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Published: September 22nd 2008
Early Morning on the Balcony
Each of our rooms had a nice big balcony with a lovely view of the river. The snow along the railing helped us cool our beers and chocolate bars.
We left the hotel with no definite route in mind. The walk up the steep hills of Fussen to reach our parked Opel nearly exhausted us as we struggled with the altitude and the early morning cold. The night before I had to park far away from Tyler is not a Morning Person
This is indeed a rare sight - Tyler and Gen awake before we head down to breakfast. the hotel in an area where I wasn't exactly sure about the local parking regulations. This was getting to be a rather regular gamble on this trip. Once again there was no tire boot or tickets. The van started up on the first attempt. It turned out to be the coldest day of the trip as the van thermometer showed a tick under 20 degrees F. At 10:00 am in the morning we were virtually the only car on the road. We decided to drive back into Austria and through the mountain passes on our way to Garmisch. There was barely a cloud in the sky and the sun was blinding as we headed South. Even though the snow had stopped and the roads were very well-groomed, a lot of salt and cinder flew up onto our windshield. Before too very long we ran out of washer fluid. I stopped a couple of times to rub snow on the windshield just to be able to see through the streaks. During these frequent off-road detours we stopped to snap our share of photos of the beautiful countryside. We probably saw less than ten other cars on the road during the entire
Taking the Walk to Our Parking Space
While staying at the Euro Park hotel in Fussen we had to park a few blocks away and up a rather steep hill. It was extremely cold when we hiked up to a part of town that was primarily open ground. Along the way Gail took this shot of a bridge in the little town park. hour plus drive to Garmisch.
In Garmisch I added another $80 worth of diesel and filled our washer reservoir with the water kept in buckets at the pumps. Since it hadn't frozen I assumed something had been added to keep it liquid. I wasn't about to waste $5 on a gallon of washer solvent for just a few more hours of driving. In Garmisch it seemed as though every store was closed. We drove by one of the few remaining traces of the American military's presence in Germany -
the Army's Garmisch-Partenkirchen recreational facility . Here we saw a number of nice German cars sporting USA licenses. The ski slopes nearby were also full of holidaymakers, but this was about the only place in town that was busy.
I had really wanted to get a mini keg of the delicious beer brewed at the Ettal brewery just North of Garmisch. Two years before, I had purchased possibly the best wheat beer I ever tasted when I brought a 5 liter keg home from the abbey. Part of my planning and replanning and constant rebooking of this trip was an effort to work around Gail's desire to visit Swarovski's and my hope of scoring
Also Included in the Sale of That Home
And I wouldn't buy that alpine cottage without this being included in the deal. This probably represents just a week's worth of heating in this part of the World. some beer from Ettal. But due to the holidays and the way the weekends fell it was impossible to do this trip in a way that would work for both. Besides, I had some great food and beer in the Czech Republic and that was one of the other primary goals of this itinerary. I had planned and hoped that with some luck on the day we returned home, January 2nd, we just might be able to swing through Ettal on our way to Munich airport.
Since we were in Garmisch and Ettal was just a few miles away, we decided to drive through there on our way to Oberammergau. We thought that maybe a souvenir shop or church might be open for our entertainment. When we reached Ettal we were surprised to see some of the souvenir shops’ merchandise displayed outside their doors. We stopped and found that the souvenir business was highly competitive and everyone in town was open; even the Abbey’s religious store. Sadly each store we walked through was sold out of the mini barrels of beer. One proprietor told us that she might get some the next day at around 11:00 am. That was
My Kind of Place
When I win the Powerball this will probably be one of my European homes. It was in the quietest corner of Fussen, near the town park. too late for my plan of passing by on our way to the airport. We had to drive 2 hours north and drop off the van at the airport by noon. In any case, the storekeeper insisted that the wheat beer was only made in the summer, but I distinctly remember buying it in this same shop two years before. It didn’t look like I'd be taking any home.
Our last hope was the Abbey bookshop but all they could offer were bottles of lager beer. Gail then saw that the
Edelweiss Restaurant next door was open. She suggested we stop there for lunch. Imagine my delight and surprise when I saw that they served the Ettal monks’ Weizenbier on tap. If I couldn’t take any home I could at least down a glass or two while in town. After sitting down and ordering a round of drinks we also had gout ourselves some delicious pancake soup and a couple orders of Weisswurst.
We spent a good amount of time inside the Edelweiss warming ourselves up thanks to the delicious beer and Gluhwein. When we finally summoned up the courage to venture back out into the permafrost we bought
Grandma's Heading for the Border
Once we started-up the van we drove back toward Austria. The German-Austrian border stood just across the river from our hotel. We stopped there to observe the waterfall and picnic grounds. a few little items at the Abbey bookstore, among which were a pair of miniature beer trucks for my fledgling collection. While we shopped there Tyler and Gen crossed the street to check-out one last shop. Soon they came running back to tell us that although the guy across the street didn’t have any Ettal beers he did have a nice selection of mini barrels of other beers. We practically ran back to his shop and I quickly selected a beer from the
Weihenstephan Brewery which is the oldest brewery in the World. I had heard many good things about them and considered this a major coup - maybe not as great as if I had found an Ettal, but this was a nice consolation. (The beer only turned-out to be so-so)
With still more to add to our bulging suitcases we continued North to Oberammergau. I had expected this ultra-touristy place to be packed with vacationers, but the place was virtually shutdown. We didn’t see anything open or any real traffic so we continued onward. We were greatly enjoying the scenery. I found that there is something unique and interesting around every corner in this part of Bavaria. While
Man-Made Waterfall
It wasn't exactly the World's most exciting waterfall. In fact, it was actually a dam that helped power a hydro-electric plant that was just inside the German border. most of the crew slept, Gail and I just checked-out the snow-covered fields, the quaint little farms, the quiet one-street towns and tiny isolated churches dotting the countryside. Before we really thought about where we were going we came to the Wieskirche. Even though we had also been here two years ago, it seemed like a good place to get out and stretch the legs. The farmland and meadows around here also made for a pretty photo op. There were no more than 5 cars in the parking lot when we arrived. Two of them had to be for the employees standing huddled and shivering in their tiny souvenir shops. It was incredibly cold so we made straight for the little country church. I thought we might warm-up a bit inside the church while we admired the gilded art inside, but it seemed it was even chillier inside than out in the elements. While we looked around and snapped photo after photo more and more people wandered inside. I was more than a little offended by the woman who came traipsing into the church with her dog.
When we saw everything there is to see at the tiny church
Memorial for Maxie
We had no guidebooks to tell us the significance of this little statue of Maximillian II built into the rock near the dam/waterfall. The plaque indicated that it was dedicated by the citizens of Fussen to Maximilliam II, King of Bavaria. in the meadow we started back to our van. Those wheat beers combined with the frigid air set off everyone's bladder. Toilets were available down the steps on the West side of one of the souvenir stands. Unfortunately six of us had to go, but among the half dozen of us we could only scrounge up 3 coins for the pay toilets. No problem - we squeezed two at a time through the coin-operated turnstiles. Just as the last of us sneaked through, the shop proprietor spotted us and started yelling in German as we descended into the foul crypt. You'd think they'd be happy getting almost $3.00 from us just for using their toilets! By the time we completed our duties (no pun intended) the yelling Bavarian returned to her store.
It was still light out as we drove through the picturesque Pfaffenwinkel region of Bavaria. It took awhile to warm-up in the van, but by the time we reached Steingaden we were comfortable and half the crew was back asleep. I simply enjoyed myself driving through the serene farmland as we progressed Southward toward Fussen. There is so much in this little corner of Germany that I'd
Moving on Through Reutte
Our leisurely drive next took us past the town of Reutte, Austria. Although it was a bright sunny day it was bloody cold. For the first time in my memory the road clearing crews hadn't totally cleared the previous night's snow from the highway. Probably too much New Year's Eve partying. like to see. My dream is that when we retire we will spend a month or two casually exploring all the little lakes, villages, wood-carvers' shops and Gasthofs in the area.
It was just beginning to get dark when we returned to the Europark Hotel. Once again we had to park a good distance away then brave the cold and wind to walk down the slippery slope to our hotel. We really didn't have a plan for the remainder of the evening, but perhaps we'd think of something once we had a brief rest back in our rooms.
Just as I was getting ready to lay down for a power nap I heard a commotion outside my balcony. When I stepped outside onto the balcony I heard trumpets and shouting then saw the golden flames of torchlights out on the river. At first I thought that somebody's fireworks had landed in the river and were slowly burning out. Then I heard voices and saw the torches moving down the river. From the banks of the river a crowd of people were cheering and snapping photos of the action in the river. In the light of the cameras' flash
Reutte, Austria
We made a very quick stop on a tiny cutoff just as the alpine highway started to climb through a mountain pass near the ski resort of Reutte. The primary reason for the stop was to use some snow to wipe the salt and cinders off the windshield because we had run out of washer fluid. I could see perhaps 20 people in wet suits wading down the river. Soon they began singing and yelling. Almost as soon as they disappeared from view a very lengthy professionally staged fireworks display began. From the comfort of our balconies we were treated to a local celebration ushering in the New Year. We never learned of the significance, if any, of this river walk, but it was certainly entertaining.
When the festivities concluded, we decided we should take a walk along the river to see if anything else in the manner of celebrations might be taking place downstream. Cassie pooped out on us and decided to stay in the room and watch TV shows she couldn't understand instead. Five of us bundled-up and headed down the circuitous riverpath. We didn't discover any more celebrating nor did we see very many other people, but the town of Fussen looked exquisitely beautiful in the soft golden street lights. A very light snow began to fall. I tried to lead the group to the part of town I often monitor through this
webcam . But the part of town we found ourselves in didn't look anything like what I was imagining.
Ehrenburg Castle Ruins
We saw these same castle ruins driving through here the night before, but in the daylight we got a better idea of how strategic this location was. It guarded the entrance through this mountain pass. We walked for awhile hoping to find that main drag, but it started to get quite cold. Of course due to the holiday there weren't many restaurants open. When we finally emerged into a little square where the welcoming glow of an open Gasthof summoned us, we headed inside. The
Gasthaus Zum Schwanen was jam-packed full of locals. The way everyone inside stared at us indicated to me that this was definitely a local haunt. Before we could decide to get the heck out a waitress spotted us and directed us to a nice big corner table in the back room. Once we took of our coats and sat down we ceased being objects of intense interest to the other patrons.
The restaurant had a very nice variety of wines and beers. I had the Konig Ludwig Dunkel (a local dark beer) while Tyler had another Weizenbier. Gen and Gail had lighter beers and Grandma ordered a Coke. By now I was Schnitzeled-out so I ordered Maultaschen, sort of like a Bavarian ravioli stuffed with bacon. I also got a bowl of garlic soup. The others wanted a last Schnitzel before we left for home. We then proceeded to have a
Facing in Another Direction
By making a half turn to our right we got this view. What possessed ancient man to settle in this freezing cold corner of the World? It is pretty though. Maybe the summers are more bearable. very memorable meal - great food, nice warm ambiance (Gemutlichkeit) and delicious beers. Total damage 61.80 Euros.
Once we finished we spent a few more minutes looking in shop windows and checking-out the town hall and castle. We were back at the hotel by 10:00 when we woke-up Cassie and began the agonizing task of packing all our souvenirs and foodstuffs in with our dirty smelly clothes.
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Since there are no pictures of that very last day (January 2nd) when we flew home, I'll just briefly mention the chronology of that day:
As usual we began our day by stuffing ourselves at the Fruhstuck buffet in the hotel. There were scores of Asian tourists there. The hotel even set up rice cookers at the buffet table. There was nothing to serve with the rice but I guess the German hosts assumed that the Asians would make do.
I was able to briefly park in front of the hotel when we were ready to check-out and load-up. Once again we found ourselves in a bright sunny but freezing cold morning. My Nuvi indicated that the ride would be about two hours to Munich airport but
Gail's Vision of Ehrenburg
Two different people with two different cameras came up with two different interpretations of these Medieval ruins. A Google search reveals that this is a very popular "getting away from it all" hiking destination. once we set off the route took us over narrow two lane country roads that inevitably led through tiny villages and congested small towns. It seemed to take forever just to get a few miles North of Fussen.
Tyler and Gen were very concerned about getting all their stuff on the plane. Their suitcases felt substantially over the weight allowance. In Marktoberdorf they spotted a Woolworth's store. We stopped and Gen quickly found a nice 19" wheeled carrier bag for 15 Euro. Gail and I bought a couple bars of Fa soap, then decided that we should also get one of those cheapie bags. It took us less than 5 minutes to move our junk around between bags. We now felt much better about getting our things past the airline's scales.
The pace of the drive picked-up dramatically when we merged on to the Autobahn. Traffic was heavy but moved briskly as we approached Munich. Just before reaching the city our route took us North. Here it again seemed like we had to drive forever before finally seeing signs for the airport. We got off at the exit just before the airport to top of our tank. We
These People Have Guts
Or they are just plain crazy. Those are hot air balloons climbing up above the snow-peaked Alps. We had just stopped to clean off the windshield again after we crossed back into Germany when I spotted six balloons in the distance. had to drive a couple miles through a modern (by German standards) town to finally find a gas station. It was a bit of a hassle getting back on the Autobahn because we were so far off the beaten path. I was getting nervous about checking-in because we were almost 30 minutes later than I was expecting.
Luckily for us the car rental return was easy to find (unlike Frankfurt airport). We were able to check-in quickly and hassle-free. The security area would've been a breeze if Cassie hadn't forgotten that she make-up and lotions in her carry-on. She was highly embarassed and angered when the guards kicked her out of line to throw away her expensive Sephora merchandise.
Despite the delays we still had time to take a break for one last beer at the airport's very own brewpub,
Airbrau . And as if that weren't enough, I also bought another mini keg of beer (Franziskaner) in the Duty Free shop. The flight itself went smoothly and the only other incident of note was the fact that I almost got arrested by U.S. Customs when they found the salami I had packed-in my suitcase.
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