Chiemsee

Chiemsee

The continued lack of an internet connection at home prevented me once again from updating the blog in the last week. They had some issues connecting the DSL this week so I continue to wait, without having an idea of when it will finally happen. So I´m just going to try to pick up where I left off : 2 weeks ago. Friday was a quite night as we were all tired from having gone out to the Hofbrauhaus (yes, once again we ended up there) and to an Irish pub on Thursday night, and then having to wake up in the morning to go to class. On Saturday I had made plans with a friend to go to IKEA so I could buy a couple of things I needed for my apartment. The trip turned out into an almost all day event since the IKEA that can be reached using public transportation is about 1 hour away (between the metro ride and a bus ride). We came back right on time to drop off whatever we purchased in my place and meet up with the folks from school who were getting together to go to a play at the English Garden. That afternoon, just like the previous day, was cloudy and they had forecasted a thunderstorm for the night. The play was supposed to take place on an open-air theater so they had to relocate it to an enclosed building. The play was Moliere’s “An imaginary illness”, the name is actually my translation so I´m not sure it is the right one. Even tough the play was in German I was very happy because there were big pieces I was able to understand. Pieces that I’m sure I wouldn’t have understood 2 months ago when I arrived in Munich. The play ended up at around midnight and since it had been a long day for me (I had woken up early in the morning to go jogging) I decided to go home and pass up on meeting the rest of my school friends who wanted us to join them at the Irish Pub.
On Sunday morning we met at the main train station to head to Chiemsee (Lake Chiem) which is located about an hour and fifteen minutes southeast of Munich. This trip was the last excursion for the month of July and one I was really looking forward to. I had heard the place was beautiful and I have to say it lived up to my expectations. We followed the same routine we have developed by now for these side trips: we bought a coffee and a sandwich to take with us on the train and have ourselves a little picnic before reaching our destination. Even tough the day was somewhat gloomy the train ride trough Bavaria was once again beautiful. We spent most of the ride chatting, listening to everyone’s ipods, and playing “Name that Tune”: one of my favorite games. After getting off on the town of Prien we caught a steam train (a 2 km stretch) to a small port and then a boat to the first island on Chiemsee in our itinerary: Herreninsel or the Men’s Island. This lake is a very popular vacation destination among Germans and foreigners. It is made up of a couple of islands which are visited by people who want to have a very relaxed and stress free vacation. The islands are extremely quiet as there are no cars or motorcycles, no stores or shopping centers and people who vacation there for a couple of days dedicate their time to swimming, sailing, canoeing, riding bikes, hiking or just laying down by the lake to get some sun, read and disconnect from civilization.

Herrenchiemsee Castle

Another reason why this lake is very much visited is because on the Herreninsel king Ludwig II built yet another stunning castle. Ludwig II, who is also known as the “Fairy-tale King”, is the same king that built the Newschwanstein castle; the one used as inspiration for Disney’s Cinderella castle. Ludwig II was a fan of France’s Louis XIV and based on this admiration decided to build a castle just like the one in Versailles, France. Schloß Herrenchiemsee is even equipped with a Hall of Mirrors just like its counterpart in Versailles.

Herrenchiemsee Castle

However Ludwig II died before the castle was finished and construction was completed only in one of the 3 planned wings. As a matter of fact, the king slept on the castle only for a couple of days when he went to oversee its construction. Ludwig II died at the age of 41 in 1,886 and till this day the true cause of his death is a mystery around which lots of speculations have been made. Ludwig II drowned on the Starnberger See (another lake in the vicinity of Munich) together with his personal physician. At the time his body was found on the lake it was officially declared that the cause of death was suicide by drowning, however the true cause has never been fully explained. Preoccupied with his lavish expenditures Ludwig’s enemies decided to have themselves a little re-org: they had him declared insane so he couldn’t continue ruling and confined him to the castle on Starnberger See. The citizens of Bavaria were informed about Ludwig’s desire to “pursue other opportunities” and a new king filled up the now vacant spot. A couple of days after his confinement (between 3 and 5) his body was found on the lake. Since Ludwig II did not have any children (he never married) and his only sibling had truthfully become insane a couple of years earlier, his uncle Prince Luitpold got promoted and became Prince Regent of Bavaria until 1,913. After Luitpold´s death in 1,913 his son became the new king and ruled until 1,918: the end of World War I and the end of the monarchy in Germany.

But enough of a history lesson for today. I just had to write all of this so I can remember it myself in the future, when I want to share it with my grandkids.