Nymphenburg Palace & Gardens in August
Wednesday, August 24, 2011 at 9:00
Herr J in Nymphenburg Garden, Schloss Nymphenburg, Travel

Frau A and I had logged a photo-trip to Nymphenburg Palace & Gardens in June.  At that time (early Summer) there were a number of baby ducks waddling about and the swans were fighting and mating.

So, Frau A wanted to go back in late Summer to see how the babies (and potential babies) were developing.  Plus, it's a great excuse to re-visit one of the most popular Sunday destinations in all Munich.

The front facade of the main building still is covered in scaffolding, but they've planted lovely beds of "wildflowers" (carefully planted, I'm sure!) and we had beautiful clouds.

 

 

As ususal, the water in the front of the grounds is full of waterfowl.  We saw a new kind of goose we hadn't seen before...

...plus the usual swans, mallards, and gulls (like below):


Some of the swans were still fighting.  This "guy" (photo below) was mercilessly harassing another swan, with lots of splashes and honks.  You could hear the thump when his wings hit the other bird.  They're a lot tougher than they first appear!


This huge, older swan is often out front and seems to pose for pictures.

We then moved from the front of the grounds through the palace to the back, where the gardens start (with still more water).

The swans here were swimming peacefully - no fighting.  But these all had a family unit, so we're guessing the roughhousers in the front were lone juveniles.


When you reach the end of the gardens, there is a small waterfall peppered with Greek statues all around.  A few ducks just like to relax on the edge.


Looking back over the waterfalls toward the castle, there's another beautiful sky.

 

And the very border of the Nymphenburg grounds, a fence prevents people from coming in using the waterway.

This mallard was taking shelter from the hot sun, not far from the fence above -- but keeping an eye on me just in case.


Unsurprisingly, a wedding party arrived to take photos in the garden.  It is possible they ere getting married in a small building on one side of the gardens.  They got lucky with sunny weather.  We're guessing that they're NOT German by their choice of fashion, especially for the men...  Then again, we were walking around in our traditional trachten (lederhose and dirndl) before attending a party, so we probably made the photos of some of the tourists!

We'll probably go back again in Autumn to see how things continue to change.

Article originally appeared on Schnitzelbahn - Food, Travel, and Adventures in Germany (http://www.schnitzelbahn.com/).
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