I apologize. At this point in my travels, the wanderlust has worn off and a sense of ennui has caught up with me. Hence, today was a lazy, hazy day. I had little motivation to cram as many events into my day as possible, therefore I slept in late, and meandered through town at a leisurely pace.
First stop entailed a short visit to the Cuvilliés Theatre, which lies within the aforementioned Residenz Complex. It was ordered by Maximillian III Joseph outside the palace after a fire destored the previous St. George’s Hall. Construction spanned from 1751 to 1753 according to the design of François de Cuvilliés in rococo style.
If you look closely at the pictures from the Residenz Interior, you will see several rooms also exhibiting the Rococo Style. It is in this theater that Mozart’s Idomeneo premiered in 1781 and Carl Maria von Weber’s Abu Hassan in 1811. The theatre was intelligently meant to be multifunctional, and this was achieved via a floor that could be lowered or raised for ballroom festivities.
Lacking in energy, despite accomplishing little, I gave myself a reprieve by immersing myself in some casual reading and a glass of hot Chai (My favorite milky tea). Finally, summoning the impetus to move, I ventured to visit, now don’t be surprise, another palace.
The Nymphenburg Palace was the main summer residence of the rulers of Bavaria designed in the Baroque style. The visionary was the italian architect Agostino Barelli, who was comissioned by the couple Ferdinand Maria and Henriette Adelaide of Savoy in 1664. It is within these walls that King Ludwig II was born in 1845, as the great-grandon of King Max I Joseph.
While open to the public, the building continues to be home and chancery for the current Franz, Duke of Bavaria, who is head of the house of Wittelsbach. Jacobite, who trace the line of the British Monarchy through legal heirs of James II of England, he is the legitimate heir of the Stuart claims to the throne of Great Britain.
It is interesting to note however, that despite merely having a dukedom, this claim has not been actively pursued. I can’t say that I would have done the same in his place, albeit that as a ‘commoner’ I grew up with Disney Movies and imagined a happily ever after as a princess with a prince on a white horse to rescue her.
The Coach Museum:
The Porcelain Museum:
What are your thoughts on Monarchy? Democracy? I’m torn. While the medieival, monarchical period of history seems romantic, I also know that the power resulted in sever abuse and neglect of the general population. This doesn’t mean, however, that certain monarchs wielded economic and political decisions for the benefit of his people, in contrast to selfish gain by exploiting his subjects.
CestLaJu 