Lots of Adventures: The Residenz, Eibsee and Tank Museum

 Our group went a few different directions one day this week.  Here is a summary of where we all went on June 10th.

The Residenz in Munich

Some of us (myself included) went for a tour of the Residenz.  This was the palace of the Wittelsbach family - the royal family of Bavaria - for centuries.  It is their “city home”.  They also had a palace outside the city for the summer (similar to the difference between the Hofburg Palace and Schoenbrunn Palace in Vienna).  We never visited the summer palace outside of Munich.

Hall of Ancestors.  This long hallway had portraits of the ruling family all down both sides.

This was a grotto made of shells, stones and misc. other organic items.  See the next photo for a close up.

This is one of the most famous places in the Residenz, the “Antiquarium”.  It was built to house a king’s collection of famous busts and sculptures.  It is HUGE and very impressive.  

There must be hundreds of busts and statures.

On the sides of each window are scenes of different places around the Bavarian kingdom.  There were so many of these. I was astounded by the logistics of gathering all these scenes.

Much of the Residenz was destroyed in WWII.  This is a photo of the chapel after the bombing.

This is the rebuilt chapel.  You can see the line right below the arches where the brick changes from old brick to new brick.

The room that held the holy relics was the most bizarre.  Each item in the glass cases was a decorated container to hold a bone or bones from a saint or holy person.  

There were several hands.

Bones…all fancied up.

There were several of these…it took me awhile to realize they are skulls.  I think this one is supposed to be the skull of John the Baptist.

Another chapel in the Residenz.

Much of the Residenz is still under construction and being put back together.  I thought this peek into a room with several things in storage was interesting.

King’s Throne Room

One of David’s students had fun with AI adding their favorite Herr Doctor Professor on the throne.

Eibsee, German Alps

Another group of students spent the day traveling to the German Alps and doing some hiking to the Eibsee.  They all reported having a wonderful time.  I must say, I am getting weary of the city.  It would have been nice to go with them.

Tank Museum in Munster

One student took his own adventure.  He traveled by train 6 hours each way to visit a tank museum.  When I asked him if it was worth it, he said the inconvenience of the travel did not diminish how good the museum was.