Germany- Schloss Herrenchiemsee

Today we went to church in Munich! It was so fun for me to go to church in a different country. The church was not in a traditional looking chapel, but in a vertical building. Sacrament Meeting was on the second floor. I didn't understand anything, but I loved it.

Afterward Jaren and I picked up our rental car at the Munich airport. That was quite the surprising adventure. (Let's just say... Rental cars in Europe are a bit more expensive than we thought. But it all worked out ok. Because it was more than we thought, our car was upgraded at no extra charge for us. At least we have a nice navigation system built-in now!) Then we headed for Schloss Herrenchiemsee.

This was another palace built by Ludwig II. It is also modeled after Versailles and dedicated to King Louis XIV of France (The Sun King). It's like Linderhoff Palace except MUCH larger. (Almost like Linderhoff wasn't enough for him...) Of the 70 rooms, only 20 were finished because Ludwig II ran out of money. Just like in the other castles and palaces of King Ludwig II, the rooms are amazingly beautiful and elaborate, extravagant, ornate, ostentatious... There aren't enough adjectives to describe them! And our guide told us that they were also meant for his eyes only. He never invited anyone over and intended to be the only resident in he palace. He had plans to make the palace even larger than Versailles, but it didn't happen.

The palace is located on an island. We rode a boat out to it and walked up to the palace. I enjoyed every second of our time there. I kept thinking to myself... Am I really here?! Is this real life?! Seeing these castles and palaces has been a dream come true for me!

I was talking to Jaren's dad, and he mentioned that we all have a little bit of King Ludwig II in us. I think that is very true. We all long for a fantasy world, at least in some ways. That's why we love movies, books, TV shows, traveling, and visiting Disneyland! It takes us to a world different from our own.

Afterward we said goodbye to Jaren's parents. (We will see them again at the end of our trip though!) They have been SO wonderful to us and so fun to travel with! They have made Germany so magical and fun for us. The days have gone by too fast. I have LOVED these past few days in beautiful Germany. Now we are headed to Austria!

Here are some pictures from today...

Our boat we rode to the island...

The lake...

Outside the palace after our tour...

The palace...

While walking up to the palace we saw this huge snail...