Die beste Bildung

On Sunday, which was right after our return from Berlin to Munich, Professor Jennings led a group to the Bavarian alps. I woke up early enough to join the trip (I believe departure from the Hauptbahnhof was at 8:25am), but wanting something more relaxing, and not knowing that Dr. Rankin would be joining the excursion, I decided not to leave my dorm until the afternoon, when Derek and I went to Schloss Nymphenburg. This was the summer palace of the kings of Bavaria, built in the style of Louis XIV’s Versailles. While the interior of the main building was not quite as impressive as another palace I visited in the past, the garden was quite splendid – and the fact that all outdoor areas were freely accessible to the general public without charge was greatly appealing to me.

Left; View of Schloss Nymphenburg from the palace gardens; Right: Grand Hall in Schloss Nymphenburg

Around the palace gardens there were plenty of small Burgen (castles), though few people would associate them with this term because of their very small size. They were, however, quite beautiful and far more interesting than the bombastic main building. The Magdelenklause (Magdelene Retreat), for example, is a castle built to intentionally resemble a ruin, so the two of us actually walked past for the first time thinking it was just some garden shed which had fallen into disrepair. Inside, however, was a very beautiful hall which walls were adorned exclusively with sea shells. It was quite a sight.

Left: Blauer Salon in Schloss Nymphenburg; Right: Magdelenklause

Another very special “castle” we went to was Pagodenburg, built in the early 1700s, when China was still beyond doubt the most mighty, prosperous and civilized nation on Earth. While the architectural framework was distinctly Western, the walls were tiled with patterns infused with Chinese elements. For a person like me who has seen a reasonable amount of authentic Chinese art, it was very weird to see Greco-Roman naked figures with wearing Chinese hats and beards, and more so to encounter the drawing of a Chinese emperor with the stomach of a laughing buddha and hands positioned in a very Zeus-like manner. But once I accepted that this was part of the charm, the place was actually very pleasant – not to mention that it had a wonderful view of a man-made lake with too many ducks and swans to count.

Left: Pagodenburg; Right: Badenburg

I know that many of you love pictures of food (I was talking to Nicole on Skype just now, and she told me that “before we left [Princeton] we were talking to andrew and all of us were so jealous of the food pics you were posting”), so I’ll end with an account of my dinner. Derek and I met up with Shelina, and we went to Augustiner Bräu at Stachus, the same place where I had the Schweinleber in my first week here. This time I ordered a Rosa gebratene Entenbrust mit Gratinkartoffeln und Broccoliröschen (pink roast duck breast with potato gratin and broccoli flowerets), and it turned out to be the best duck I’ve ever eaten (outside Beijing, at least). The beer was brilliant as usual – when the same brewery has been making beer since 1328, you know for sure that they’re doing it right!

Left: View from the main entrance to Badenburg;
Right: Rosa gebratene Entenbrust mit Gratinkartoffeln und Broccoliröschen

I’ve been catching up on my blogging and doing my homework for the past two days, so I really haven’t done that much in the city other than visiting the Neue Pinakothek. The paintings, especially those by Vincent van Gogh, Gustav Klimt, Claude Monet and Caspar David Friedrich were fantastic, but since I really don’t have any expertise in art (and I’ve more or less run out of superlatives) I’ll save the art-related blogging for my trip after the Princeton-in-Munich program. Tomorrow evening I’ll be at the Bayerische Staatsoper once again – this time to watch Aida. I’ll be writing an update on how it goes!