CASTLE ROAD

Last weekend (9/24) Dale had a friday morning dental meeting and we spent thurs. and friday nites at Grafenworhl army base. Friday afternoon we drove the hour to Bayreuth to begin a more concentrated look at the Castle Road of Germany. We had a lovely, sunny afternoon in the town that Richard Wagner came to (1872) and built his own festival theater after the Baroque opera house (interior photo 1744 )built by Margravine Wilhelmine (oldest and favorite sister of Frederick the Great) turned out to be unsuitable for his operas. Wilhelmine also built the "new" palace (1759) with beautiful Bayreuth Rococo style rooms such as the walnut paneled room with carved gilt palm trees. The Eremitage outside of town was where Wilhelmine turned her husbands lands into the first landscaped garden on the continent, added upper and lower grotto water features with Roman ruins and a new castle (picture)that complimented rather than ignored the gardens and grotto. We enjoyed it although it was not like the tradtional fortress castles that we would see the next day... in the rain:)