Letter from Clarence Williams to Gretchen Williams, May 28, 1945

Well honey, another week has passed and still we have no information as to what our set up is to be. I didn’t get a chance to write you yesterday because of taking an excursion. We had to walk about a mile after arriving and with a bad ankle, I was really worn out when we got back. I went to bed about 8:00 PM and really slept. I wasn’t sorry that I went along however as the tour was wonderful. We visited the castle or home of Ludwig II, former King of Bavaria located on an island in the Chiem Sea. It is impossible to describe the beauty of the castle as it seems like a dream. Its what you read about in fairy tales. The walls are of beautiful multi-colored marble. In the center of the main entrance are two large beautiful peacocks about 8 ft high, their wings and feathers are of gold and they are mounted on a large white marble base. The huge chandeliers are of gold and glass, are about 20 ft in length and 12 ft in diameter. The drapes look like a very heavy type of velvet covered with gold braid and design and they are all of beautiful colors that harmonize with the gold trim. The arched in culan or oval ceiling and walls are covered by the most   beautiful oil paintings I have ever seen. The floors are of oak and maple with inlaid designs in the center and around the edges and are so highly polished you can see your reflection. Of course we had to walk on carpeting so as not to damage same. The bed rooms contained hand carved beds painted in gold with their great canopies over them. In fact every thing in every room was trimmed in gold. The king’s bath was of marble, about 4 feet deep and 20 ft in diameter with a carpeted stairway leading down on either side. His dressing rooms had walls of mirrors all else being in gold trim. One room was 332 ft in length and had 52 high chandeliers. We were told it required 2,300 candles to fill the chandeliers. I took some pictures while there and hope some of them will be good just to give you an idea of the place. We crossed the lake by a ferry that would hold about 200 fellows. I surely enjoyed the ride on the lake, reminded me of lake rides at Bairds cottage.

Outside of the tour, the day was very quiet, went to church in the morning and then had a very good dinner. We had steak, mashed potatoes and brown gravy, and sliced pineapple for desert. Oh you, pondered milk[?] was the drink, can you imagine me drinking that stuff.   Even it tastes good occasionally but of course it does have a chalky taste.

I am inclosing a few more pictures that are described on the back and also will send an advertisement of the lodge where we are now staying plus a map on a card, describing the Chiem Sea, in another envelope.

Well honey, I guess thats about all the news for now and I must get to work as I have a lot of laundry to wash.

Take good care of yourself for me —