In the summer of 2004, Carol and I took a trip to Bavaria.  This region in southern Germany is rather mountainous.  Our main purpose in going was to walk the Maximiliansweg, a route through the mountains that had been followed by the Bavarian king, Maximilian.

 

All photos below can be clicked for larger versions.  Note that this account is not day by day but is in order.

 

Before we started walking we spent a few days in Munich.

 

 

 

Then we took the train to Lindau where we began walking.  Lindau, up close and from above.

 

A few days later we were at a high hut marked as part of the Maximiliansweg route.  Note, the sign, the snow, our smiles, and the fierce weather.

 

Descending to the next village we passed this crucifix, typical of what is seen all over Bavaria and walked through this rural village with cows and homes intertwined and stayed in this attractive hotel.

 

 

 A beautifully run trail took us through a rough gorge.  This was one of the few secure spots on the route.

Following the rough ascent we descended and decided to stay low.  This brought us across the German/Austrian border.

 

 

 

 

 

 We often found ourselves in mountain villages at night.  Here we're enjoying some wine and beer.

 

 

The route also passed by several castles, one of which we visited.  King Ludwig was quite insane and one of the things he did was to build fantastic palaces where he could imagine himself in another world.  This example is a Moroccan pavilion.

 

To the left is another of Ludwig's fantasies, a completely artificial underground grotto.   And here is the castle front. A close look will reveal that it is covered in scaffolding but that the government has hung a life size photo of the palace to cover the scaffolding!

 

 

While Carol rested for a day, I walked to Obergammerau where I saw this lovely house painting.

The village where Carol was resting was extremely charming and completely unspoiled.  Here a local farmer grazes his goats on a patch of grass by the river.  And far right I take an after dinner stroll. Visible are the hills I crossed walking to Obergammerau.

 

This picture of me by a lovely little waterfall fails to tell the whole story by a lot.  The day seemed like it would be short and direct.  However a confusing map led to a wrong turn and we went much higher than we had planned and only later figured out where we had actually walked.  We somehow found a road that led down and eventually we were back on the route.  But even once we were on the route there were lots of surprises.  What we expected to be a road was a rather dramatic trail through a deep and beautiful gorge.  This waterfall was found near the end of a hard day's walking.  By the way, this was one of many places we saw the carnivorous plant Butterwort (Pinguicula).

 

We finished up the walking part of our trip in Berchtesgaden.  This town has everything -- good hiking nearby, an incredibly beautiful lake, interesting architecture and history.  It also has a Nazi connection -- Hitler's "Eagle's Nest" is there, perched above the lake.   Here are some samples of the town's attractions. From left to right: 16th century paintings on the "Monkey House"; a view from a boat on the lake; a trompe-doeil house painting; a snow-field in the hills beside the lake.
 

 

While Carol rested her bad leg, I walked in some nearby hills.  In some high pastures, I found the milkmaids selling soft drinks from the back of this barn/kitchen/sleeping quarters.

 

When we left Berchtesgaden, our hiking was mostly over as Carol had severe foot problems.  We headed for Nurnberg where we found both a charming old-town section and some fantastic sculpture.
 
 

This extraordinary sculpture contains seven views of marriage arranged around a mocking jester.  Below are four of these.  The leftmost is perhaps the most horrific, though some might claim the third the worst.
 
To the right are a couple of shots of us in old-town Nurnberg.
   

 

One of the last cities we visited was Berlin, a city I'd like to visit again.
To the left, a marionette and its operators.

To the right, the Reichstag. 

Sections of the Berlin Wall remain intact, though I wouldn't venture to guess how long as no one was objecting to Japanese tourists who pecked at it for a souvenir. And Checkpoint Charlie is preserved as a tourist attraction (left and below).
At the left we see an attempt to mobilize and register American citizens in an effort to defeat Bush.