Incredible Day on The Deutsche Alpenstraße

The Spires of Benediktbeuern Abbey

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Add one more town to the Bucket List at retirement. T minus 5 years and 10 months.

Driver Break Required

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Although it was a beautiful day to drive a beautiful car and even though nobody was particularly hungry after that big breakfast, after three hours of driving German law required that I take a break and eat pancakes. We had just driven through the bustling downtown of Rottach-Egern where it was just too crowded to try and park our somewhat shiny new car. This restaurant on the town outskirts bid us come in.

Happy Moms

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No doubt they were thrilled to get out of the car after spending the whole morning inside. I wonder if they'll ever want to travel with the two non-stop photo-snapping knuckleheads ever again?

Far from the Madding Crowd

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Looking back in the direction of Rottach-Egern you'd never know it was as frantic as it was. Traffic traveling in the opposite direction from ours was backed-up for at least a mile coming into town. It was a perfect day for a ride along the lake. We saw more than a few cars with their tops down.

A Candid Shot

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Do you think they had an inkling I was about to take their picture?

Believe It or Not, There Are People Eating Outside Just Behind Us

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I could've done with some al fresco dining myself, but the ladyfolk would have none of it. The sun was very very warm but sitting in one spot for long would probably get cold real fast. That issue decided, it was time for me to peruse the menu.

Too Early for Beer, So I'll Have a Radler

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Since I was driving and German drunk driving rules are extremely strict I opted to have a watered down beer. Radler is regular lager beer mixed with lemon-lime soda. A great thirst quencher in Summer, but not so great today. Gail finished it for me.

My Pfannkuchen mit Apfel

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Even better than it looks. I very rarely get dessert in Europe because I usually gorge myself on the main course, but at the Seehotel Zur Post there were no sausages on the menu and I wasn't hungry enough for a main course. Little did I suspect this light lunch would become a full meal.

Fasching Donuts for Grandma Phoebe

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I knew there was no way she would finish these and I almost hoped I'd be asked to give finish them off, but my pancakes were simply too filling to go on. Too bad the Germans don't do doggie bags.

There's Always a Bowl of This on Our Table

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Once again Gail opted for a bowl of Goulaschsuppe. It's on almost every restaurant's menu and is as filling as a full meal.

Establishing Shot

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This picture is here just to remind me of the restaurant's name and what a great day we were enjoying.

Let's Put the Top Down

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Now was the time to see if the convertible roof worked. Who cares that it was right around 50 degrees and that all our stuff in the trunk would've been crushed. Tyler and Gen drive their BMW in 20 degree colder weather. Alas, I was the only one thinking this would be a fun thing to do. By the way, that it's a frozen lake behind the Moms. It wasn't all THAT warm yet.

Across the Lake to Bad Wiessee

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Before making our pit stop for lunch, I had pulled into an Aral gas station in Bad Wiessee to add some gas to our quickly diminishing fuel reserves. Knowing it would be cheaper in Austria I only put in 35 Euro for 21 liters ($47 for 5.5 gallons). I assume the lake wasn't completely frozen or those crazy athletic Germans would have been on it skiing and skating. This looked to be another region where Summer brought in huge crowds. I can't imagine how nasty traffic might get on the road to Rottach-Egern during peak season.

Not a Shot of Anything in Particular

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Just to show what a gorgeously bright sunny day we had. We could see the Alps clearly all afternoon. We even saw a hot air balloon off in the distance.

Another Silly Stop for Some Silly Pictures

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We had run across these speed camera signs a number of times in the past three days. I hope they weren't taking pictures of licence plates because I had gotten nothing but frowning faces when I drove by them.

Finally, a Happy Face

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We had to sit illegally parked on a side street for close to 15 minutes to finally catch someone driving at what was deemed a safe speed.

What the....

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We never got a chance to pull of the road and take a picture as we headed onto the Tatzelwurm. It was a mini-version of the Stelvio Pass that featured a score of switchbacks and 180 degree turns down a mountain into the town of Oberaudorf, I probably should've gone back and done a video, but we headed on into Austria and the town of Sebi where we stopped to see this frozen watermain break (we think).

We Wood if We Could

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I became fascinated by the many immaculately stacks of wood every country home seemed to have. Two weeks prior to our arrival Europe had endured one of the coldest periods in recent history. I'd have thought all the firewood would be gone in an effort to stay warm, but most of these woodpiles were still in pristine shape. Each individual log is perfectly shaped. Maybe they're for display purposes only.

Downtown Walchsee, Austria

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An interesting little town full of expensive hotels, I have no idea what the attraction might be. It is a decent distance from the major ski resorts but according to Wikipedia: "Resort facilities: 40 km of winter walking paths, 25 km of ski runs, 140 km of cross-country skiing tracks, sledding, skating, …. etc"

The GPS is Very Confused

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Today my Garmin Nuvi GPS was thoroughly confused. She kept sending me on the wrong route and telling me to turn onto tiny little unplowed roads. This one gave us a chance to take a few pictures of the snowy landscape.

A Familiar Sight in Each Snowy Meadow

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I'm not really sure what these barns or sheds were intended for, but we saw them frequently driving through the countryside. I thought they were for storing hay and food for the livestock but the snow around them was usually undisturbed so they aren't in use in the winter. Maybe they keep farm equipment inside. That and the illegal Schnapps stills perhaps.