Incredible Day on The Deutsche Alpenstraße

Getting Into Position for Another Shot

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Looking back at all these pictures I can see we were more than a bit obsessed. We didn't do anything but take pictures it seems. Fortunately I didn't have the camera out each second we were shopping or just cruising along in the car. Those moments were also important parts of our 5 day getaway. And don't forget the beer and food.

This is Why Both of Us Bring Cameras

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Occasionally Gail and I separate long enough for us to take different photos of the same place. Here she composed a nice scene that I never noticed. And even though the following Ramsau church pictures are merely our mimicking famous travel shots, each of us took somewhat unique looking perspectives.

Another Keeper by Gail

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I had just moved the car from the legal parking area to the middle of a side street when she got this picture before it got too dark.

Next Year's Christmas Card?

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Enough of those family group pictures. Let's go with this photo. What a lovely couple.

Trying to Turn Around in Ramsau

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We needed to head in the opposite direction to get to our accommodations for the night but not before taking one last picture of the church. This time from the front.

Arriving at the Pension Gregory

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It was only a few minutes before the suddenly accurate again GPS directed us into the parking lot of the Pension Gregory where we would be spending the next two nights. At first we feared they might not be expecting us and were closed. There were no cars in the lot and the place looked deserted. Soon a teenager came out, I thought to greet us, but he took off jogging up the road. The front door was open and we walked in. There was a note telling us to make ourselves at home and our keys waiting on the check-in desk. We checked out our rooms and I got the task of carrying the luggage up two flights of stairs. The rooms were a little more spartan and smaller than the Dedlerhaus, but the featherbeds looked every bit as comfortable. Before anyone had a chance to lay down and fall asleep I gathered the troops and commanded them to return to the car for a trip into Berchtesgaden for dinner.

Warning Roof Snow

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Another reminder to watch out for snow and ice falling off the 3 and 4 story buildings in Berchtesgaden. As a postman myself, I can espertly say, "Cool mailbox".

A Reminder of a Previous Visit

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We visited Bavaria often back in the 70's and 80's when we worked for the airlines, but with marriage and kids the trips dried-up for awhile. When they were old enough to travel comfortably one of our first overseas trips as a family brought us to the Hotel Watzmann for a great Christmas vacation. I remember a huge hotel room with a nice view into the town and a big breakfast buffet. The kids remember a big screen TV back in the days when they were a novelty.

This Picture is for Tyler

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When I saw this window display I immediately thought of my computer programmer son and how he must feel many times while at work. I've felt the same way myself trying to upload and caption all these pictures on this super slow website.

Those Wacky Bavarians

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This window display is an amalgam of all the critters they can kill in these mountains rolled into one beast. I was very careful to make sure I was only ordering farm animal food when I placed my dinner orders. Schwein, Huhn and Rindfleisch (pork, chicken, beef) had to be in the description or I'd pass. I didn't want to eat mountain goat or bunny rabbit.

Not the Gasthof Bier Adam!

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The place I wanted to eat our first night here was the Goldener Bar. We had been there twice before and loved it. A dark, busy and atmospheric restaurant with cheap food and generous portions. However, when we got there it was absolutely jammed. We walked through town and didn't see anything else open other than the Gasthof Bier Adam. A few years back we had run into a similar situation when nothing else was open on Christmas Eve. It was around 8 pm that night and the wait staff didn't act like they prized our business. There was a limited menu and they seemed in a hurry to get us out of there. It was not a typical German dinner. I think we all had to have strudel and beer for dinner. In any case, this time we also had no choice. Inside it was also very crowded, but we were ushered upstairs into an empty room with a dozen tables. We were handed English menus. The cameras gave us away.

Gail's Trademarked Photo Theme

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She loves to try to top my famous beer shot from the Viktualianmarkt in Munich taken a few summers ago. Nice try. This was a very nice wheat beer; maybe the best of the whole trip.

Can You Guess Who Has Done All the Driving So Far?

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I don't mind though as long as I get fed at regular intervals. And as long as Gail takes care of getting the waiter to come over with the check. In Germany they'll leave you alone all night unless you give them the special signal. I don't know it.

Gail Digs In

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Tonight all of us were prepared to chow down. Gail got the Kasnocken – cheese noodles in a hearty sauce, served with fried onions and a green salad. My mother ordered the same. She wanted a glass of water but got stuck being billed for a bottle of mineral water. We never seem to get this right when we order water in Germany. We even said "Tefelwasser" or table water. We mimed turning on a faucet when we said it. Maybe Nathan was too busy to appreciate our acting performance.

Dinner Arrives

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I ordered Fine strips of pork with mushrooms in a cream sauce, served with home-made spaetzle. Gails mother had Goulaschsuppe, this time with venison in it. And the verdict was that the Bier Adam was much improved compared to our previous visit. All of us loved our food. Total damage €55.70 (no desserts).

The Cheesy Spaetzle

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We had never had this on any of our previous German trips but like Goulaschsupper, it quickly became a favorite. I guess it's the German version of macaroni and cheese but so much better. The Spaetzle noodles are fried just long enough to make them a bit crunchy then some kind of Swiss cheese is folded in. Topped off with home made deep fried onions.

Two Thumbs Up This Time

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Check out the smoking area outside the Gasthaus Bier Adam. I think even Cassie would give up smoking if she had to stand outside in these temperatures. The warm sunny afternoon had disappeared completely and Winter had returned by the time we walked outside. We would not be spending much time windowshopping this evening.

The Whole Town to Ourselves

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I don't know what Germans do on Saturday night but they certainly weren't out on the town. Maybe there was a David Hasselhof film festival on Bavarian TV that night.

An Interesting Little Shop

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On our windowshopping walk we paused a little while to check out this gourmet shop. We said we'd be back to look around when it opened the next day. We never came back.