A Trip through Culture Spots in Germany - 7
Loopy Ludwig's Linderhof

However, there was time to stop at Loopy Ludwig's Linderhof palace, go round it and do the gardens. The palace was built to his specification & is incredibly vulgar, with elaborate wood carving covered in gold leaf. One fears the worst before going in, as there is a badly sculpted fat lady fountain in a pool in front of it, also covered in gold leaf. The Linderhof is small, as befits a solitary man with a few servants. We went up to the Grotto with its pool & boats. Very phony: one thought he could have found a real one. Then, to Hunding's Hut, which was hard to see into but more or less correct, according to the score of Wagner's Valkyrie. I carried on to Oberau, skipping the Ettal monastery, as time was getting on & we went up the motorway to the Penzberg turnoff, going up to Seeshaupt on the Starnbergersee & along the lakeside, on a rather narrow road through Tutzing to Starnberg for the night. This was a mistake, as Tutzing is more attractive. Starnberg is ruined by the railway going along the lake side. We stayed in the Tutzingerhof, an ancient building but the restaurant was very good & we could eat outside. Then, we walked down to the lake for the view in the gloaming & round through the suburbs, as this seems to be a Munich rich commuter area.

Hunding's Hut	The Linderhof in context