For our second full day in Munich we headed out of the city to the island of Chimsse to visit the replica of Versailles that King Ludvig II began to build during his reign. He never finished the palace – either the building or the grounds – but what remains is fascinating.

We took the train out to Prien am Chimsse which is a storybook kind of town. It is cute and I could have wandered the town for hours and been happy. But, alas, we took a just as cute train to the docks, then a boat over to the island.

Today was a little different on a few fronts. I let Bob take all of the pictures. I didn’t ask for the camera, I didn’t tell him what to take, and I didn’t supervise in any way (so out of character for me, I know). Second, we did a guided tour of the palace, in large part because that is the only way to see it. Thankfully they have tours in multiple languages, English being one.

This place was opulent. I can’t think of a better word to describe it. In the finished rooms (there are 20 finished of the 70 planned rooms) every wall surface and ceiling is painted, decorated and gilded. Every piece of furniture is embellished. It was gorgeous, but too much. By the time we hit the unfinished entry, I was so glad to see plain brick walls.

The island itself, and the views from it, are worth the trip alone. On the train rise to Prien a local gentlemen called it a piece of heaven in Bavaria. He was right. I would have loved to simply wander the island for a few hours, but I was worried about the train times, and Bob was a little under the weather, so we didn’t. Instead we headed back to Munich for dinner.

We found another beer garden for dinner, this one close to our hotel and outside the main tourist area. Augustine is the oldest brewery in Munich according to their information. Started in 1328, they have been brewing beer for a long time.

We were not expecting a large place, but this was huge. And it was exactly what you think of when you think about a beer garden. There were tons of people, lots of food, a band and beer. A lot of beer.

Given that Bob wasn’t feeling great and we had some plans for the morning, we made it an early night, did a very un-European thing and went back to the hotel to rest. Part if me wishes we had stayed and enjoyed the atmosphere, but most of me is really, really glad we left early.