Sept 20th, 2015
Day 4
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| So THIS is why the Motorhome's are so small here! Any bigger, we would not fit on the roads! |
Today our destination is Austria, with a visit and tour of Herrenchiemsee Royal Palace, which is built on an island. We also looked around the adjacent Augustinian Monastery and art galleries. We will drive a total of 69 miles.
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| King Ludwig II 's Herrenchiemsee Royal Palace |
King Ludwig II’s original idea was to copy Versailles Palace in honor of Sun King Louis XIV of France. Started in 1878, it was intended purely as a monument to absolute monarchy, and had absolutely no practical function. The main rooms are some of the best examples of 19th century interior design in existence, and are much more splendidly furnished than those in Versailles.
What was so unbelievable was that King Ludwig II went to such unimaginable expense creating these ornate, gold- gilded rooms in the main area (of which none were intended to ever be used). It was said that the King ran out of money, and with his early and untimely death only the center of the Palace had been completed.
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| We were not allowed to take photos, or touch anything, but here is one from the internet. What a waste of money! |
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| For a king that didn't have enough money to finish his project, he sure spent a lot of it! |
Norm and I had resisted going on group tours up until now. Part of our reasoning was because we would be dragged to places we don’t have any particular interest in. This could be one example. It did, however, certainly educate us about the history of this place and era. Had this not been in the “package” we paid for, we most certainly would have by-passed this and missed seeing this incredible extravagance.
We took the short ferry ride back to the RV’s, had lunch and headed to our day’s next destination – Salzburg, Austria.
We enjoyed the mandatory happy hour then a leisurely meal at the campground with most of the group.
