Bavarian Germany is a great place to be in the winter. Probably all of Germany is but this is where we are right now. We have a nice German car; we are staying in a nice German house in a small town called Hopferau. Getting around the curvy country roads is quite easy. Even though it has snowed almost every day the roads are clear and salted. I hate the use of salt but since it is not my car this is OK right now. Our Audi has a GPS navigation system. This is the first time I have relied on one to get us to our sightseeing destinations. It is a very civilized way to travel in foreign lands.

Today we made two stops. One at the Wieskirche, church in the field, it is a baroque church in the middle of nowhere. Very impressive trompe d’oil fresco on the ceiling and some very ornate wooden pews. It amazes me the cigarette burns on the pews. First that someone would damage such precious wood carvings; second that people were allowed to smoke in church. The church was so cold inside that you could see your breath. I am guessing 5’C inside. You could buy a candle to light for 50 Euro cents; this was the main heating system.

We then traveled to King Ludwig’s Linderhof Palace for our second stop. It was his main residence. He lived half the year there, half a month at a time. It is very small by Ludwig’s standards, Holly called it his bachelor pad and I guess that is what it was. Ludwig was an odd duck, he was so shy and private that he never received any guests at the palace but the place had all the show and pomp of a regal residence anyway. The king loved Rococo style and had the money to do it. The workmanship is so impressive and over the top that you go “Wow” involuntarily with every room you enter. Even though they eventually commited him I think he was more genius than mad. How many other kings are still cellibrated so many years after their deaths? Sure he was hell bent on spending every Bavarian penny on his own pleasure but that is big government isn't it? At least he had something to show for it. The tour lasted 20 minutes and we were fortunate that it was in English, no Germans on the tour at our lucky timeslot. The grounds are supposedly just as impressive but since it was all covered in snow we could only look at the postcards. It has really bugged me that all these impressive palaces do not allow pictures inside. I am guessing it is so you will but more books and guides. It worked on us at Neuschwanstein, we bought the book.

All little grocery shopping on the way home and call it a day. We are trying to eat at home a lot to save money. It seems that we overspent our budget for the first time in November. Holly and I agreed that cutting the kids food budget was the right area for cuts.