Oberammergau and Munich

This is our bed and breakfast in Oberammergau. It is a 5 generation managed today by two sisters. It is highly recommended. It is walking distance to the village with many little shops and fine restaurants. Woodcarvings is very prominent is this area. In the old days, during the 5-6 months of winter, the famers would carve items and bring them to sell in the stores. The women would knit and crochet items to sell.

A woodcarver in Oberammergau.

Located in the center of the old city of Munich, the Marienplatz is a big square surrounded by the old town hall, the new town hall and assorted stores and churches. In the center of the square is Mary's Colulmn put up to celebrate getting rid of Swedish troops who had occupied Munich in the early 1600's. A big attraction here is the Glockenspiel which is a large clock with figures who dance around on the hour. It had 43 bells and 32 life-sized figures. It shows a joust with knights on horseback, as well as the Cooper's Dance. It was a bit strange in our modern world so see hundreds of people standing around watching these simple figures on this ancient clock.

The Hofbräuhaus am Platzl, Munich’s famous “hofbrauhaus” was founded in 1589 by the Duke of Bavaria, Wilhelm V. It is one of Munich’s oldest beer halls. It was originally founded as the brewery to the old Royal Residence, which at that time was situated just around the corner from where the beer hall stands today. The beer quickly became world famous thanks to the first brewer, Heimeran Pongratz, and the famous “Bavarian Beer Purity Law” of 1516 that stated that only natural ingredients could be used in the brewing process.

Silke bought me this cookie from the beer place that says, "Greetings from Munich".

On our way to dinner, I found my friends.

On to Oberammergau, Germany

On our way to our next stop which will be Oberammergau, we stopped to see Walfahrtskirche Church. A little history of the church is below.

First time visitors in the Wies, with no previous knowledge about the church, may well stand in wonder and ask themselves what could have possibly given rise to the building of such an unusually magnificent church in such a secluded place.

Indeed, something out of the ordinary, from many points of view, took place here. Human tears, an age-old phenomenon, were the spiritual building stones, the precious pearls from which the Wies Church, a world famous roccoco jewel, was created. In the 18th Century the Wies Church was already known throughout Europe as a place of reverence for the Scourged Saviour, and at the same time a famous gem of baroque architecture.

Even today the church lives from both these wellsprings: its spiritual and artistic richness. Thus, the Wies Church continues as a pilgrimage church, a place of prayer and worship, and is simultaneously a magical drawing point for millions of visitors. Through their encounter with this joyous Baroque, full of life and hope, they sense a world which moved the writer Peter Dörfler, in the first half of this century, to write: "The Wies is a bit of heaven in this suffering world."

Of course we stopped to have some sweets....Silke with a cinnamon type bread,

Gary with some apple strudel......

and Hansjorg with his bratworst.

This is our next bed and breakfast in Oberammergau. It is a small village and has good Bavarian food. Actually we had some pizza last night which was very good. Tonight we were

back to our spaetzel and pork. Hansjorg and Silke camped within walking distance of our place so it was quite convenient. We don't do much without our guides.

This is the breakfast room for the guests.

A wonderful restaurant in Oberammergau

Of course, having a little schnapps after dinner. I think it was pure vodka!

Hansjorg and Silke toasting with their schnapps...perhaps a trip to Maui!

Bavarian Country and Castles

This was a really nice bed and breakfast. We stayed here two days to see the town of Fussen and the Neuschwanstein Castle--Bavaria.
We are getting used to the European breakfast.....rolls, cheeses, and meats. Gary has also

had the cooked eggs (still in the shell) that you eat from the cute little egg dish. The first time his egg was pretty raw...he has now learned to ask for a hard cooked egg.

Gary has a fascination with the German toilets....he has been taking pictures of the toilets in our bed and breakfast places.

We have had wonderful rooms and beds. Sleeping very well. Silke and I had a spa afternoon

near our place . They had mineral pools and sauna like rooms. They also had a "naked section"

but we declined to go there! The guys stayed behind to read and nap.

This is Swan Lake. A wonderful swimming lake as Hansjorg would say. Yes, he went swimming here a several times.

Silke and I walking back from Swan Lake.

We walked through Fussen village....narrow streets and outdoor cafes along with a fruit and vegetable stand.

Fussen is on the edge of the Alps in Bavaria. It is the highest city in Bavaria (800-1,200 meters). The late medieval town centre with the High Castle and St Mang's monastery houses numerous works of art and monuments to a history stretching back almost 2,000 years.
You can take the horse cart, a bus or walk up to the Neuschwanstein Castle. We chose to ride the bus UP the hill and then walked down after our English tour of the castle.
Located a few minutes away from Füssen and the small town of Schwagau, Germany lies the pretty yellow castle known as Hohenschwangau (meaning roughly 'high above Schwangau'). This castle shared its location with Neuschwanstein Castle but sat on a different hilltop along the same ridge. Both were associated with King Ludwig II of Bavaria -- he built Neuschwanstein but grew up in the much older Hohenschwangau. Consequently, the two castles were very much opposites. Hohenschwangau was much older, much more traditional, and was loaded with artifacts dating across the Wittelsbach dynasty.

We walked across this scary bridge to view the castle from the distance. It is a most amazing view of the area. This is called Mary's Bridge--Marienbruecke. It is over Pollat Gorge named after Marie of Prussia. It provides a view of Neuschwanstein Castle in Fussen, Germany.

Here we are standing on the bridge with the castle in the background. I'm a little blurry because I was shaking.....I don't like heights and this is very high up.

Beautiful Bavarian country

Neuschwanstein Castle was commenced by the Bavarian King Ludwig II in 1869 but never completed. It was built and furnished in medieval styles but was equipped with what at the time was the latest technology. It is the most famous work of historcism and the embodiment of German idealism.

Road Trip Begins

We left the Pfaffenberg and Zell area to begin our road trip with Hansjorg and Silke.

We are following Hansjorg in his car while he drives their Mercedes motorhome.

We arrived at Lake Konstanz and will stay here two days. Our bed and breakfast

is called Haus Seefrieden in Uhldingen and is just a short walk to the lake.

Hansjorg and Silke are at a campground at Lake Konstanz just 10 minutes from our bed and breakfast. Silke made salad and spaghetti for us. They both have taken very good care of us.

We took a short boat trip from our place to a garden island called Mainau Island. It is a beautiful island with many varieties of flowers, plants and trees.

This is the dock leading to Mainau Island.

Upon our return from the island, we stopped for a bratwurst, of course!

One of many church steeples as we drive into Bavaria.

Hansjorg leading the way to our next stop in Bavaria.

We have now arrived at our next bed and breakfast near Fussen. It is called Waldmann Hotel and Restaurant in Alterschrofen. We will stay here two days and see some castles. Hansjorg will stay in his motorhome just on the other side of the restaurant. Off to dinner and a short walk through the village. The weather has been beautiful......but a rain storm may come tonight.

Germany, June 2011

We made it!

Our bed and breakfast in Pfaffenberg, Germany

We arrived in Zurich (with some difficulty) a day late but felt good when we saw our luggage and our German friends waiting for us. We spent a night in San Francisco which we hadn't planned on thanks to United Airlines. Our original flight out of LAX was an 1 1/2 hours late which made us miss our connecting flight in San Francisco. After talking to 3 airline supervisors and new airline tickets, we discovered we were booked, cancelled, rebooked and cancelled four different times. The following morning, it still wasn't right, but finally talked to someone who knew what to do. United Airlines will be receiving a letter of complaint from us shortly.

Looking at the Black Forest out our balcony.

Silke, Gary and Hansjorg

Our toast with a German Radler--beer with lemonade.

Our first German dinner at Berrgasthof Schlussel

The daily breakfast table at our bed and breakfast....some cereal, assorted toppings, grandma's homemade jam, cheeses, sliced meats, and an assorted of breads and rolls.

We took a drive to Germany's wine country.....and of course stopped here to try the ice cream

topped with whipped cream, black forest cherries and cherry liqueor.

Who needs lunch.....when there's ice cream.

The vineyards with an old castle in background