We left before noon and headed up to Oberammergau, about 12 miles from Garmisch. It is a mountainous road but better than most with a center lane marking, and half-way decent size lanes. There are only a few places where you feel you might scrape against the rock mountain wall!
Oberammergau is most famous for the Passion Play. It was first produced in 1634 when the villagers vowed that if God spared them from the Bubonic plague they would perform a Passion Play every 10 years, which they have done (except in 1940 because of WWII). It will next occur in 2020. It is an enormous undertaking with over 2,000 residents participating. The outdoor theater seats 4,800 people, and during the 5-months the play runs, between 400-500,000 visitors come to Oberammergau. The economic effect is immense, and there is a saying in town, "Die Passion Zahlt", meaning the Passion Play pays (for various civic projects and improvements).
The town is also known for its woodcarving. The Bavarian State Woodcarving School is there, and there are dozens of shop and galleries displaying wood sculptures from tiny to huge. Many are religious, and there are all kinds of carved nativity scenes. Unfortunately, the prices have become shocking.
The third thing Oberammergau is noted for is the incredible luftlmalerei (fresco paintings) on the houses and other buildings. This form of decoration began in the 18th century, as the wealthy "flaunted" their wealth and status with colorful paintings on the facades of their homes. There are many stunning buildings throughout the village.
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| Mary in front of one of her favorite buildings (a woodcarving store) |
Another point of interest is the NATO school located just outside town. It is the key training facility on an operational level and offers over 100 courses to Alliance member. About 12,000 students attend classes annually. It is on the site of a former German Army barracks which was taken over covertly by Messerschmitt in the early 1940's. They drilled over 20-miles of tunnels into the mountains, and created a secret underground factory, where they developed one of the first military jets. US forces took over the barracks after WWII, and it has been the NATO school for about 60 years.
Our destination was the Maximillian Hotel beer garden (Maxl Brau). It was in a section of town we had not visited before. Ron saw a great parking spot, and grabbed it. We walked a bit from there, and then returned for lunch. We sat under the "castanien" (chestnut trees) I had read about.
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| Maximillian Hotel |
Service was slow and not particularly friendly. I had a wienerschnitzel (breaded, pan-fried veal), and Ron had schweinekrustenbraten (a pork dish) with a beer sauce. We went inside to have a look at the hotel, which was very sophisticated and chic. Looking at a lovely pamphlet, the room prices reflect the elegance of the hotel!
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| Ron's pork |
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| Wienerschnitzel (veal) |
We got in the car, which was parked nearby, and Ron looked for another parking spot closer to the main part of the city. While driving around, we came upon a small fest tent. We had looked on-line to try to find a fest in the area, but had no luck. Here was one right under our noses - we had actually heard music and wondered where it was coming from. What a disappointment that the band had already packed up and people were leaving the tent. We love the local fests (miniature versions of Oktoberfest) with beer, wine, Bavarian food, and traditional music.
We walked some more, looking for the Hotel Wolf where we had stayed years ago, and where we had taken my parents in 1973 because my grandfather's name on my Mom's side was Wolf. We stopped for a rest (and drink) at an Italian café, La Rustica, sitting on the terrace behind the fountain. Turns out we were sitting practically next to the Wolf, but the traffic and other buildings have changed, and we didn't recognize it until later.
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| La Rustica café |
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| Hotel Alte Post |
We set off to drive back to Garmisch. For some reason we stopped off at the Kloster Ettal, a Benedictine Abbey, which still houses approximately 55 monks, and a boarding school. They produce and sell various schnapps. They operate a distillery, brewery, hotel, book store, and cheese factory. There was a monastery at this site as early as 1330, but the present facilities stem from the late 1700's. It is a fabulous building set in amazing surroundings. Sadly, the boarding school was involved in a scandal regarding sexual abuse and sadistic beatings of the students from the 1960 to the 1990's. These matters were not investigated until 2010.
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| Kloster Ettal |
We went across the street to the Kloster Hotel and sat on the terrace. I noticed a sign regarding spa treatments, and told Ron he could get a "foot massage" for only 23 EU. This sounded like a good idea, so he went down to the spa, but couldn't get an appointment until 5:30, and didn't want to wait that long.
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| Kloster Hotel |
We returned to Garmisch and settled into our apartment for the evening. A nice day!
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| Zugspitz with cloud (from our apartment) |
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