Various towns and cities in Bavaria

[anshjain97]

In April of 2012 I had gone to Bavaria with my school for about 9 days on an exchange program. Each student stayed with a host family and went to a few classes in their school, though most of the time was spent out visiting places. My host family lived in a small town called Simbach (pop. 3800), about 130 km from Munich.

A few photos of the town:
























A quick look into one of the churches:

[anshjain97]

The school was in a town called Landau, 16 km from Simbach. A town of around 13,000 people, Landau is known for a late Gothic parish church.





















Few other pictures of town:

[Deleted]

So prim and proper! I didn't see a piece of trash lying around anywhere.

I'm not sure what the person is doing with that goat in the first set of pictures.

[anshjain97]

I don't know the significance of that statue either. I always like looking at statues everywhere, though lots of times I don't know the significance.

Now to the cities, one we visited was Landshut, just about 70-80 km from Munich.









Trausnitz Castle is a medieval castle, home of the Wittelsbach dynasty, which served as their ducal residence for Lower Bavaria from 1255–1503, and later as the seat of the hereditary rulers of the whole of Bavaria. The castle was founded in 1204 by Duke Ludwig I.
























(I know my photos aren't great- but this is one of my first trips with my then-new camera).









There was a nice museum upstairs, with artifacts from around the world, but photography wasn't allowed.



The exit from the castle led directly into the Old Town.






Below is the main drag of the Old Town, with the Church of St Martin, the tallest church in Bavaria and the tallest brick building and church, and 2nd tallest brick structure in the world.

[anshjain97]

This gateway is called the Landtor.






We decided to go for lunch but couldn't find anything great in the Old Town. Now, just out of the Old Town.





















And back in the Old Town now.















Inside St Martin's Church:

[Deleted]

I think your photos are just fine. However, you made me look up what is the tallest brick building in the world.

[lagatta]

Would you believe I have a friend from Simbach?

Simbach is also in between the town where (Panzer) Pope Benedikt was born and the Upper Austrian town called Braunau am Inn (Simbach is Simbach am Inn) where a particular nasty fellow named Adolf was born.

Needless to say, my friend has nothing in common with either of those individuals... He's a very interesting fellow, though I can't say more as it is such a small town...

[anshjain97]

Lagatta, very interesting you know someone from Simbach! And thanks for that background information.

[lagatta]

Yes. I will say that he was very sad because his wife died, but he is elsewhere now (temporarily?) and has found some happiness again.

I really like your photos.

[anshjain97]

Oh, sorry about that. But it's good to know he's moving forward now.

Another city we visited was Passau, very near the Austrian border. It's known as the Three River City as the Danube, Inn and Ilz flow through it. It is also known as the Venice of Bavaria.









Those hills you can see in the distant background are in Austria.



Passau Cathedral (Dom)















We were taking a boat ride on the Danube.






There seemed to be a fortress/castle uphill.















Now in the Old Town:



You will notice significant Italian influence in the city- after a fire in 1662, the town was rebuilt in Italian baroque style.

[htmb]

Very fine pictures, Ansh, and what a nice experience for you.

By attending a few classes, were you able to get a feel for how your school and education compared with that of your host?

[anshjain97]

Indeed htmb- I did get the chance to notice the differences and similarities in the educational styles of my school and the one in Germany. In the German school, one thing was a greater focus on aesthetics and design- for example they used state of the art furniture, extra cooling in rooms with more computers and which faced more sun; besides students were allowed to paint on the walls (which were well done) and other small things- such as in the chemistry classroom, there was a big periodic table made on the wall.

[anshjain97]

Below is the Passau Cathedral (St Stephen's Cathedral).



A Baroque church built in 1688, the cathedral has the largest church organ in the world.



The entire church, including the interior, was done by Italian architects and designers.



The church organ:






It was nice to see all this as the only church in Italy I went inside was the Pantheon in Rome. That, and the Vatican Museums, are the only Italian art I've seen in Italy so I only had limited experience in how opulent it can be.


















A look around Domplatz (Cathedral Square)






Below is Ludwigstrasse, the one of the main streets in town, with lots of shops and restaurants.

[bjd]

This is all interesting, Ansh, but I confess it doesn't make me want to go there. It's all so spick and span. Not that I like dirt or papers blowing around but it's just too tidy.

As an aside, I'm not sure that the Pantheon in Rome is a typical Italian church. It was built by the Romans and was eventually made into a church after several centuries. It is stilll used as a church, but seems more like a place to bury famous Italians. It certainly doesn't feel "churchy". The baroque art in the church you show is a perfect example of the Counter-Reformation when the Catholic Church went all out in decoration to counter the Protestant Reformation. Perhaps you saw the same kind of art in Vienna?

[anshjain97]

Hi bjd, indeed I agree with you regarding the Pantheon, though I did like the art there (which I believe is Renaissance?). Of course, I just have to go back to Rome whenever I can. Didn't visit any museum in Vienna so didn't see such art there.

I guess as an Indian I enjoy spic and span places for a change, but I understand your point.

cheers

[anshjain97]

My host family went often to a bakery in the nearby town of Reisebach to buy bread and confectionery. The first time I visited I left my camera behind but luckily they went again a few days later so I got some pictures.












And a few random pictures, taken just around in Bavaria.









Now, moving on to the Alps:












We were taking a boat over the lake Chiemsee to the palace of Herrenchiemsee.



Looking back at the town, I think it's called Priem am Chiemsee.






The island of Herreninsel, home to Herrenchiemsee.



Modeled on Versailles, the palace was built by Ludwig II. It certainly reminded me of Versailles, and is similarly opulent, maybe more so.






And here is the palace:

[lagatta]

Yes, those German towns are extremely clean and tidy (of course very large cities like Berlin are different), wonder if they are in a tidy competition with the Netherlands and Switzerland. The architecture is similar to northeastern Italy, but there we think of those parts of Italy as being very Austrian.

I suppose there was very good bread!