Germany

It is incomplete, because the king who built it is said to have run out of money and died comparatively at a younger age. None the less, it is still without an exaggeration, a heavenly heaven on earth. Yes I dare say, because I have seen our Kashmir as well which is claimed to be the only heaven on earth despite the all pervading garbage, mismanagement, bloodshed and open loot of the visitors. Anyhow presently I want to showcase what I visited that Saturday while being in Germany.

Thanks for guessing, but I am talking about the Royal Palace or so to say the 'New Palace' built by King Ludwig II of Bavaria (presently Bayern State of the Federal Republic of Germany) as a tribute to King Louis XIV of France  'whom the Bavarian monarch fervently admired'. The 'incomplete' palace ( or better we call it castle in the words of multilingual beauty who acted as our guide) commanding a big park with mamoth fountains, stands on one of the three pre-historic islands located in the greenish-blue and cristal clear waters of a sprawlling  lake aptly named Chiemsee (Sea of Chiem pronounced as Kim). Leaving Munic in direction of Salzburg (Austria) by car fitted with dependable navigation system (Tom Tom) and covering about 90 Kms, through cut throat speeds on efficiently managed Highway 8 we reached Prien, which is the touch point on the bank of Chiemsee and parked our car.

But before going any further I would like to explain the efficiency of the road management in Germany as compared to the dance of death in action on our roads in India. For that matter driving licence is compulsary for everyone who drives a vehicle in Germany and to procure a driving licence here is hell of a job because it requires elaborate training and tests and certainly contrary to how foolishly these licences are given / procured in India. Furthermore, hold your breath, every truck driver here is legally bound to take 15-minute rest after every two hours or 45-minute rest after four hours and go off driving for the day after eight hours. No truck is allowed on any road on Sunday for the benefit of weekend road-users. There are specific lanes for specific speeds and in the event of a jam or something, all vehicles move in ques only. No police man is visible on roads to ensure all this and no violation goes unpunished. There are no pot holes on any road. Red light on the crossing means Red light even for the high and the mighty as well as their sons and 'salas'. By nature nobody blows horn. There are no stray dogs, stray animals or stray humans anywhere to disrupt traffic and no shopkeeper is allowed to display his goods on to the street or any road. Also there is no garbage or 'malba' along any road. Well that is the corruption free efficiency of the system in Germany. Will the power hungry rulers, corrupt bureaucrats and other self seekers in India ever spare a thought for this?

From Prien we took a 'ship' and landed on our 230-hectare destination island along with horeds of well behaved weekend wanderers of all ages and sizes in their scanty clothes aimed at absorbing the ever elussive and precious sunshine. The name of our island full of lush green flora including human planted and wildly growing highrise trees is  Herreninsel which roughly means the island (abode) of men. It is named so because of a monastry and a convent for men 'allegedly founded' here in 8th century by Duke Tassilo III of Bavaria (746-88). After passing through many hands since then the island was purchased by King Ludwig II of Bavaria in September 1873, 'as site for the erection of his palace'.

The highlights of the palace are 1. Entrance Hall 2.Vestibule 3.State Staircase 4.Royal Bodyguard Room 5.First Antechamber 6.Second Antechamber 7.State Bedchamber 8.Council Chamber 9. Great Hall of Mirrors 10.Hall of Peace 11.Hall of War 12.Passage 13.Bedroom 14.Cabinet 15.Writing Room 16.Blue Salone (First Mirror Chamber) 17.Dining Room 18.Porcelain Room 19.Small Gallery of Mirrors with Angular Salones 20.Northern Stairwell 21.Passage 22.Bathroom, and 23.Robing Chamber (Second Mirror Chamber). The decorations, furniture, candle hangers, upholstery, wall & ceiling paintings,  mirrors, curtains and other artifacts in various above given chambers etc. are only to be seen to be believed. Then there is installation of a generously designed air-heating system in the palace. The boilers and pipe system in the basement, the hoist mechanism (lift) for dining table and glass roof over the staircase are astonoshing embodiments of the structural engineering of those times. The king used railroad from Munic to Prien and a boat to reach the island of his dreams as we did on that Saturday. In addition he had a ring railroad on the island itself, 'which has long since disappeared'.

Also the island has orchards, pastures and criscrossing paths for the visitors to tour besides dense forests. The chronical has it that on June 8, 1886, a board of psychiatrists declared King Ludwig II as 'mentally deranged' and 'incurable', who along with one Dr. Gudden died in Lake Starnberg on June 13, the same year. What a sad end of the creator of this wonder but the things do not stand here! Yes, a controversy is said to be brewing whereby the tongue-in-cheek question is: Did the king die of an accidental fall into the lake or he took a suicidal jump into the lake or he was killed by some powers that be by throwing him into the lake?

Some other landmarks of the island are 1.Appolo Basin (unfinished) 2.Canal 3.Old Palace 4.Former Cathedral 5.Palace Hotel 6.Plane Tree Hall 7.Tulip Trees & Fern-leaved Beeches 8.Chapel of Saint Maria (1496) 9.Holy cross Chapel, and 10.Circular Path.

Every thing said and done, the Chiemsee island with its wonderfull palace and other features is a heavenly heaven on earth! Why not? If someone does not agree, he or she may go there to see the reality and talk to me. I say this because Kashmir was 'the only heaven on earth' for kings and there courtiers while the common man there was and is just a harrassed lot. But this Chiemsee iland is a heavenly heaven on earth for the common people as well! Yes, I dare say!
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