Nymphenburg Palace or Schloss Nymphenburg as it is called in German is a Baroque palace in Munich, Bavaria.

Nymphenburg Palace used to be the main summer residence of the Bavarian electors and kings and commissioned by the prince-electoral couple Ferdinand Maria and Henriette Adelaide of Savoy to celebrate the birth of their son and heir. It was designed by the Italian Architect Agostino Barelli in 1664.

Nymphenburg Palace © Julia Höfer-von Seelen

From 1701 on the palace was systematically extended, two pavilions by Enrico Zucalli and Joseph Effner were added in the south and north of the original palace and the southern section was even further extended to form the court stables.

The massive Great Hall (Steinerner Saal) was beautifully decorated in Rococo style with ceiling frescos by Johann Baptist Zimmermann and F Zimmermann. Also worth a visit is the ‘Gallery of Beauties”, painted by Joseph Stieler for King Ludwig I.

Today the court stables are home to one of the most important museums of ancient carriagas, the Marstallmuseum, and also house a collection of Nymphenburg porcelain. The factory being founded by Maximilian III Joseph was also located in the palace complex. The handcrafted products of that factory were of legendary kind of quality and are comparable to Augarten andSevres.

Nymphenburg Palace view from park © Julia Höfer-von Seelen

The large 490acre (200hectare) historic park of Nymphenburg Palace and the Botanic Gardens invite visitors for a walk. In the park you can see a number of beautiful pavilions such as the Pagodenburg (1716-1719), Badenburg (1719-1721), Magdalenenklause (1725-1728), Amalienburg (1734-1739) and Apollotempel (1862-1865).

The palace as well as the park are one of the most famous and most popular sights of Munich and really worth a visit.

This year the Munich Oktoberfest is going to celebrate its 200th anniversary. It will be held from September 18th to October 4th, 2010.

The Oktoberfest is the world’s largest fair and an important part of Bavarian culture. It traditionally takes place during the sixteen days in up to the first Sunday in October and is held on the so called Theresienwiese (or Wiesn for short) in Munich, Bavaria. More than 6 million visitors come from all over Europe, the US, Canada, India, Japan, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand.

Oktoberfest Munich © flickr/digital cat 

The Oktoberfest was first held in October 1810 to celebrate the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig (later King Ludwig I) and Princess Therese of Saxe-Hilburghausen. The citizens of Munich were invited to join the festivities held at the Theresienwiese (Theresa’s field) outside the city gates and a horse race marked the end of the festival. The decision to hold a horse race again the following year gave rise to the tradition of the Oktoberfest.

And still today you can see horses drawing the carriages on the opening day of the Oktoberfest. On that day the ancient brewery carriages and the horses will be magnificently decorated.

If you want to catch the officially opening ceremonies you should be in the Schottenhamel tent at noon on September 18th.  The lord mayor of Munich then will have the honour of tapping the first keg of Oktoberfest beer. And once the barrel has been tapped, all visitors will be allowed to drink beer too.

Oktoberfest © flickr/sanfamedia.com

At the Oktoberfest not only about 70,000 hectolitres of beer will be drunk,  visitors will also eat huge amounts of typical Oktoberfest food such as Hendl (chicken), Schweinsbraten (roast pork), Haxn (pork knuckle), Würstl (sausages), Weisswurst (white sausages), Brezn (pretzel) and many more.

Since 1850 the statue of the Bavaria, the worldly Bavarian patron, has been watching the Oktoberfest. It was first sketched by Leo von Klenze, roanticised and ‘Germanised’ by Ludwig Michael Schwanthaler and constructed by Johann Baptist Stiglmaier and Ferdinand von Miller.

This year special events will be held to celebrate the anniversary of the Octoberfest. There will be a historical Oktoberfest with ancient fun rides and beer tents and a horse race will also take place. Even a special anniversary beer will be brewed. Normally every brewery has its own beer for the Oktoberfest but this year there will be a special beer brewed by all of them using old recipes that are slightly modified to match today’s taste .  Visitors interested in the history of the Oktoberfest can learn more about it in the Museum Tent.

Munich the capital of Bavaria might be the most expensive German city but also has a lot to offer.

You find castles, parks, churches, museums and many sights around the city. One of the most famous sights certainly is the Frauenkirche (Church of our Lady) in the city centre. It is the church of the Archbishopric of Munich-Freising and has a late Gothic nave from the 15th century and onion domes. Another famous building in Munich is the “Hofbräuhaus” where most tourists go to experience the Bavarian beer drinking culture.

Frauenkirche and New Guildhall © Julia Höfer-von Seelen

If you love good food you should do your shopping on the also well known Viktualienmarkt. Here you can get hight quality food. In the city centre you can also see the new guildhall built from 1867 to 1909, with the carillon which shows parts of Munich’s history. The famous carillon was made in 1908. And the famous church of St. Peter which is the oldest parish church in Munich. If you climb up the 306 steps of the steeple you will have a great view over the city.

In the museums “Alte Pinakothek”, “Neue Pinakothek”, “Pinakothek der Moderne” you can see art of many centuries from the middle ages to modern times. Another very famous museum is of course the “Deutsches Museum” which is a special highlight for all lovers of technology. One special branch of “Deutsches Museum” is the Verkehrszentrum at Theresienwiese, where the famous beer festival the Oktoberfest takes place every year, and the airfield in Oberschleissheim.

Nymphenburg Palace © Julia Höfer-von Seelen

Especially when the weather is good you should take a walk in the English Garden, the most famous park of Munich. Here you find ponds, shaded areas as well as sunny places and four beer gardens. A special landmark is the Chinese Tower (Chinesischer Turm). The 900 acre park stretches from the city centre to the northern outskirts. Of course you should also visit the Nymphenburg Palace and Park. The baroque palace was the residence of the Bavarian monarchs and is located in the western part of the city. The park with its waterways is ideal for walking and exploring because of the many smaller buildings you can find there.  Of course you can also visit the Botanical Garden nearby.
And of course the good restaurants and shopping facilities of the city should be mentioned as well.
There are many magnificent sights around the city you will be able to read about on this page and you from Munich you can easily get to Austria and Italy.

Bavaria

Berchtesgaden:

Salzbergwerk

In the salt mines you can see where the famous Bad Reichenhall brand salt comes from. We cannot live without salt. www.salzzeitreise.de

München:

BMW Museum

Since 2008 you can see here BMW cars, racing cars and motorcycles. www.bmw-museum.de

Deutsches Museum

The Deutsches Museum probably is the most famous German museum. You can experience science, technology, materials and production, transportation and much more here and in the in the Verkehrszentrum with lots of vintage cars and at Oberschleissheim airfield with the aviation collections. www.deusches-museum.de

Nördlingen:

Bayerisches Eisenbahnmuseum

Here in the railway museum you can see steam and diesel engines and the old restored running shed. www.bayerisches-eisenbahnmuseum.de

Nürnberg:

Museum Industriekultur

In the Museum for Industrial Culture you can experience the technical, social and cultural history of Nuremberg. www.museen.nuernberg.de/industriekultur

Verkehrsmuseum

Here you learn a lot about the post and telecommunication as well as the history of German railway. You can see a reproduction of the first steam engine going from Nurembert to Fürth in 1835. Don’t miss it. www.museumsstiftung.de, www.dbmuseum.de

Carnival in Germany is can also be called Karneval, Fasching or Fastnacht, depending in what region you are.

The most famous probably is the carnival in Cologne, Düsseldorf or Mainz. The date for carnival by the way is related to Easter. As the Lenten season is a periode of 40 you will have to count back from Easter to get to Ash Wednesday, the first day of the Lenten season. The Sundays don’t count though, because you wouldn’t like to fast on a Sunday, would you.

Köln©flickr-Rich B-S

The real beginning of the carnival season though already is on November 11th at 11:11 am every year.
The outdoor carnival then really starts with the so called “Weiberfastnacht” on Shrove Thursday (Feb. 11, 2010). On this day you can see women in fancy dresses everywhere in the city, as it is the women’s day. In Düsseldorf the women enter the guildhall to cut off men’s ties.

In Cologne you can see one of Germany’s largest carnival parades on Carnival Monday (Feb. 15, 2010). The whole city will be dancing and celebrating. The well known call on that day is “Kölle Alaff”. It is said that the old battle call in Cologne was “Coellen all aff” which meant “Cologne over all”. But the parades in Düsseldorf and Mainz aren’t any smaller or less interesting. The special call here is Helau.
On Ash Wednesday, the first day of the Lenten season, you usually have a fish dinner in one of the pubs or restaurants.

In Braunschweig (Brunswick) you can see one of the largest parades of the North of Germany. It already takes place on Sunday (Feb. 14th, 2010) as Carnival Monday here is a normal work day.

In Baden-Württemberg carnival is called Fastnacht and here you see many witches, devils and carnival fools in traditional costumes.

In Munich the market-women traditionally dance on the Viktualienmarkt on Carnival Tuesday.
But in other parts of Germany you can celebrate carnival too of course.

There are some really beautiful ski resorts in Bavaria, Germany. The most famous probably is the ski-region of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The town held the Olympic winter games in 1930 and here the downhill races on the famous Kandahar course take place. Garmisch-Partenkirchen can easily be reached by car or train from Munich.

Also easy to reach from Munich by car or train is the small Bavarian village of Oberammergau. Here you find cross-country ski runs; you can go hiking or visit famous Linderhof Castle.  Oberammergau also is Germany’s Passion play village.

Oberstdorf as well as Garmisch-Partenkirchen is one of the top ski resorts of the German Alps. And as well as Garmisch-Partenkirchen it is also famous for its ski jumping competitions. Oberstdorf is located between Munich and Lake Constance and can also easily be reached from Stuttgart.