Our Bavarian Rhapsody expedition explores Southeast Germany and the wonderful state of Bayern! Bavaria is an incredibly beautiful land of mountains, lakes, medieval and modern cities and castles, with a deep and, yes sometimes, dark history. Bavaria is home to Germany’s tallest peaks, most of it’s beautiful lakes, and many of its greatest beers! A beer-lover will find German Beer Gardens provide a unique insight into German life. The biggest beer garden in the world is staged from mid-September to early-October every year in Munich during the famous Oktoberfest.

Bavaria: 1871-present day

Until 1871, Bavaria had been an independent kingdom, ruled by the Wittelsbach family since 1180 AD. From 1871 until the defeat of Germany in World War I and the abdication of the Kaiser, the Bavarian monarchy had been preserved, albeit entirely subservient, to the German Empire of Kaiser Wilhelm (aka The Second Reich). Both monarchies, the Hohenzollern ruling family of the Kaiser, and the Wittelsbach ceremonial Bavarian monarchy, were disbanded after World War I, with the advent of the ill-fated Weimar Republic.

Munich and The Coming of the Third Reich

The immediate post-war period was beset by years of violent unrest and political upheaval, including a bloodily subdued Communist uprising in 1919, and an attempted Nazi coup, the famous “Beer Hall Putsch” in November 1923. Saddled with reparation obligations, primarily to France, the Weimar Republic was plagued by financial crises, runaway hyperinflation, and weak political leadership. The onset of the Great Depression fueled further unrest and turbulence before Adolf Hitler rose to power through a political compromise (not via popular election!) in January 1933.

Munich and Nuremberg played key roles in the Nazi rise, seizure, and consolidation of power in pre-war Nazi Germany. The small natural wonderland of Berchtesgaden, in far southwest Germany, became the symbolic retreat for Nazi leadership. The Nazi party faithful rallied at Nuremberg to celebrate their accomplishments and the cult of the Führer.

Post-War Recovery and Rebirth

After World War II, Bavaria became part of the American occupation zone, until the Federal Republic of Germany was established in 1949. Munich, heavily bombed during the last years of World War II by American bombers based out of England, saw a rebirth in the 1950’s and 60’s, hosting the ill-fated Summer Olympic Games of 1972, marred by the attack and murder of Israeli athletes by Palestinian terrorists. Today Munich is world-renowned as Germany’s third-largest city of 1.5 million, with six million in the metropolitan area. Even as a large city, it is known across Europe for it’s beautiful parks, rich museums and cultural areas, the Isar River corridor integrating the river, the city, and the people, a diverse industrial and commercial base, and a modern, effective mass-transit system. Munich has won the title of “the most liveable city in the world” as recently as 2018.

Beautiful München (that’s Munich…)

Our Bavarian Rhapsody expedition is based out of Munich. The superbly functional mass-transit system makes exploring the area incredibly easy and economical. We’ll savor the city’s renowned art museums, raise our beer steins in her beer gardens, and explore the city’s most famous park, the Englischer Garten. We’ll step back in time to tour the Wittelsbach palaces and Residence before we plunge into the darkness of Munich’s Nazi years, including the abortive Beer Hall Putsch of 1923, the first concentration camp established in nearby Dachau, and learning about the bravery of the White Rose resistance effort on the grounds of Ludwig Maximilian University. It’s not an exaggeration to say that we will only scratch the surface of what Munich has to offer.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen - Germany’s Alpine Playground

From Munich it’s but a short drive to beautiful Garmisch-Partenkirchen and the front range of the German Alps, including the tallest mountain in Germany, the Zugspitze. It should come as no surprise that this is also the site of the highest Beer Garden in Germany! We’ll ride the brand new cable car to the top, along with a cable car ride up smaller Wank mountain that rises above Garmisch-Partenkirchen to the east and offers fabulous views of the city, including the Olympic facilities from the 1936 Winter Olympics. After coming back down, we’ll explore the Winter Olympics stadium and small museum, before treating ourselves to the Partnach gorge. The famous Partnachklamm showcases nature’s incredible power as the melting snowcap and rain captured by the northern slopes of the German Alps sawed through the granite rock to bore a craggy, narrow canyon. We will walk through that cut, just above the roaring waters descending from the mountain peaks which soar skyward around us. This region is a major ski resort with downhill, slalom, and ski jumping available. Ski jumping is truly available year-round and it is not unusual to see jumpers coming down the chute to land on astroturf at the bottom of the jump during the summer months!

The Fairyland Castles of a Mad King

We will also enjoy the beautiful and picturesque castles of Mad King Ludwig, Linderhof and Neuschwanstein. King Ludwig II of Bavaria was one of the 19th Century’s most fascinating political leaders. Sensitive, romantic, and idiosyncratic, the works in his short life are viewed in wonder and rank among the most visited tourist attractions in all of Europe each and every year. Linderhof was the bachelor King’s primary residence for much of his reign, with beautiful grounds we can explore with guided tours that will escort us through the palace. Neuschwanstein was intended to be his masterpiece, but he died before the castle was fully completed. Featuring modern construction techniques, it still takes you back to medieval days, set amidst the incredibly natural beauty of the region. The Neuschwanstein castle served as a model for Walt Disney’s castles and provided the exterior scenes for the Kingdom of Vulgaria where the bad guys ruled the land where children were forbidden in the family musical adventure Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968).

Berchtesgaden: Alpine Beauty and the Nazi Warlord

Finally, we’ll check out beautiful Berchtesgaden, an area of incredible beauty that drew the appreciative gaze of none other than the future warlord of the Third Reich, Adolf Hitler. The German dictator, aided by his financial backers, obtained a small vacation retreat in this area before the Nazi’s seized power. This holding grew into an extensive complex of homes for Hitler, Hermann Göring, Martin Bormann, and other Nazi elite. The Berghoff, Hitler’s official residence in Berchtesgaden, was further expanded underground to become a fortified military complex as war erupted in September 1939. We’ll also see the world’s most unique modern Beer Garden, the Eagles Nest, built for Hitler as a gift by Party Secretary Martin Bormann in 1938. Hitler’s Berghoff, where he entertained world leaders and plotted many of the provocations that led to the Second World War, was bombed in the final days of the war then completely eradicated by the victorious Allies. The Eagles Nest was spared, first by the RAF bombers who missed their targets, and then by the occupying Americans, who turned the site over to the German government. Most of the surface complex built by the Nazi’s has been eradicated, but the underground tunnels remain, some of which are visible from the Documentation Center (museum) which the German government built to educate Germans about the stain of the Nazi’s and the Third Reich on Germany and German history.

Come join our next Bavarian Rhapsody expedition to see, taste, and enjoy the many, many delights Bayern has to offer. The scenery, especially the Alps, are gorgeous. German food, German beer, and German culture are everywhere! The history of the region is rich, deeply moving, and all explorable within short excursions from our urban base in Munich. There is truly something for everyone in Bayern! Come see it with Gute Fahrt Travels!