While you read the following article why not listen to my e-baroque compositions – just click on the box below:

or if techno music is more your cup of tea here are my techno/ambient compositions:

I hope you find the article below interesting…please visit chrisduggleby.com again.

This week to celebrate the arrival of autumn RISKKO and I jumped into the car with the camera, popped over to Lake Spitzingsee to pick up RISKKO’s playmate Robin Huddy and drove to the Lake Schliersee. Schliersee is a natural Bavarian lake measuring 2.3 x 1.3 km and is situated next to the small town of the same name. From this town you can walk around the lake by following a made up path. The following picture was taken from this path.

Here is the Google map for Lake Schliersee which can be enlarged to highlight the main transport routes and other local places of interest.

One of the main focal points of the town of Schliersee is the St. Sixtus church dating from 1712-1715 which has wall and ceiling frescoes by Johann Baptist Zimmermann. More information and pictures of the interior of this church can be found at the german website here.

On the other side of the lake is the church of St. Martin Westenhofen which is the oldest church in Schliersee having been built around a.d. 1000. Nearby a monastery existed since about a.d. 770. If you are interested in the interior of these churches more information can be found at the website here.

The mountains surrounding Lake Schliersee belong to the Mangfall range and include the Aiplspitz, Jägerkamp, Brecherspitz und Bodenschneid. Here are some photographs of mountains and hills taken from the side of the lake. All my pictures are taken with high resolution photography. To see mere detail just click your mouse with the cursor over the picture. Afterwards use your web-brouser’s backwards arrow to return to this page.

Around the lake are numerous bathing areas where people can, at their own risk, bath in the lake. I didn’t have to ask RISKKO twice! Whoosh and he was doing his celebrity skinny dipping act (a ‘rapper’ without any wrapping). Robin Hoody, by contrast, was a very sensible bear, kept himself warmly clothed and just threw pebbles in the water.

If you like going out on a rowing boat to get away from the stresses of daily life you can’t go wrong with the Schiersee. Below are a couple of pictures of someone who, despite the chilly October weather, did just that.

A rowing boat is not the only way to get around the lake. Regular boat trips are available like the one below.

Just take a look at the autumn colours of the trees around the lake in the picture below.

Near the lake there are a number of interesting buildings many of which provide accommodation for visitors. If you stay within walking distance of the town of Schiersee you should have all the necessary amenities at hand.

Before leaving Lake Schliersee I could not resist one last photograph of the staggering autumn colours on the lakeside hills.

For us our journey home simply involved a short ride along the Deutsche Alpenstraße driving east in the direction of the Wendelstein Mountain.

….and of course we had time to take one last photograph of our two cuddly friends before dropping Robin Huddy back off at his home by lake Spitzingsee. If you would like to see more about the Spitzingsee please take a look at my article here.

So despite the cold and the gradually shortening days it was well worth venturing out on this October day to enjoy the colourful autumn scenery. If you would like to see some of my other recent scenic articles from this region please try the following links.

here (Schloß Neubeuern: A fairy tale castle in the Alps near the Bavarian/Austrian border)

here (Spitzingsee or Spitzing Lake in the Bavarian Alps)

here (Bavarian Schwarzenberg or the Black Mountain in the Voralpen region)

here (Thiersee or Lake Thier in the Austrian Tyrol)

here (Bayrischzell: a Bavarian village with an impressive background), and

here (Achensee or Lake Achen: The largest lake in the Austrian Tyrol and one of its best kept secrets)

Watch out for the Halloween ghouls!

Chris Duggleby

This week I would like to introduce you to the Bavarian market village of Neubeuern with its impressive castle or schloss (Schloß Neubeuern). Neubeuern is a particularly picturesque village and was voted as Germany’s most beautiful village in 1981. The village is built around a hill, which has an amazing back-drop of the Austrian/German Alps. I have a particular affiliation with Schloß Neubeuern because my son, Pascal, went to the Gymnasium (Grammar school) there. This is a well-known German mixed-sex boarding school and being based in a castle has something of a ‘Hogwarts‘ feel to it. Any young ‘Harry Potter‘ fan will not need to be asked twice to become a student there!

Pascal jumped at the opportunity to leave home for the Neubeuern castle at the age of 12. Coincidentally his brother Alex, 6 years earlier, had attended another castle school, Schloß Traunsee, in the Austrian Lake district – I will try to feature this in a forthcoming article. OK so J.K. Rowling may have had a titsy bit of influence on the selection of the boy’s educational establishments. I featured the boys in last week’s blog which can be found here).

Let me explain where Schloß Neubeuern is. The castle sits upon a hill which is surrounded by the pretty village of Neubeuern in the south of Bavaria not far from the border which leads into the Austrian Tyrol. It lies about half way between Munich and Salzburg. Here is the Google map which you can expand to find the nearest Autobahns and Towns:

Driving from my weekend retreat I crossed over the river Inn on the short journey from Bad Feilnbach to Neubeuern. The river Inn runs parallel to the Inntall Autobahn which is one of the key transit routes through the Alps between Bavaria and Italy.

Wherever you travel in this region you are not far from staggering alpine views.

Some of the best views of the castle ‘Schloß Neubeuern’ can be enjoyed by driving towards Neubeuern from the Austrian direction. It stands proud at the top of its own hill surrounded by the immediate countryside which is relatively flat. All of my photographs are prepared in high-definition so if you would like to see more detail just click your mouse with the cursor over the picture. After viewing the photograph use the backward arrow on your search machine to return to this article.

In order to enter the village square at Neubeuern you must drive through one of two villages gates or ‘Tors‘. This only allow traffic to pass in one direction at a time so drive slowly. These small gates ensure that large lorries do not enter into the village square.

As soon as you enter the gate you will be struck by the impressive old buildings with their colourful Frescos.

Once you arrive at the market square you get a view of the castle towering over the village. It is possible to park in the square and the town council is currently considering how they can increase the number of parking spaces. This has caused quite a heated debate because one of the proposals would involve removing two old trees from the square; an issue that has divided the residents of the village. If you would like to read more (in German) about this subject a local press article can be found here (don’t let it be said that http://www.ChrisDuggleby.com doesn’t bring issues of major environmental importance to the World stage!).

From the market square you can get a close up view of the beautiful hanging gardens which flow down the cliff face from Schloß Neubeuern to the village.

The colours of the hanging gardens are complemented by the well stocked window boxes of the many individually painted buildings below.

Even the buildings without flower baskets are artistically painted. Some of the paintings depict historical events or stories like the one below.

At the opposite side of the square to the castle is the village church. In addition, the castle has its own church which is also worth a visit. This ‘Schlosskapelle St. Augustin‘ has fine examples of Bavarian late Baroque Rococo architecture. If you would like to see a 360 degree sight-seeing tour of the schloss and the staggering sights from its grounds please visit the interactive tour from the school’s website which can be found here. (it can take a while to load!)

Just to the back of the church you will find a couple of the village’s picturesque restaurants. Many of the restaurants have garden terraces which allow customers to enjoy the amazing sights of the mountains and local countryside.

All around the village it is possible to catch views of the Alps which provide the perfect back-drop to this scenic masterpiece.

It is difficult to find a building without pretty hanging baskets and impressive fresco work.

The next one is one of my favourites.

After a great day enjoying one of Germany’s most beautiful villages I departed through the old village gate, but not before sampling some of the delights from the village baker.

In my view Neubeuern with its Schloß is well worth a visit and I will certainly be coming back. I hope you like the pictures and please do not hesitate to let me know if you have any suggestions or recommendations using the comments box below.

Chris Duggleby.

If you are interested in reading my other health focused articles try the following

Torture In The Shower – Face and Body Soap Allergies – Main Suspect: Pears Transparent Soap

Poison in your Washing Machine: Allergic Contact Dermatitis from Laundry Detergents, Softeners, Conditioners and Whiteners

Is Alzheimer’s caused by the Gum Disease Bacterium P. Gingivalis – A Dementia Prevention/Treatment Breakthrough?

Toxic Chemicals in Sex Toys – 18 Vibrators, Cock Rings, Love Balls Tested – Only 3 Get All Clear

My T-shirt Made Me Sick – Textile Allergies – Sinusitis From Your Underwear

While you read the following article why not listen to my e-baroque compositions – just click on the box below:

or if techno music is more your cup of tea here are my techno/ambient compositions:

I hope you find the information below interesting…please visit chrisduggleby.com again.

My two sons in a Bavarian beer garden

This week I am reserving a little space in the blog for a small family reunion. My son Alex, who lives in Vienna popped over to Munich on the way to Gmunden, in the Austrian lake district. More observant readers will know that going from Vienna to Gmunden via Munich is not the most direct way of travelling but it does allow one to drop in on one’s parents on the way. Gmunden is a very pretty town on the Traunsee or Traun Lake next to the Traunstein mountain (the Austrian one!). We were fortunate enough to live there many years ago while Alex went to school in Schloß Traunsee.

As most of our family meetings tend to be via Skype, and we could be separated by rather large distances in December, we decided to bring forward Christmas lunch by about two months. So Pascal came over from Rosenheim on his Quadbike and we all popped over to the Bärenstub’n, a very nice restaurant in Bad Feilnbach where you can sit outside on a sunny day and enjoy the Alpine views. If you do happen to visit Bad Feilnbach we can highly recommend the excellent food and friendly service of this local restaurant. Their website can be found here.

As you will see from the picture above our faithful guard dog RISKKO jumped at the opportunity to have a ride on Pascal’s new Quadbike. Following on from this there is a serious risk that our four-legged friend may give up spending his time riding in luxury convertible sport’s cars with beautiful ladies and take up the life of a beach bum on a quad bike (for Bavarian guests instead of ‘beach bum’ please read ‘Baggersee Po’) . Watch this space.

Pascal works in Event Management and a quad bike can be a pretty effective way of getting round the large Bavarian music festivals – especially once the mud arrives! It was very nice to have the boys together and I am including a snap shot of them at the restaurant so that their extended family and international fans (well mainly my niece Estela in Spain!) can share in the occasion.

RISKKO particularly likes this restaurant because the chef is one of his best friends and always prepares a special treat for him.

While we were in the kitchen something else caught my eye – the restaurant was selling some of Bad Feilnbach’s excellent honey. During my many trips up the Schwarzenberg mountain I have always been impressed by the large number of the bees at the top of the mountain. Like the cows grazing on the mountain pastures the bees are clearly very happy and therefore the honey they make is especially delicious (more information about the Schwarzenberg can be found in my article here). I have to say I have never seen a sad or depressed bee up there.

Honey has been in the press quite a lot recently. To be precise blue, green and chocolate-brown honey produced by some rather naughty French bees who were more interested in M&M’s than they were in pollen. If you would like to find out more please read my article which can be found here.

In addition to the family Christmas lunch in Bavaria the RiskBusters’ ‘Team Duggleby’ also managed to find a night when we were all in the same country (England). This meant that we could finally have the team dinner we have been promising ourselves for many months. We found a nice Italian restaurant in Twickenham near the Thames and I did my best not to whinge the whole night about the cost (coming from Yorkshire anything more than £5 a head can cause severe psychological trauma – I am still undergoing therapy!). The restaurant was Osteria Pulcinella and the food was so good that, although we were only 8 people, we seemed to get through 12 deserts!

It was quite an international evening as the team was made up of representatives from South Africa (Michele), Germany (Ulrike and Klaus), China (May), Australia (Tong), France (Vincent), Lancashire (Nikki) and Yorkshire (guess who). Clearly the last two represent two of the culturally most distant races, especially linguistically.

So after a strong focus this week on food I promise in next week’s blog to have some more scenic photographs. There will be a special focus on a Bavarian hilltop-castle and its beautiful town. By the way here is a close-up of the Forest Bear we saw on the Schwarzenberg Mountain – fortunately it was preoccupied with its cub. Don’t say you don’t get exciting wildlife pics on the Chris Duggleby website!

Happy eating and remember to keep an eye out for any bees showing early signs of obeesity.

Chris Duggleby.

While you read why not listen to my album ‘Electro Baroque‘ (all tracks are also available on iTunes using the link here)? Classical music using modern instruments:

or if you prefer to listen to my electro/techno album ‘Studio Valiumm‘ here are the videos (also on iTunes using the link here):

More info about my music is at the dedicated website www.TRANSFORMATES.com

Today it is raining and therefore a perfect day to test my conviction that the Alps can cheer you up on even the most dismal of days – you just need to get off your butt, go outside and open your eyes.

I decided to visit a lake which quite frankly I had never heard of before; this is how most of my sightseeing trips start off. Those of us who have lived in this region are very familiar with lakes like the Chiemsee and the Tegernsee. Both are beautiful locations but because of their close proximity to the A8 Autobahn which connects Munich with Salzburg they are very popular with city dwellers and can get very crowded. They are also therefore rather commercialised and just finding a parking space can be a challenge. Although you can see the alps in the distance the immediate countryside around these lakes is rather flat so if, like me, you have a mountain fetish they can be a bit frustrating.

So on this rainy day I headed down the Deutsche Alpen Straße (B 307) in the direction of the Achensee. From my alpine hideaway in Bad Feilnbach this route took me past the Schliersee and then the Tegernsee. So before I had reached my ultimate destination I had already had a chance to see two very scenic lakes and, since the (kind) rain had kept most of the tourists indoors, the roads were relatively free. As the photographs in this blog will show the rain did not prevent me from enjoying some fantastic mountain views.

In fact the clouds, together with the mountains, can often help to create some very dramatic images like the one below. As all of my photographs are in high-definition you can get a much more detailed version by clicking your mouse over the picture. In particular this will help to bring the wider panoramic landscape pictures to life.

One of the things that impressed me most about the Achensee is that it is surrounded on all sides by incredible mountain scenery. It sits in the Achental valley which divides the Brandenberg Alps to the east from the Karwendel mountain range in the west.

Sometimes lakes in this region have waterfront properties which go right to the shore-line preventing visitors from walking round the lake. This is not the case with the Achensee which has very pleasant made-up walking paths around its perimeter. Clearly on a rainy day it is advisable to bring an umberella. Because this is the largest lake in the Tyrol a stroll around the edge can be something of a challenge; the lake is 1 km wide and 9.4 km long!

Wherever you go along the side of the lake you will be able to enjoy splendid alpine views like the ones in the photos below.

On the north side of the lake there are sporting facilities. These include a swimming area with a huge wooden platform. The water of the lake is almost of drinking quality and it is so clear you can see down to a depth of up to 10 metres. There are many sailing activities on the lake due to its large size and the winds created along the valley. It is therefore very popular with windsurfers.

Among the sporting facilities there are also beach volley-ball courts which thanks to this rainy day did not challenge my blood pressure with a preponderance of lightly clad volley-ballettes (today the only naked surface in view was that of the volley-ball court itself!).

The mountain scenes at the beginning of the blog were taken from the South side of the lake. Moving 10 kilometers to the North I took the photographs here and those below which show a totally different alpine perspective.

If you are interested in reading about, and seeing photographs of other scenic ‘secrets’ from the alpine region please take a look at some of my other blog entries. These can be found using the links below:

here (Spitzingsee or Spitzing Lake in the Bavarian Alps)

here (Bavarian Schwarzenberg or the Black Mountain in the Voralpen region)

here (Thiersee or Lake Thier in the Austrian Tyrol), and

here (Bayrischzell: a Bavarian village with an impressive background)

Here’s looking forward to the next rainy day!

Chris Duggleby