Schloss Nymphenburg II - Princess Diaries

18 April 2015 (Saturday) - Schloss Nymphenburg Palace Grounds.  I'm back in Singapore, but playing catch up with postings of my visits in the past three months.  During this Europe trip, my favourite place is undoubtedly the Nymphenburg Palace.  Hence here's a special post dedicated to the huge palace grounds of Nymphenburg.

The Badenburg was built during the reign of Elector Max Emanuel.  He had the rooms decorated in the Chinese fashion, a style new to Bavaria at the time.  Imported silks, lacquerware and porcelain from East Asia, much coveted in northwestern Europe since around 1680 were integrated into Indian style interiors.

Don't you love the rose pink wallpaper with the green peacock motifs?  

The wall covering in the bedroom shows a high imperial official with his mistress, members of his family and the servants.  Rising up in the background is a panorama-like landscape showing evidence o the beginnings of a linear perspective, a stylistic concession to European visual tastes.

The ceiling decoration of the writing room lends a playful, ironic touch to the room.  Scenes depicting monkeys, a popular motif at the time, form part of the exotic overall iconography.  By mimicking human beings, the monkeys hold up a mirror to our sins and foolish ways...

A palette of silver, white and yellow was used in this masterpiece of interior design from the period of Max Emanuel.  I really love this colour combination!

The Grand Cascade was a project by Elector Max Emanuel's architect, Joseph Effner.  He was also responsible for the building of Badenburg, Pagodenburg and the Magdalenenklause.

The Pagodenburg, the first of the Nymphenburg park pavilions, was a Baroque Pavilion built from 1716 to 1721.  Its name is derived from the numerous small figures of Chinese gods known as "Pagods" (idols) which are incorporated in the decoration.

In the small hall on the ground floor, which is lined with Dutch tiles and the rooms on the upper floor with their lacquering and Chinese wall coverings, an exotic Chinese atmosphere was been created.  The Pagodenburg is another excellent example of the Chinese style that was popular in early 18th century Europe.

The Magdalenenklause was built from 1725 to 1728 and is one of the earliest examples in Europe of a park building consciously designed as a ruin.

Built in the Italian style in imitation of a hermitage, it contains a chapel designed to resemble a grotto and the electoral apartment with rooms of monastic simplicity.  The hermitage was intended as a place for religious contemplation of the transitoriness of earthly lives.  

The back door entrance to the Munich Botanical Gardens from the Nymphenburg Palace Grounds.  Psst, doesn't it seem like the gate to Frances Hodgson Burnett's "The Secret Garden"..

And of course how can I miss the lovely swans?  This one swam up to the bay and was posing in all angles for my photos like Munich's Next Top Model!

Thanks for all the wonderful memories Schloss Nymphenburg!

Kukup with BYK

12 July 2015 (Sunday) - Kukup, Johor.  Headed to Kukup along with the family, my neighbourhood and our MP (Minister of Parliament) Mr Baey Yam Keng!  The relaxing trip included a sumptuous spread of seafood for lunch and an excellent Chinese dinner!  More importantly, it was time for family and meeting new friends!

At the Tuas Second Linkway

Breakfast at Restoran GP 88 at our own expense.
We had the prata and delicious kway chap, mmmm...

Reached Pulau Kukup at nearly 11am!

Kukup Island is a mangrove island located at about 1 km offshore from the 150 year old fishing village of Kukup in Pontian.

Just in time for a quick ferry ride around Pulau Kukup

Pulau Kukup is tiny and has only 3 primary schools
in the neighbourhood

Stopped at one of the Kelongs which is a distributor
to Singapore's Sheng Siong

Showcasing the variety of fishes available in the fish farm

A dried up puffer fish specimen cutely adorned with sunglasses

Our lunch was at High King Seafood Restaurant

The sambal clams were the highlight of the day!

Along the way, the shops displayed freshly baked pong piahs
from the ovens which were selling like hot cakes haha!

Afternoon was mainly shopping at the Aeon shopping mall

Dinner was at the Wu Fu Peking restaurant

Highlight of a day's events - Mr Baey Yam Keng

Leaving for home at dusk

In order to beat the traffic jam on the causeway, we ended early and started our journey back to Singapore at 8pm.  The ride was pretty smooth, albeit some tiny lineups at the Johor and Singapore immigration offices.  Overall, it was a very enjoyable trip and I look forward to the upcoming trip in December!