Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Little Log Barns of Krun - Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Little Log Barns of Krun - Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Today we said good-bye to cousins M & P after 2 weeks of good times with them in Switzerland and Germany. Lots of laughs as we tooted around in our little Twingo and their VW Golf alternating drivers every other day. Up the narrow roads - in the cities - to the grocery store - waking mountain trails - searching for internet - we enjoyed every minute with them and will miss the fun times we had together.
We got ourselves oriented to Krun and Wallgau and Mittenwald this afternoon. These 3 towns are within 5 - 7 km and are right up there with Gimmelwald and Murren in our most favorite places to see in Europe - so far at least. We biked to Wallgau through the fields this afternoon for a few groceries - checked in at the Tourist Information building then headed home for a rest. Our legs tell us we will need to bike more to keep in shape but fortunately the terrain is relatively flat here so that will help.
Then it was off in the car during the hotter part of the day ( 85 degrees) to get more local information in Krun and Mittenwald for our side trips the remainder of this week here. We found a peaceful quiet little lake a few kms north and earmarked it as a place to bike around on a good weather day.
The flat plains between the mountains here are dotted with an extra ordinarily large number of little log barns randomly placed around the fields. Not sure what they are used for as they are all empty - will find the answer to that question from our host family before we leave. I suppose it is the farmer in me and the farmer’s daughter in Jean that attracts us to this area. Narrow paved car-free pathways criss-cross the fields and along mountain streams in no structured fashion making it a pleasant bike ride past these little log barns.
After supper it was back to the bikes again to discover more trails - all well marked at each intersection with yellow arrow signs telling the time to the next town - eg. 0.25 std. (meaning ¼ of an hour)
Today we said good-bye to cousins M & P after 2 weeks of good times with them in Switzerland and Germany. Lots of laughs as we tooted around in our little Twingo and their VW Golf alternating drivers every other day. Up the narrow roads - in the cities - to the grocery store - waking mountain trails - searching for internet - we enjoyed every minute with them and will miss the fun times we had together.
We got ourselves oriented to Krun and Wallgau and Mittenwald this afternoon. These 3 towns are within 5 - 7 km and are right up there with Gimmelwald and Murren in our most favorite places to see in Europe - so far at least. We biked to Wallgau through the fields this afternoon for a few groceries - checked in at the Tourist Information building then headed home for a rest. Our legs tell us we will need to bike more to keep in shape but fortunately the terrain is relatively flat here so that will help.
Then it was off in the car during the hotter part of the day ( 85 degrees) to get more local information in Krun and Mittenwald for our side trips the remainder of this week here. We found a peaceful quiet little lake a few kms north and earmarked it as a place to bike around on a good weather day.
The flat plains between the mountains here are dotted with an extra ordinarily large number of little log barns randomly placed around the fields. Not sure what they are used for as they are all empty - will find the answer to that question from our host family before we leave. I suppose it is the farmer in me and the farmer’s daughter in Jean that attracts us to this area. Narrow paved car-free pathways criss-cross the fields and along mountain streams in no structured fashion making it a pleasant bike ride past these little log barns.
After supper it was back to the bikes again to discover more trails - all well marked at each intersection with yellow arrow signs telling the time to the next town - eg. 0.25 std. (meaning ¼ of an hour)
Passionsspiele - Oberammergau, Germany - June 29, 2010
Passionsspiele - Oberammergau, Germany - June 29, 2010
The entire day was spent in the town of Oberammergau, Upper Bavaria, Germany. Over 5000 people converge on the town each weekday from all over the world. They come by the bus load - tours that have been organized to make this town usually a 2 day stop on their itinerary. The town is literally crawling with people by 10 a.m. each day - almost like a pilgrimage. The object of their trip is to view the play staged every 10 years by the towns people. Known as the "Passionsspiele" this play has been presented faithfully since 1633 as a pledge to God for protection against the "Black Death" plague that originated during the 30-Year-War.
Up to 800 actors may be on stage at certain times. The 6 hour play was divided in 2 halves with a 3 hour break from 5 - 8 p.m. The actors and live orchestra practice for 10 years to perfect the story of Christ's birth, life, suffering, death and resurrection. It was a powerful presentation - one we will not soon forget.
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