Just as an indication as to how cold it was, this canal leading up to Nymphenburg is completely frozen.
The ornamental lake/pond in front was only partially frozen though.
I don't know how the waterfowl handle it.
The palace was both bigger and smaller than I expected - coming up to it and the facade, it looks huge. But once inside, the tour seemed pretty short. It doesn't really matter though - after a while, all these palaces look the same inside.
Having said that, the Great Hall (Steinerner Saal) is very nice (and not too overwhelming compared to others).
It's got a great Troemp l'oeil ceiling by Zimmermann...
and a really pretty view over the gardens.
A side gallery with paintings of other castles belonging to the Wittelsbach family.
Possibly one of the most interesting things about Nymphenburg is the Schoenheitengalerie.
Ludwig I, a bit of a sleaze it seems, commissioned portraits of women he considered beautiful. Apparently this was a fashionable thing to do for 19th century rulers.
The most *famous* women in the gallery are Helene Sedlmayr, bottom right, who was a shoemaker's daughter (equality!)
And Ludwig's mistress, Lola Montez (bottom left).
Palace finished, I decided to walk around the extensive gardens and enjoy the wintery landscape.
The central pavilion looking pretty
Being winter though, all the fountains were covered and not very exciting looking.
But it was perfect snowman conditions!
A frozen pond!
So cold that the geese were only using one leg at a time to stand on the ice!
A non-frozen canal!
If there's anything more sad than a closed biergarten...
Anyway, it was pretty damn cold but I surprisingly enjoyed the hike through the frozen gardens.
It's definitely very beautiful and worth a visit (also maybe in the summer).
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