On this day of our tour we would see natural beauty and an architectural wonder. We began our day by heading for Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany.  We first took a cogwheel train to Lake Eibsee.  A cogwheel train has a third rail with “teeth” that allows the train to handle a steeper grade.  When we got to Lake Eibsee, we took a cable car to the peak of Zugspitze.

The first  picture below is of the cogwheel train.  If you look carefully, you can see tracks on the other side of the platform – in the middle is the toothed, third rail.  The next two pictures were taken while we were waiting for our cable car.  This is followed by a picture taken from the cable car looking down at Lake Eibsee with the cables in the foreground.  Finally there is a picture of a cable car we took from the summit.

The Zugspitze Mountain is about 9,700 feet tall and lies on the Austrian-German border.  It is part of the Northern Limestone Alps.  These are some of the pictures we took at the summit.

There has been a Summit Cross on Zugspitze since 1851.   The cross had been damaged due to lightening strikes and also suffered damage during World War II.  A replica of the original cross was made and has been on the East Summit since 1993.  It is about 16 feet tall and was regilded in 2009.  We saw several people climbing to reach the cross.  The last picture gives you a sense of the spectacular views from the area.

After spending time at the summit, it was time to leave and we took the cable car back down.  These are some of the pictures I took as we descended back to Eibsee Lake.

We then went to Linderhof Castle in the Bavarian Alps.  King Ludwig had visited the Palace of Versailles in France and loved the gilding.  He turned his father’s hunting lodge into this castle, modeling it after the Palace of Versailles.  King Ludwig was considered “mad” by some and eccentric by others.  He died a mysterious death.  I read a short book about King Ludwig before leaving on our trip.  He is an interesting character and you might enjoy reading about him as well.

The Linderhof Castle was named after the linden trees in the area.  There are gardens with stairs, gazeboes and statues.   The picture immediately below is the Linderhof Castle.  We could not take pictures inside.  The garden in the second picture was immediately adjacent to the castle.  In the third picture, you will see the pond in front of the castle and three terraces on a slope known as “Linderbichl.”  The large tree to the right is a linden tree.  The golden statue in the pond is a fountain that shoots water almost 100 feet into the air at regular intervals.

We climbed the stairs taking us to the top of the terraces.  This gave us beautiful views  of the garden below.  One of the other fountains is also pictured.  At the very top is a round “temple” which contains a statue of Venus.

As we slowly climbed the steps of the terraced garden, I took pictures of the Lindenhof Castle.  As you can see, the views are beautiful.  We really enjoyed seeing the Linderhof Castle and the grounds.  It is opulent!