Return to Nymphenburg

Gruss Gott!
One of the gifts I try to give myself on these trips is time.  I'm here three weeks--or close to it, so if I find a place I really love, I can afford to go back.  So far I have had brilliant weather.  I think on my second day here my umbrella was up for about five minutes because of drizzle, but otherwise it's been sunny and warm.  It was cooler today.  Good walking weather.  I took advantage of it.
I trammed back to Schloss Nymphenburg mostly for the parkland, but also I realized I had not seen everything historical the place had to offer.  I strolled about until things began to open and saw a tiny black squirrel that quickly scurried away.  I have that Bavarian Castles Pass, and today it officially paid for itself.  That's three days, as I did not use it yesterday.  A Good Deal--don't miss it.
My first tourist stop was Magdalenenklause.  This is a small chapel cum house/hermitage apparently built to give any needy Wittelsbachs a retreat for spiritual renewal.  The entrance way and chapel are done up as a grotto like I have seen in Italy.  Shells and rocks encrust every surface with intriguing decorations.  The rest of the place--and it is small is paneled in dark wood.  My plan is this.  After a wintery ride through the snowy grounds in the royal sleighs (see below) we will retire to Magdalenenklause with fires in the fire places and a hearty winter tea laid on.  How about that?
Speaking of the sleighs, my next stop, after rescouting the gift shop in the Schoss was the Marstallmuseum.  Make sure you go.  The exhibit is largely given over to the Wittelsbachs' coaches and sleighs.  Whoa!
In Art History we have a concept called horror vacui, the fear of empty spaces.  Clearly the Wittelsbachs shared this.  The word ornate does not even begin to describe these productions.  Every available surface is ornamented with something, and unfortunately much of the decoration involves putti. Ugh.  The coaches must weigh tons with all that gilt statuary on it.  The mock up had twelve horses drawing one.  They have my sympathy.  Even the postillions seat was all done up with Rococo curly-cues and embroidery.  The coaches may even have been comfortable.  I checked.  They were well hung, so the suspension would have eliminated most of the jolts.  One marvelous and very telling exhibit was the merry-go-round affair set up to help young nobles practice jousting.  The guard in the room made sure I noticed the model "noses" that could be placed on the targets for the express purpose of being knocked off.
The Wittelsbachs prepared themselves for winter as well.  The sleighs were just as ornate as the coaches.  One on exhibit belonged to young Elizabeth of Bavaria, known to us as Sissi.
My last tourist stop was a little gem called Pagodaburg although it's not in the form of a pagoda, and there's really no reasonable explanation for the name.  The downstairs features a ceiling fresco and walls covered in Deft blue and white tiles.  The upstairs is all over lacquer and Chinoiserie.   I am seriously considering transferring my summer tea from Amalienburg to here.  Maybe you folks can google the places and help me decide.
I spent most of the day wandering the wooded parkland.  I think it's hard for those of you who live in cool, green places, to realize what a miracle these woodlands are to me.  I live in a semi desert full of noise, traffic, polluted air, and faded colors.  Walking through a forest puts me in a state of rapturous relaxation.  I breathe deeply and try to let the quiet and the green seep into my heart and soul.  I wore myself out with walking, but I do not think I am quite done with Nymphenburg.
I made a trip back into town to pick up sausage for dinner.  I chose something I enjoyed in Austria called Kasekrainer or cheese-sausage.  The cheese is inside the sausage and with plenty of mustard it makes for good eating.
The beer of the day is weiss beer or white beer made from wheat.  Most beer making regions have a version, and I have liked them.  Let's try Germany's.  Mmmm.  I like this, too.  Wheat beers have a distinct flavor that I find pleasing and refreshing.