The weather threatens to be frightful but our day turns out delightful

A parting shot

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Yes, we were followed into this pull-off area as well.

Wieskirche or The -church-in-the-meadow

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Like St. Coloman church near Füssen, the Wieskirche is also a pilgrimage church. Penitents on their way to Rome would stop along their route to offer prayers as they slowly mad their way south. Obviously the offers they gave were substantial because these churches are always remarkably ornate within.

Liquid bread for lunch

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The reason so many monasteries brewed beer was because during Lent the monks were required to fast. They had to do something with all that grain on hand so they used it to make beer. Beer was safer to drink than water in the Middle Ages. Alcohol killed the parasites and bacteria in the water. It was also something the monks could sell to pilgrims staying at their monasteries. Monks introduced the first hops as preservatives.

Oma's großer Kartoffelsuppentopf mit Würstel, Sahnehäubchen und Brot

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Grandma's potato soup with sausage pieces, cream topping and bread. As tasty as it sounds in German.

Small but so very impressive

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This church was built here because of reports that a local statue of Jesus wept tears. Crowds rushed to see it and a church was erected on the site. Many have claimed miraculous healing when praying in this church.

If it ain't Baroque it must be Rococo

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While visiting all the churches we saw on this trip the interiors eventually took on a certain sameness to me. But looking back at these photos I can see why the Wieskirche has achieved its world acclaim. There is just so much going on in these sculptures and paintings. I wonder if anyone pays attention to the actual church services.

It's nice to have some time to look around

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Normally on our summer bus trips through here there are crowds of people and/or church services going on. Today we had the chapel mostly to ourselves. Our timing between bus tours was Immaculate.

A UNESCO World Heritage protected building

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This church does not date back to the Middle Ages as so many others do. It was built in the mid-Eighteenth Century by two local brothers, the Zimmermans.

Waht are they thinkig?

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With so many busloads of Asian tourists visiting this and so many other German churches I wonder what the average Chinese visitor thinks when he visits. Having visited a number of Buddhist shrine in SE Asia and China I was impressed with all the gold, the smell of incense, the offerings piled high and the solemnity and quiet. But it still seemed very strange and contradictory since it preached a life of simplicity and calm yet so much wealth was lavishly on display. Someone from there would be equally as shocked seeing the Catholic obsession with death and blood depicted in these paintings and statues.

Time to get out of there

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Our respite from the masses was short-lived. Soon another Gang of Fifty were upon us with selfie sticks poised and ready. We spent a few minutes to take in the sights and smells of the farmland where this isolated little chapel rests.

Simply Idyllic

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I just wanted to hop on our Jazzies and scoot off into the distance.

I am intrigued by the ingenuity

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The simple brilliance of this design fascinated me. No need for metal nails. Just using pieces of wood, a saw and a drill the builder made a sturdy fence that can be opened rather easily by just moving a few logs. If one should break there is no need to nail up a new piece. Just walk over to the nearby woods and cut off another branch.

Rising to the top

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This is easily the longest chairlift ride I have ever taken. I think we passed through three climatic zones on the ride to the top.

Maybe it was a good idea to bring a winter coat

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By the time we reached the summit there was snow all around us and it felt like more could be coming.

A very different looking Rodelbahn track

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This looked more like a roller coaster than the usual plastic paved track we had ridden down on other mountains. It was lightning fast. And steep!

Rest stop at the summit

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When we got off the chairlift we both needed a rest room. Fortunately there was this little ski lodge at our disposal. Inside was a nice little restaurant and bar. On our way to the toilets we passed a big table of guys speaking American English. Judging from their GI haircuts I assumed that I had finally run into someone from the NATO school.

Our ride down the mountain

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These sleds were high tech devices equipped with two seats, seat belts, dual brakes and a roll bar.

Hats off to this ride

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The ball cap went flying on the first steep portion of the Rodelbahn but flew into my face. I used my teeth to hold onto it the rest of the ride. Sadly, this prevented me from seeing half of the ride. But I could feel it in my gut on every turn and every drop.

Another one of my favorite places

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After the Rodelbahn we continued driving to Ettal with his impressive monastery. We never found out why the monastery gift shop and beer store were closed. That was probably a good thing because I didn't need to lug around a mini keg of the monks' delicious Hefeweizen for the rest of the trip.