Water Games at a Palace

Roasting hot day.  Had a lazy breakfast taking our coffee out into the hotel garden, then sauntered slowly into the city to catch a bus.  Just a short bus ride to Hellbrunn Palace.

Well ... what can I say!  Not what we were expecting at all!

Got our tickets and then were directed to wait for the next tour, which run every 15 minutes.  Fine.  All we wanted to do was wander around the Palace and gardens, but what came next was a big surprise!

The Palace was built in the 17th Century by a Prince Archbishop, who only used it for day trips out of the city.  So there are no bedrooms even!  The main attraction turned out to be water games, with Trick Fountains!  One would be looking at some garden feature or grotto, when all of a sudden water fountains turn on, to drench you!  After the first rather tame one, where we saw 3 men (volunteers) get sprayed with water while seated at a table, we were warned to cover our cameras.  

There were times when we thought we were being clever to avoid high level spurts of water, when all of a sudden sprays would come from a totally different direction - even up your skirts from a door step!  Thank goodness it was a hot day, we soon dried off.

The pictures do not do justice to the event - but it was a bit of fun.

Then for a self-guided tour around the house, which had few features other than the frescoes - designed for entertainment.  

This is one of the ornate tiled stoves we see in many of the museums here.

We returned to Mirabellgarten in the city, expecting to have a look around the house set in the gardens, but it seems that is mainly used for concerts - so we’ve booked to go to one there tonight in the Marble Hall.