Sojourn in Munich, Germany

[mark alba escobar]

Münich: On the prowl for perspective

Starting point

India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, once said, “we live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” Like a distinctive flavor and running theme of my sojourn in Munich, Germany this summer 2008, I was drawn to think about the compelling chunk of that deep enthusiasm to see the city that is known for its multifaceted attractions in art and culture such as metropolis architecture, Gothic courtyards, baroque glamor and neo-classical elegance of churches, majestic castles and palaces, beautiful public parks, awe-inspiring museums, breweries, oompah bands, Oktoberfest and its renowned rail system.

Deep down in me, there was an awareness that tourism in this city was evidently global. I came to admire too how history and its geographic location had shaped the character and civilization of the metropolis. Then I was so fascinated by its royal grandeur along with the treasure-trove of attractions that could open vistas to capture Munich’s rich thriving history, culture and majestic architectural designs. Beginning from the Central Station, I sauntered slowly through the cobblestone roads and enjoyed sightseeing the gallery of major highlights in the city. This enabled me to appreciate the magical world of Munich along with its awe-inspiring palaces and gorgeous buildings.

History

Described as Germany’s most preferred city for good reason, Munich, the capital city of Bavaria, is located on the River Isar north of the Bavarian Alps, at an altitude of about 520 m. It is the third largest city in Germany. Ahead of it are Berlin and Hamburg.

Munich or München derived its name fromt he Old German word for “Mönche,” which means “Monks” in English. This is the reason for the monk on the metropolitan’s logo. In July 2007, Munich had 1.34 million inhabitants. The city has strong Turkish and Balkan communities.

There are traces of the past which go back to the Neolithic era. From the 6th and 10th century, Celtic settlements grew in legendary proportions. Monks from the nearby Tegernsee agreed that Munich’s place was an ideal place to live. They flourished in the area and since then the city landmark had been showing a monk in a black cloak.

According to tradition, the two brothers Counts Otkar or Ottokar and Adalbert of Warngau and Tegernsee, members of one of the noble clans of Bavaria known as the Huosi in south-west Bavaria, founded a Benedictine Abbey in 746 on lake Tegern near the little church of Our Savior that was already in existence. Their families lived at the court of Pippin the Younger, King of the Franks (714-768), whose son fell into a rage during a game of chess and killed the son of Otkar with the chessboard. Pippin was so afraid of revenge that such a powerful family might do. Hence, he asked Otkar and Adalbert for their advice. But the brothers had only one option which was to accept the murder. They decided to turn their backs on the world and returned to their homeland in the south of Bavaria to found a monastery.

Due to incursions of the Magyars at the beginning of the tenth century the founding of Tegernsee itself remained unknown. However, safter the fall of Tassilo III, Duke of Bavaria (748-788) Tegernsee became a royal monastery for Carolingians. ome relics of St Quirinus, a Roman martyr, from Pope St Paul I (757-67) were discovered by the founders of the abbey and these were taken to Tegernsee in the second half of the eighth century. These were placed in the church of Tegernsee.

Adalbert, first abbot of the Abbey in Tegernsee, took part in the Synod of Dingolfing in 770. He, along with his “representative” Zacho, were present also at a synod of St Emmeram in Ratisbon. However, as a result of the efforts culled from the episcopate of Bavaria at that time, parochial ministries of the monasteries were restricted within the territory of Tegernsee.

In the early part of the tenth century the monastery of Tegernsee was invaded by the Magyars. All the religious foundations of Bavaria were entirely destroyed. Hence, all the archives and original documents had disappeared. When the monastery was in the process of restoration by emperor Otto II and Duke Otto of Bavaria in 979, Hartwich, a monk of St Maximinus at Tier, was commissioned to be Abbot of Tegernsee. He endeavored to retrieve and maintain discipline in the monastery. The abbey brought back its life and prosperity. Evidence showed in manuscript written in uncial characters that belonged to Tegernsee and is now at Munich (Clm. 19101).

In the year 982 Hartwich was consecrated as Bishop Abraham (of Gorz, Bishop of Freising) by Emperor Otto II. Following this, monks made their religious profession. He did an excellent job and was succeeded by another Benedictine monk Gozbert of St Emmeram who was educated in Augsburg. Gozbert introduced the study of classics at Tegernsee and started to write anew the works of famous Latin authors and copied manuscripts.

Among the monks who worked up to the hilt as a poet and prose writer was Froumund. His manuscript is still preserved at Munich. He wrote collection of letters and poems of his own and others. He committed himself to bringing the intellectual and literary endeavors between his abbey and the monasteries along with churches of St Emmeram at Ratisbon, Feuchtwangen, Augsburg, and Wurzburg. Glass-staining at this era was also conceived and invented which existed at St Gall and in Westphalia.

Successors of Gozbert such as St Gotthard (1001-1002), Eberhard I (d. 4 March, 1004), and Beringer (1004-1012) continued to reform Tegernsee. Abbot Ellinger was appointed to head the Abbey of Tegernsee but opposition compelled him to return to his original monastery. He was the one who initiated the “Urbar” or book of donations at Tegernsee for improvement and acquisition of skills and talents. Then in 1015 a group of monks established a monastery of Sts Ulrich and Afra at Augsburg. Successive abbots of Tegernsee continued to earn prestige and were deemed as witnesses to the gospel.

In 1180, Otto I Wittelsbach became Duke of Bavaria and Munich was handed over to the Bishop of Freising. Otto’s heirs, the Wittelsbach dynasty ruled Bavaria until 1918. In 1240 Munich was transferred to Otto II Wittelsbach and in 1255, when the Duchy of Bavaria was split in two, Munich became the ducal residence of Upper Bavaria.
In 1225, the dukes moved their government to Munich and made it their main residence.

Duke Louis IV was elected German king in 1314 and crowned as Holy Roman Emperor in 1328. He strengthened the city’s status by officially giving it the salt monopoly that made assurance for additional income.

During the rule of Albrecht IV “the Wise” the city enjoyed a high point of Gothic architecture. The reason was to make Munich the second Paris in the world.

Sporadic wars brought by the princes of Southern Germany, along with the prodigality of many of its abbots in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries made the abbey suffer so much. During the time of Emperor Louis, Tegernsee became subservient to Bavaria and in 1426 the Conventual, Aspar Ayndorffer, who was the second founder of Tegernsee and a close friend of the reforming Cardinal Nicholas of Cusa, was made abbot by papal authority. He made some reforms in the monastery and started to accept candidates for the contemplative life both from the aristocratic and poor families. Monastic discipline was maintained until the abbey was suppressed.

Benedictine abbeys of the Diocese of Freising flourished during the years 1432-1437. One of the monks, Ulrich Stockl (in Latin Trunculus) became known as a good writer of rhyming poetry. Gregory II Rottenkolber was appointed as the last and sixty-third Abbot of Tegernsee. He introduced the idea of sending his young clerics to the Universities of Salzburg and Ingolstadt.

When Bavaria was reunited in 1506 Munich became capital of the whole of Bavaria. In the 16th century Munich was a center of the German counter reformation, center of baroque life, and also of renaissance arts. The Catholic League was founded in Munich in 1609.

In 1623, Duke Maximilaian I made Munich the bastion of Catholicism. It was at the height of Thirty years’ War and at that time Munich was occupied by Protestant Swedish troops commanded by Gustavus Adolphus. In 1705, during the War of Spanish Succession, the city was occupied by Austrian troops who remained until 1714. It was at this time too that the Austrians brutally suppressed the peasant revolt.

During the French Revolution in 1800, French troops occupied Munich and Maximilian Joseph Helped to conquer Napoleon and he became King Maximilian I of Bavaria.

In 1806, the city became the capital of the New Kingdom of Bavaria, with the state’s parliament (the Lantag) and the new archdiocese of Munich’s Freising being located in the city. Many of the city’s finest buildings belong to this period and were built under the first three Bavarian Kings.

The abbey continued to exist until 1803 when it was secularized and became the property of the State. The Abbot of Tegernsee stepped down and the abbey lands situated in Austria were confiscated and monasteries were brought by Freiherr von Drechsel for 3000 florins.

On October 12, 1810 the city of Munich started the tradition of Oktoberfest in honor of the marriage of crown prince Ludwig to princess Thérèse von Sachsen-Hildburghausen. Maximilian’s son, King Ludwig I established a number of beautiful buildings in an attempt to make Munich the most beautiful capital in Europe. It became known as “Athens on the Isar.”

In 1817 the monastery at Tegernsee became the property of King Maximilian I Joseph that was originally owned by the Benedictines. It was transformed into a royal summer residence and it belongs now to the family of the late Duke Charles Theodore who, in 1884 made it an ophthalmic infirmary for the poor. The enormity of archives in the library includes: about 60,000 volumes, 6600 incunabulae, and more than 2000 manuscripts, was integrated in the National Library at Munich.

The Abbey of Tegernsee brought Munich in the map as its intellectual significance could be traced from the domains of literature and art. Some major works which are interwoven with legendary additions include: the “Translation des h. Quirinus” (Petz, “Anecdota,” III, 3), that is erroneously ascribed to Froumund; the poetic presentation of the same subject by Metellus called the “Quirinalia”; and the two “Passiones S. Quirini”, of which the shorter is the more ancient. Then the making of stained glass was introduced and many churches were festooned with stained-glass windows. The first bell-founder from Freising, a cleric named Adalrich, cast the bell of St Quirinus. The glass-painter and monk of Tegernsee, Werinher, built the double doors of the cathedral of Mainz in 1014. Also during the time of Abbot Quirinus (1568-94) printing press was established in 1573. Its importance was chiefly used for religious and popular works, along with scholarly and liturgical books. Architectural designs in the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries were evidently proved with quality and unique craftmanship.

Known as the Mad King Ludwig II who built a number of castles around Bavaria, the most famous being Neuschwanstein, Ludwig II made a huge mistake to make an alliance with Austria against the Prussians. As a result, he went into a self-ordained exile in his castles in southern Bavaria. The state of Bavaria became absorbed into the new German Empire under Prussia’s Wilhelm I. Ludwig II was arrested in 1886 and mysteriously drowned three days later. His son succeeded him as Ludwig II and ruled Bavaria until his forced abdication at the end of World War I.

In 1918, at the end of World War I, the city became a haven of political unrest. National Socialism (Nazism) was founded and on November 8, 1923, Adolf Hitler failed in his attempted Münchedn “beer-hall putsch” which was a coup aimed at overthrowing the Bavarian government.

The first concentration camp was opened in Dachau, north of Munich and on the night of November 9, 1938 known as Kristallnacht saw the destruction of many Jewish synagogues throughout Germany. Hitler persecuted the Jews. Then the Munich Pact was signed in the city by the major European powers who bow to Hitler’s demand to absorb the Sudetan Lands into the Third Reich, thereby hoping to pacify Hitler and cease the alarming threat of war.

Munich was severely damaged by the bombardments during World War II. But after 1945 reconstructions were made and many modern buildings were added like the BMW (Bayerische Motorer-Werke or Bavarian Motor Works).

In 1972, Munich played the role to host the XXth Olympiad Games. In 1974, however, Germany hosted the World Cup. Germany’s National footbal team, Die nationalelf (the National Eleven), won the World Cup, their second World Cup title after beating the Netherlands in the final at Olympiastadion.

In 1978, Franz Joseph Strauss becomes Bavaria Minister-President and developed Munich into a high-tech metropolis.

Historical landmarks

Like what John Dunne once wrote: “At every turn in the road – a new illuminating is needed to find the way; and a new kindling is needed to follow the way.” It was like a moving light that provided me with a spotlight on certain places worth visiting. A passel of historical sites and the pleasures galore that the metropolis has to offer made me think and reflect that truly Munich has an enormous wealth of beauty, history, and art to behold.

The increasingly competitive world of technology reminded me of other first world countries that share a commonality of interest in enhancing more sites and places for tourism. Each gaze at those magnificent sculptures and majestic palaces brought me back to the medieval times and the flowering renaissance of many countries in Europe. It was indeed a blend of tradition and culture, a mix of history and royalty that reflects now its progressive modernity and beauty.

As soon as I got off the Central Train Station, my friend and I started to saunter the grounds of Marienplatz Main Square. It was highly frequented by the locals and people from other walks of life. According to history, it once served as a salt and grain market, but is now a favorite place for tourists who come here for a visit to marvel at the carillon of the neo-gothic Town Hall (Rathaus). Its effervescent stone decorations were truly a delight to people like me. It is decorated and covered with gargoyles, statues and other elaborate details of gothic architecture. There are statues of the Wittelsbach royal family and many other statues of Bavaria’s history and legends. There are images of local saints and many other allegorical figures. There is a bronze statue of a dragon on the side of the building, a bronze statue of the small monk which is the symbol of Munich.

Way back then, the construction of the building was the result of a show of strength between a local, rather conservative politican and the Munich City Council. The politician opposed the Council’s plan to replace the old City hall (Altes Rathaus) following the Renaissance-style architecture. Toward the end, both agreed and they commissioned Georg von Hauberrisser, a 24-year old architectural student to prepare a plan for the new city hall. He did everything including the City Hall’s intricate paçade, the labyrinthine style on the floor of the main inner courtyard, the furniture and even the lighting fixtures. Its tower bells toll at 1 p.m. and at middday and 5 p.m. in the summer.

The world famous Glockenspiel, (carillon with 43 bells: glocken means bells and spiel means play) with its charming clock-work reminded me of London’s Big Ben. The clock in the tower is the fourth largest chiming clock in Europe.

Looking at those balconies of the building with flowers around them are usually the place where they hold a musical show. Colored mechanical figures move and spin on two levels. They depict two episodes from Munich’s history. The first is Schaläffertanza (dance of the coopers- barrel makers) which commemorates the end of the plague in 1517. Since they need barrels to store the beer, barrel makers are very importnat in Munich. The other show depicts a medieval jousting tournament that was held in the Marienplatz in 1558 along with the marriage of Duke Wilhelm V to Renata von Lothringen. The show goes off three times a day (11 a.m., 12 p.m. and 5 p.m.) There is no 5 p.m. show in the winter. At night, the figure of a night-watchman comes out to blow on his horn and then the Angel of peace comes out to bless the Múncher Kindl (small monk). The stained glass window depicting the “Patrona Bavariae” (Mary as patron of Munich), the Law Library and the “Kleine Sitzungßaal” (small council chamber) are indeed worth visiting. There are six inner courtyards and on top of the tower one can see the great panorama of the whole city. It is 278 feet high.

We passed by Vicktualienmarkt which is a short distance from the Marienplatz Plaza. It was like a flea market in some countries where they sell fruit, vegetables, meat, different types of wine and cheese, jam, olive oil, nuts, fish, and flowers in tented stalls. I enjoyed watching the locals as they made transactions with the vendors.

The Altes Rathaus (Old Town Hall) built in 1474 by Jörg von Halsbach (aka “Ganghofer,”) was also the master builder of the Cathedral “Frauenkirche”). It has gone through a number of style changes from Baroque architecture to Gothic in the 1860s. This is an example of Bavarian architecture. It has stepped gables and bell turrets. It was almost destroyed in its entirety during the aerial bombings of World War II. Its exterior walls, however, remained intact and since then the building was restored to its original look. Inside the City Hall is a Toy MuseumIts gothic council hall and ballroom are indeed beautiful.

Just nearby, the Talbruck Gate Tower, with its 180 feet height is another place worth visiting. It was built from one of the old city gates when it was originally built in 1175. When the city expanded further east, the new wall was built around 1330. But during World War II it was leveled to the ground and was rebuilt in 1975 following the original structure in the renaissance – 15th century.

Heading towards East, the Frauenkirche (full name Dom zu unserer lieben Frau, “Cathedral of our Blessed Lady”) was another stop for us. It is a major landmark and also a popular tourist attraction. It highlights the city center, and its tower can be seen from all directions. There are two 328 feet tall towers topped with domes, which make the church unique.The green belfries of its soberly decorated towers are in the form of the so-called ‘Welsh Hood.’ They show the transition from Gothic to Renaissance.

According to history, it replaced the older church built in the 12th century and Duke Sigismund commissioned its construction in 1468 and the two towers were completed in 1488. Then it was consecrated in 1494. The design was patterned after the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem It suffered severe damage during World War II. A major work to restore the tower and other parts were completed in several stages and the last one was in 1994. Two major attractions in the interior side of the church are the Gothic nave and the Teufelstritt, or Devil’s Footstep, at the entrance. There is a crypt inside which contains the tombs of the Archbishops of Munich and Freising and among other members of the Wittelsbach dynasty.

There is a mausoleum of Holy Roman Emperor Ludwig I (1287-1347) also known as Ludwig the Bavarian or King Ludwig IV, in the south aisle that was constructed well after he died in 1622. He was the first Bavarian King to be crowned emperor. There is a memorial grave in the black marble of Prince Elector Kurfúrst Maximilian I. At the far end of the choir, there is a staircase that leads down into the Bishofs-und-Fúrstengruft (Bishops and Princes’ crypt). There are tombs to many bishops of Munich and 46 Wittelsbach princes here including Ludwig III, the last King of Bavaria who was deposed in 1918 and died three years later. In 1993, the cathedral celebrated its 500th anniversary.

As we walked through the western side of Marienplatz, we passed by St Michael’s Church (Michaelskirche) on Fußgängenzone which means in German – foot going zone (Neuhaser Straße). This is one of the famous Renaissance churches in Germany. It was completed in 1597. The Jesuits run the church.

There is an interesting reason why the church does not have a tower. When the first tower was destroyed while being built, Duke Wilhelm V took it as a bad omen and built a much larger church but without a tower. Between the main doors, there is a statue of St Michael slaying the Dragon. It has a single nave covered by a huge cradle-vaulted ceiling supported on massive columns abutting the walls. It has second largest free-standing vault in the world.

There is also a large monument in the north transept that contains the tomb of Napoleon’s stepson, by his marriage to Josephine and French general, Eugene de Bauharnais, his fater, also a general, had fought in the American Revolution. However, he was killed during the French Revolution. He married one of the daughters of Emperor Maximilian I (Princess Augusta Amelia) who lived in Munich after the downfall of Napoleon. He died in 1824.

Built in 1778 as an oratory for theology students, Bürgersaal is another church found in the further west of St Michael’s parish on Neuhauser Straße, near Karlstor. The upper church is splendid with Rococo stucco design. The lower church, however, has the tomb of Father Rupert Mayer, a Jesuit priest, who was confined in the monastery in the Bavairan Alps during the height of the Nazi occupation. He was first imprisoned for being outspoken against the Nazi leaders. He was isolated until he was freed in 1945 after the war. Fr Mayer died of a stroke soon after. The late Pope John Paul II beatified him in 1987.

Known locally as Alter Peter (Old Peter), St Peter’s Church is the oldest parish church in Munich and is on the highest ground. The chapel was already built on the “Petersbergl” (Peter’s hill) towards the beginning of the 11th century before Munich was founded. In 1294, a new gothich church was built, which was constantly restored and modified in style over the years. It has a treasure trove of different treasures such as the gothic altar, the baroque baptismal font and the rococo side altars. Like any churches during the Second World War, it was badly damaged from bombings and the restoration took until 1975.

It has old masters art from sixth centuries and people climb the stairways till they get on top of the tower where they can see the whole panorama of Munich and the Alps. My friend and I came to see the interior side of the church and it was really a sight to see. I spent some moments of silence in prayer and continued discovering more the city by foot. I did not have the chance to take pictures because somebody dropped it while he was taking some snapshots for us.

However, right nearby at the intersection of Sparkassen Straße and Im Tal is the Church of the Holy Spirit (Heilig-Geist-Kirche). Geist in German means Ghost). It is a 14th century Gothic church and in 1724, it was completely redone in a florid rococo style. In 1729, the tower was added. The façade is neo-Gothic and was re-touched in 1888. It has an impeccable ornate interior which is a blend of Gothic and late Baroque styles. The painted vaulted-ceiling depicts scenes from the hospital’s history. The elevated altar was built in 1728. There are some bronze figures in the entrance of the church that was originally part of the tomb of Ferdinand of Bavaria.

Going towards north of the Marienplatz is the Odeonplatz. Then on its westside is the Theatinerkirche Basilica. It is highly baroque in style is considered as one of the most beautiful churches in Munich. According to history, the church was a gift to the people of Munich by Elector Ferdinand and his wife in gratitude for the birth of their much awaited heir, max Emanuel in 1662.

The church is dedicated to St Cajetan and is staffed by the Theatine Order of monks. Which is why it was named after the religious order of monks. The construction took six years to finish it in 1663. It is based on Sant’Andrea della Valle in Rome. There are marble statues to four saints in the the niches at the façade including St Cajetan.

The interior side of the church is painted white and festooned with lavish designs done in stucco. Beneath the high altar, down the crypt is the massive stone sarcophagus of King Max and his wife Marie of Prussia, the parents of King Ludwig II , along with bronze coffins where other members of the Wittelsbach family are buried. Among other coffins found here are emperor Charles VII, a Bavarian Elector who fought against Maria Theresia of Habsburg in the War of the Austrian Succession and he lost it; Prince-Regent Luitpol who deposed King Ludwig II in 1886 and he ruled as regent for Ludwig II’s brother, the insane king Otto; King Otto of Greece who was the brother of Max and Ludiwig II’s uncle. He became king of Greece in 1832 and was deposed by the Greek army in 1862. Then there is one more recent member of the Wittelsbachs, Ludwig II’s son, Rupprecht or Rupert who died in 1955.

We went to see Hofbrähaus as I was curious to see what the world tells about this famous ‘beer hall in Munich. I saw pandemonium and huge crowds inside. One had to grab a table rather than wait to be seated. Their menus were translated in different languages and most of them spoke English. People sing and learn the chorus to the Hofbrähaus song or better yet oompah music.

Considered as the third largest producer of beer in the world, Munich has pioneered different kinds of beer from wheat based and brown-colored beers. The largest of the local breweries is Paulaner which produces a full range of styles. The dark and powerful salvatar-doppelbock is its star product. Hacker-pschorr (two separate breweries which later merged) whose product includes an amber-colored Märzen and Pschorr-weiße which is a very pale beer. Löwenbräu, internationally known for being a bigger exporter, produces a wide variety of genrally maltier beers, among which the Pils enjoys the highest reputation. Then Spaten which has the best amber and black beers: known respectively as Ur-Märzen and Ludwig-Thomas-Dunkel. However, it is also known as Franziskaner Weißier and Moibock.

I could imagine here during the festivities of Oktoberfest when most people would get drunk with different kinds of beer. It’s amazing to see men and women, young and old drinking beer in public places even in the morning.

The following day we went to visit two major palaces which gave me a stunning impact of their royal splendor and lavish Baroque designs. These were the Residenz (Residence) in the Old city and Nymphenburg, built in the suburbs, two miles east of the city. It was famous for its beauty in the 17th century. Built in 1385 and was gradually expanded by the Wittelsbach rulers who used it until 1918 as their residence and seat of government. Its major attractions are the Antiquarium, the largest secular Renaissance interior north of the Alps. It has the lavish Rococo interiors and the neoclassical King’s Tract designed by Leo von Klenze. King Karl Gustav of Sweden wanted to transport the whole building through his troops to his homeland in Sweden. In World War II, the Residenz was almost destroyed by aerial bombings. But in 1945 reconstruction began and the works of art were returned as far as possible to their original locations. Some relics and treasures like the Crown Jewek and Royal Regalia of the Wittelsbach family could still be found here. They are still kept and displayed to the public.

The Nymphs’ Castle ( Schloß Nymphenburg) was truly a sight to see. According to history, after the birth of Maximilian Emanuel, the heir to the throne, his father, Duke Ferdinand Maria, had this suburban palace built for his wife in addition to Theatinerkirche. It is surrounded with beautiful gardens, ponds and swans, other enchanting garden pavilions. Ludwig II was born here in this palace on August 25, 1845. Later on it became the royal summer place for the Wittelsbach family.

The day after we took a walk in the English Garden (Englishcher Garten) which is a huge park in the University section of the city was like a version of one of the beautiful gardens in London or New York’s Central Park. According to history, it was originally designed for military use, but in 1789, it quickly became a municipal park in the hope that the French Revolution would be kept from inflaming Bavaria. There were great sets of scenery like the streams along with large grassy areas. The Japanese Tea House, a pavilion donated to the city on the occasion of the 1972 Olympic Game is another sight to behold because of its neo-classical Greek temple style that has a wonderful panoramic views of the city. We sat in one of the benches as we were taking a breather after a long walk.

Going out of the metropolis we took the train heading for Salzburg, Austria, known as the city of music, home town of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Indeed, it was one of the finest Medieval old town in Europe. Buildings and other public places are festooned with architectural monuments of the later baroque era. There were beautiful gardens like the Mirabell Gardens, winding streets, churches, business centers, and the majestic Domkirche Cathedral. It took us two hours to get there and I was really impressed by the place itself. I was able to see the original Trapp Villa (Sound of Music), Leopoldskron and Frohnburg palace, the Nonnberg Abbey and Mondsee Cathedral. It was indeed a journey of learning their history, culture, and appreciation of beauty, particularly in arts and architecture. “Travel and change of place,” wrote Seneca, “ impart new vigor to the mind.” And I was truly invigorated with my eyes open to see beyond and my enthusiasm within made me discover more the charm and beauty of Salzburg as another jewel in the heart of Europe.

The following day we went to visit Neuschwanstein known for neo-Romanesque castle of King Ludwig II. It was like a real fantasy for me being there, along with other tourists across the globe. This made me think too of what I read and saw in the movie – Disney’s Sleeping Beauty Castle and Harry Potter. I listened carefully to one of the English guides who provided us with a good historical background and information of the place. I found out that King Ludwig II loved swans and they all reflected in one of the paintings in the interior castle.

We took scores of photographs. The spectacle of the castle left me with some footprints of awe and discovery especially in combining the past and present, royalty and being nobody, power and helplessness, wealth and poverty.