth a visit all on its own.  Pretty impressive for a sleepy place you can cross on foot in a brisk 15 minutes.

Then on to Schwangau, pressed up against the Alps in the shadow of King Ludwig's fairy tale Neuschwanstein.  I snapped the photo up top from our hotel balcony.  This area is all about Ludwig's architectural fantasies. In addition to the aforementioned (Germany's No. 1 tourist attraction) there's nearby Hohenschwangau and ... an hour's picturesque drive beyond ... Linderhof.  If you want to fully appreciate the story and genius of the so-called "Mad King", you need to spend time in all of these AND visit Herrenchiemsee on the road between Salzburg and Vienna.

The Museum of the Bavarian Kings, newly-installed in an old lakeside hotel nestled in the valley between the castles of Hohenschwangau and Neuschwanstein, is a perfect place to start any visit to the area.  We did it after chalking up five miles scrambling around the castles, and exhaustion dulled some of our appreciation.  Ideally, this is the first thing you'd do on a Bavarian holiday, since the Wittlesbach family influences almost everything you'll see.  Understanding their background and chronology helps to put everything else in context.

Most tourists, of course, are dashing through this area on bus excursions from Munich.  They only hit the highlights and don't have time to linger.  The crowds can be oppressive, but the Bavarian Palaces Department does a remarkably efficient job of moving people through and the minute you stray away from the "must see" stuff, the people fall away.  You'll be pressed body-to-body in Neuschwanstein, but will often find yourself alone in the Kings' museum and are never more than 10 minutes away from a quiet, isolated walk in Alpine forests.  While the bus tours are an efficient way to see the majors when your time is limited ... and that's how I first encountered this area ... I felt sorry for the herds.  Several days in the area meant we could linger in the museum, take some picturesque drives, have the time to explore the grounds and garden follies at Linderhof (almost as impressive as the palace itself) and visit the Pilgrimage Church of Wies, a UNESCO World Heritage Site of staggering rococo splendour.

Another area highlight is the Zugspitze, Germany's highest mountain offering a thrilling cable car ascent and breath-taking views.  It lies just outside the pretty and well-heeled resort town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, someplace that would have merited a wander if we'd had more time.  Even with our more leisurely schedule, we couldn't fit in all this region has to offer.  The famous village of Oberammergau, filled with wood carving shops and painted houses, and the architectural blockbuster of the monastery at Ettal were things we could only drive by and note for another trip.

Next came three nights in Salzburg, where we swam against the usual Sound of Music stream to concentrate on Mozart.  The museums at Mozart's birthplace and his residence in his early 20s give some fine insight into his genius.  You can gawp at the magnificent churches in which his music was first heard (we liked the Franziskanerkirche best) and wander through the grand residences of the prince-archbishop who didn't appreciate him enough.  (He should have spent lass cash on architecture, and more on his musician.)  But the highlight for me was seeing Mozart's Magic Flute performed by the Salzburg Marionette Theatre.

The main town is small enough to be easily walkable and you can cover most of the sights in a day.  That left us time for a day in Berchtesgaden, an Alpine national park best known as being the rural retreat of Hitler and his inner circle.  We did a fascinating half-day tour here to learn about the World War II history; with more time we would have loved to have added in the boat ride on the achingly beautiful lake Konigsee.

We then headed to Munich for eight nights, which seemed like an eternity when we checked in ... but like everywhere else, there was plenty left unseen on the wish list when we left.

This is a royal city awash with lavish palaces, impressive art and sophisticated architecture.  While most people have heard of Mad King Ludwig, few outside of Germany these days appreciate the power, wealth and grandeur of his Wittlesbach forebears, who were kings, dukes and Holy Roman Emperors from this base.

Munich is a spiritual sibling to Florence.  Perhaps no surprise as the Wittlesbachs married in to, and admired, the Medici.  Indeed, the facade of the Residenz is a copy of the Pitti Palace.  Nearby you'll find a near-exact duplicate of the Loggia dei Lanzi serving as the terminus of a wide boulevard of what seem to be Italian Renaissance palaces ... but are actually German university buildings.  A major difference, however, is that Munich is ringed by thriving high tech and manufacturing businesses.  Visitors share space with affluent, busy locals, making this a living, thriving city rather than an historic stage set preserved for tourism.

We balanced "proper" sightseeing (the palaces of the Residenz and Nymphenburg were highlights, the Deutsches Museum disappointed) with gentle rambles around town, chilling out in the Sofitel spa and plenty of time in those famous beer gardens, watching the world go by and chatting to the friendly people who shared our long, communal tables.  We also joined the bus tour masses for one day on an excursion to Nuremburg; a strange juxtaposition of traumatising Nazi history with Disney-cute town centre.

It all came to an oompah-filled climax on the opening day of Oktoberfest, when we joined hundreds of thousands donning traditional dress and cheering when the mayor tapped the first keg.  The opening day parade was impressive, the fairgrounds awash with photo opportunities, but any spot in one of those famous beer tents impossible to come by.  Having drunk the atmosphere, we adjourned to a garden off-site to drink the beer.

In coming weeks I'll cover these highlights in some depth.  First up, the extraordinary Japanese-German fusion meal that we both agreed was one of the most memorable events of the holiday.  Maybe even of the whole year.