More pics for Thursday, July1, 2010

Around The Lake - Thursday July 1, 2010

Around The Lake - Thursday July 1, 2010


It looked like a perfect day today for the “Tour de Walchensee”. No Phyllis it was not another major sporting event. In fact it was just the opposite - very peaceful and quiet. The lake is located about 7 km north of us. We parked the Twingo, unloaded the bikes and headed in a clockwise direction from the village of Einsiedl. In places the path was paved and wound along the lake with benches to rest at many turns usually at a great vista point. Sometimes the path narrowed down to a 2 foot wide gravel path, sometimes through little willages and large. Many camera spots with the coral blue/green water and snow capped peaks in the background. At one point the path narrowed , became very rough and rocky but we peddled on, only to find from 3 ladies walking that we were on a walking only path. 'Twould be nice to be able to read more signs - so many and so different. Always though we were along the lakeshore within sight of the lake. At times we had to “look the other way” - lots of sunbathers and a few picnic-ers. By noon time there were getting to be many bikers, walkers and a few cars on the paths closer to the towns. At another spot the pavement became gravel and up ahead we noticed a swinging gate across the path. Had we not seen other bikers open the gate and continue after closing the gate behind them, we might have been tempted to turn around and go back. Just up ahead then we saw 2 cows - bells clanging, contented with the peaceful pastures - coarse we had to stop for a few photo-ops. Then a little further another fence and we were back on paved road again. So we saw it all - a very pleasant morning. We had taken our coffee mugs (full of coffee of coarse) in the mug racks we had purchased so we stopped at several shaded spots to take a break and take in the scenery. A family we met just before the cow scene, were from northern Germany on their vacation. They noticed our coffee mugs right away and that was the first comment as we met at a signpost to check on directions. Not much need for directions though since we simply followed the lake. It was 28 km around and we finished in about 4 hours with many stops along the way.

Little Log Barns of Krun - 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)

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.

Mad King Ludwig II - Monday, June 28, 2010

Mad King Ludwig II - Monday, June 28, 2010


We left the Heiss farm this morning around 8:30 and set the GPS for Fussen, Germany. Just outside the city are located 2 castles inhabited by King Ludwig II. One, the most elaborate, known as Neuschwanstein Castle, was built by him in the the mid 1800s in an effort to match the style of Midieval Castles. Situated high above the valley floor, we parked and walked 15 min. uphill to a bus loading station. The bus took us up to within 20 minutes of the castle and we had to walk up the the steep path the rest of the way on our own. We were put on a list for an English speaking tour and then waited over 1 ½ hours for our number to come up. Inside we were not allowed to take pictures but a guide showed us through on a 35 min. tour showing Ludwigs living quarters, various chamber rooms and lastly the kitchen. The woodwork was mostly hand carved elaborately from Linden wood in the area. He was forced to abdicate the throne because of his behaviour (thus the nickname MAD) and took his own life they figure a few days later. The castle was never completely. It was interesting but the walk up and back was quite tiring. Another castle built by him named Hohenschwangau sits just across the valley facing Neuschwanstein - not as elaborate but he lived in H more than N because of his untimely death.
On our way back to the farm we made 2 more stops. At the Wieskirche (White Church) we saw again the elaborate paintings on the carved ceilings. It has changed in the past 8 years with a number of small stores outside the Catholic Church selling food and mementos. Inside people sat quietly in the seats - some sang a hymn - some gazed upward at the intricate paintings depicting much of the life of Christ and Church activities.
Stopped at the Echlsbacher Bridge which spans the deep rushing river gorge and the Ammer River far below. The vantage point we had visited in ‘02 was mostly grown over by natural vegetation making the view less spectacular.
After a brief stop for groceries, we returned to the farm to make supper.

Arrival in Krun, Germany - Sunday, June 27, 2010

Arrival in Krun, Germany - Sunday, June 27, 2010

We said good-bye to the Oesche’s around 8:30 a.m. and headed for Krun, Germany about 7 hours north-east. M&P left right ahead of us in their VW Golf and we got separated about 3 km into our journey because someone who shall remain “synonymous” made a wrong turn. No problem though since we had both set our GPS for the address where we were headed. Only problem was mine said 288 km and M’s said 406 km. About 3 hours into it we decided to pull over for a lunch break and whom should we pull in beside at a rest stop but M&P. The funny part was the couple next to us looked very confused. Here we were with a French license plate and a Swiss license, greeting each other cordially in the same language and carrying the same plastic lunch bags. How could we ever have planned that timing. M’s GPS took him on the autobahn most of the way and ours took us across country with some autobahn - go figure. Another “attraction” was a gentleman who arrived to use the WC in a traditional Bavarian costume - white shirt, brown shorts with black wide suspenders, knee high white socks and shoes. It was the thin white belt that went from front around down under to back and up then fastened to the suspenders that we couldn’t figure into the mix. We arrived in Krun at 3 p.m. about 15 min ahead of M&P, found our apartment, one of 6 under the same roof including the barn and it’s sheds. We can see little barns out our front balcony with rocky mountain peaks in the background. Their name is Johan and Barbara Heiss. They speak German only so it is difficult to communicate. We have several scenic spots on the agenda to visit tomorrow before the Passion Play at Oberammergau, Germany on Tuseday.