Bavaria - my favourite German state

The free State of Bavaria (Freistaat Bayern) is my favourite German state. There are many reasons for liking Bayern, but for me the most important is a mix of friendliness, great hospitality, beautiful nature, good beer and picturesque small towns. What I think is particularly nice, is that the bavarians love and are proud of their traditions - food and drink, music, dresses and many other things. The old saying "Gut´ Ding will Weile haben (Good things take time) also says something about the Bavarian lifestyle. And in Bavaria the Church still has a big role in people´s life - which I think is very important.  

Bavaria is a large state with so many interesting regions, that it is not possible to cover them all here. But if you plan a trip to Germany, remember to include Bavaria in your itinerary! These sites offer excellent information on Bavaria:

http://www.guide-to-bavaria.com/en/About-Bavaria.html

http://www.bavaria-info.com/ 

PS
As a personal recommendation, I would like to mention my favourite small Bavarian hotel - Neu Meran - not far from the historic Austrian city of Salzburg, in a beautiful alpine setting. This wonderful hotel - owned and operated by the Weber family - is ideal for an enjoyable and relaxing holiday, with Salzburg within a short driving distance. There are many good restaurants in the vicinity, but there is actually no need to go further, because the Neu Meran kitchen is top class.

For more information, visit the New Meran web page.

In Praise of André Rieu

There was a time when I scoffed at operetta and other forms of popular classical music; only the "serious" composers, artists and orchestras mattered. But, fortunately, that was long ago. Now I feel free to enjoy both operetta, good musicals (e.g. My Fair Lady) and such great musicians as André Rieu, without forgetting the pleasure of listening to more serious forms of classical music. It is quite possible to enjoy both.

The other day I watched (on the German ZDF Theaterkanal) a wonderful concert recording with André Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra performing at the "flower island" Mainau in the Bodensee (Lake Constance). It is diffucult to imagine a more scenic setting than Mainau, with its elegantly maintained flower park and the beautiful castle. Rieu, the soloists and the orchestra again did what they always seem to do so well - play light classical (and a little bit of other) music very professionally and in good spirits creating a good mood among the audience and the viewers. You can see from people´s faces that they have a really good time. There is never too much of that!

André Rieu and his orchestra have an excellent website with all necessary information about coming concerts etc. Many of the concerts are also available on dvd.

Vierzenheiligen - an architectural treasure in Bavaria

The baroque/rococo style church Vierzenheiligen near the bavarian city of  Bamberg is one of Europe´s finest architectural treasures. A visit to this richly decorated pilgrimage church, designed by the great 18th century architect Balthasar Neumann is strongly recommended if you plan to visit Bavaria.

The eminent art historian and broadcaster Kenneth Clark, Lord Clark of Saltwood (1903-1983) describes in his autobiography the powerful impression Vierzehnheiligen and its architect made on him:

"Perhaps the happiest time that Jane (his wife) and I had together in the whole making of ´Civilisation´ was our visit to Germany to film the Rococo churches. I had been to some of them before without Jane, and it was a joy to see how rapturously she responded to them. But I had never been to the finest of them all, the Vierzehnheiligen.

What a masterpiece! This church and the palace of Würzburg tempted me to call Balthasar Neumann the greatest architect of the eighteenth century and, much as I love Gabriel, I will stand by my judgement. I believe that the Rococo churches of Bavaria are still underrated, not only as architecture, but in the discovery of a new truth, that the faithful may be persuaded by joy rather than fear."

Here is G.E. Kidder Smith´s description of Vierzehnheiligen (from the book Looking at architecture):

"A hundred years after Borromini's Quattro Fontane, the Late Baroque/Rococo in South Germany and Austria broadened architectural horizons even further. Here will be found architecture, sculpture, and painting vibrant with light and so closely woven together that it is often difficult to know where one art form begins and the other subsides. It is an architecture of joy, and if the cornucopia at times overflows, so be it.
"Among the most spritely creations of this short-lived period—the engines of the Industrial Revolution were beginning to herald a new culture—is Vierzehnheiligen, the Church of Fourteen Saints, by Johann Balthasar Neumann. Within its sober, straight-sided outer shell (on pre-existing foundations), color and luminosity bursts forth. Its inner walls define ovals and circles, its piers vanish into the decorated planes of the ceiling, an altar stands triumphant, while light floods in and color snatches the eye. (As opposed to seventeenth- century Early Baroque churches, daylight plays an essential role.) There is here—as throughout this South German cultural period—a hint of the 'confectionery' (Pevsner), but architecture is richer for this hedonism, and so are we."
 

More information here about Vierzehnheiligen.
 
PS

While in that part of Bavaria, don´t forget to visit Balthasar Neumann´s other masterpiece, the Würzburg Residenz with magnificent ceiling frescos by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo.