Here I am on the Starnbergersee in  Bavaria to start the King Ludwig Way. This is really the end of the story as in June 1886 King Ludwig II of Bavaria and his physician were found dead in the lake. Did he drown or more likely was he murdered? He had succeeded to the throne in 1864, aged 18, and led an interesting and increasingly eccentric life. Towards the end of his reign, he gathered enemies who wanted him out of the way! This walk starts from the site of the cross in the lake where his body was found. More of him later.

Arrived courtesy of EasyJet and the efficient and user-friendly S-Bahn from Munich. Very warm evening as I wandered past some impressive mansions in the back streets of Starnberg in search of food. Stumbled across the busy, no-frills Gasthof in Der Au. Sat outside, but must remember some mosquito repellent next time. Didn’t have a clue with the menu but found a Gemuseplatte which turned out to be perfect, wish they could cook veg like this in England. My first glass of Bavarian beer was a Paulaner Helles hoppy lager from Munich, which seemed to match the situation. Looking around me, I couldn’t miss the significant portions of food being devoured by equally large people, so I will have to be careful this trip. And I haven’t seen breakfast yet.

Caught a morning ferry across the lake to Leoni, where I came ashore, leaving the rest of the tourists to their 2-hour trip around the lake. After the obligatory coffee, I found my way along the shore to the cross in the water marking the site of King Ludwig II’s death. He died shortly after being exiled to Berg here. His opponents felt he was becoming insane and also wanted the power of Bavaria reduced under Prussian control. The chapel commemorating the event was under scaffolding for renovation, which was disappointing.

I must have walked past Schloss Berg, where he was incarcerated, without realising; there are so many vast mansions along the shoreline, this is a rich area and playground for Munich folk. Maybe this was it…

About now I started to notice the K waymarks for my route, from now on abbreviated to TKLWay. It was sweltering by early afternoon, so I joined the locals and swam in one of the bays. Very refreshing, and I dried off as I walked along, finishing a short day back at Starnberg.

Not a bad way to start a long-distance walk. As there is already one image of a glass of beer on this post, I can’t possibly show you the weissbier I’m about to enjoy, you’ll just have to imagine it.