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Bavaria and Middle Rhine

August - September 2022
A 22-day adventure by Wolpertinger Wanderings Read more

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  • TravelerBavaria and Middle Rhine

    Memorials and Monkeys

    August 31, 2022 in Germany ⋅ 🌧 63 °F

    More from Berchtesgaden, which is a very attractive town in and of itself. Its setting in the mountains only adds to its charm. We were looking for two more things: the war memorial painting, and the Lüftlmalerei monkey building.

    You can find Lüftlmalerei all over this part of Bavaria-- it's the painting on all the buildings. What we were looking for is the house with the monkey paintings. The story goes, back when the owner of this house commissioned the work, he stiffed the artist. The artist then came back, and painted monkey heads over the faces of all the completed figures. True or not, the monkeys are there.

    Berchtesgaden has a prominent Lüftlmalerei war memorial, which was much easier to find than the monkey building.    Read more

  • TravelerBavaria and Middle Rhine

    To the Bindalm and Back

    September 1, 2022 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 55 °F

    The weather is clearing, which is great for us, but it's been a dry summer here and they could use the rain. Busy day, with lots of pictures and excitement. First, a hike up to the Bindalm. This is the high pasture where the family whose farm we're staying at keeps their cows in the summer. If all goes well, they dress them up and parade them back down in the fall, which we won't be around to see.

    We only had a few days here, and a lot we want to see. This was our first hike into the Alps. We walked back down to the village, not wanting to wait for the bus. I think we've got it figured out. The bus starts just outside the village and makes a loop, then goes back out, and vice versa, so I think you can catch it on either side and you'll get to where you're going in Ramsau eventually.

    So we walked down to get the bus, instead of waiting up by the farm because we're not really bright. Bus comes, we get on with free guest card. YAY! It's crowded, and a lot of people get off at the same stop as we do. Most of them went the opposite direction though. Hmmm.

    Anyway, we pass the entrance to the national park, pass the raptor wood carving, and keep going. It's nice. A little overcast, but green and cool. As we gain in elevation, we really see the mountains for the first time, cloud wreathed but visible at last. Then there are the cows, grazing peacefully off in the grass.

    Then we come to the sketchy bridge. It's fairly new, built in 2010. A nice, swinging bridge over what would normally be a lively river, but due to the lateness of the season and lack of rain, it was pretty dry. Alternatively, it also looks like the kind of bridge a troll would live under (think Three Billy Goats Gruff). A lot of people turn back here, but not us.

    Finally, after one more slope, we found the bindalm. There were two barns. We just randomly chose one. We went inside, and got our first cup of fresh from the cow milk and a ham sandwich. We sat around, enjoyed the view. We had a decision to make here: continue up the trail and over into Austria, or head back down and see things in the valley.

    We opted to head down. I was tired. The slope leading away from the bindalm looked awfully steep, and I just wasn't up to it. Technically, our goal had been the cow pasture and we made it, so I didn't feel too bad. Now, we had the long walk back down.

    As always: more photos on the FB page.    Read more

  • TravelerBavaria and Middle Rhine

    The Magical Forest and the "Backlake"

    September 1, 2022 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F

    We came down from the Bindalm on the bus, a bit of a cheat, but we felt pressed for time. Right near the bus stop you could rent little boats to go out on HIntersee, which is a nice little lake that gets little attention from tourists, or at least American tourists. Understandable, in a way, because one of the two main attractions people come out to see is the mighty Königssee, with it's church and boat ride. Hintersee is a nice, quiet, pretty green lake with less impressive mountains around it.

    We walked around the lake, then through some trees. Imagine my surprise when we came out the other side to discover we had been in the Zauberwald. Nothing magical about it, no frolicking wolperingers or slithering tazelwurms (giant snakes with the heads of cats who spit poison, so we were glad to give them a pass). Just trees and a nice, easy trail. By the way for you German speakers, I know that adding an s is the wrong way to make tatzelwurm plural, I just didn't bother to do it right.

    We jumped on the bus to head back to the village. We were planning to hang out there, have some dinner, and go to a concert in the park that night.    Read more

  • TravelerBavaria and Middle Rhine

    Saint Sebastian and Ramsau village

    September 1, 2022 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F

    Back in the village, our main objective, besides killing time until seven o'clock or so, was to see the interior of Ramsau's famous church. It's famous because a lot of people come out to paint it, including President Eisenhower. It's a well known landmark of the region, though not on par with Saint Bartholomew's on the Königssee.

    Nice interior, but nothing stood out so not many pictures. The portrait of Saint Sebastian was good, my photos of it not so much. The peaceful cemetery was enough to satisfy our inherent Gothy-ness. We went into some shops and got some of those Mozart chocolates so good score. We found a place to sit down and have coffee and ice cream. Ice cream is a huge thing here in Germany, apparently.

    We visited the park and gardens, looked at some llamas. We probably should have gotten on the bus and gone out to Wimbachklamm, but we didn't. Had dinner, which was good and included one of dishes off my list, Teufelstoast, literally Devil's Toast. It's an open faced sandwich with pork, either breaded or not, covered in a spicy cream sauce. It' wasn't all that spicy, but it was good. Herr Hai got a schnitzel.

    After this, we were done for. We didn't want to wait any longer, and figured we'd catch some traditional Alpine music later in the trip. Also, I was concerned with walking up that trail in the dark on our own. So we headed back up the trail. On our way down, we passed a man in full Bavarian tracht complete with Tirolese hat going down. It didn't occur to me before we were back at the pension that obviously other people would have been walking up as well.

    Oh, and for the record, was not overly thrilled with the Mozartkugeln, maybe they taste better fresh. We'll have to go back to Salzburg someday and try them again.    Read more

  • TravelerBavaria and Middle Rhine

    Schönau am Königssee

    September 2, 2022 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 54 °F

    Finally, we're going to see what drew us here in the first place. No, not the Führer's lair perched in Obersalzburg, but Königssee, and Sankt Bartholmä. This little excursion has two of the top Instagramable (I guess this is a word now) spots in all of Berchtesgaden NP: the church itself and a little shack on the Obersee just beyond where the boat docks in Salet.

    From there, you can walk partway around the lake, and come to a trail that climbs along the rock face. It ends in another summer pasture with cows and a little alm where you can buy food. From there, not far, is Röthbachwasserfall, the tallest waterfall in Germany or so I've read. Thin, but tall, though often lacking water at this time of year. We shall see, if we make it.

    We decided to go out to Salet and Obersee to attempt the hike first, then come back. We'll be traveling by boat. The big treat on the journey, besides the stunning views, is the echo wall where the boat stops, and the guide plays the horn, which then echoes back. I've never heard the echo picked up in the videos I've watched, and I couldn't hear it on mine, so I didn't post it. Neat trick though.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4NegK_JM8g

    On the order of photos: they're out of sequence, the first set it the trip out, and then our visit to Sankt B which was actually the last thing we did. The second set, our time at Obersee.    Read more

  • TravelerBavaria and Middle Rhine

    Salet, Germany

    September 2, 2022 in Germany ⋅ ☀️ 57 °F

    So this is the end of the boat trip. A lot of people just walk around the area, go to Obersee and take a picture, then head back. Not us. We didn't learn our lesson on the last hike. We decided to attempt to hike "a moderately difficult" route up the sketchy stone and whatever steps across the rockface, then down the other side in hopes the tallest waterfall in Germany has some water at this late date.

    We also conveniently planned to stop at the cowshed out there and get something to eat (more raw milk yay!). Maybe go into the actual water, since I wore my waterproof skort-bathing suit thing for just such an opportunity.

    Obviously we made it. On the way, well, let's not talk about Julie vs the cow dung, let's just NOT. Then, there were the naked Germans. This was our first experience with Germany's famed Free Body Culture, with dudes stripping down on the beach and swimming naked. Dudes only. And to be fair, the younger group hid behind towels and changed into Speedos. But the older guys--no. Good for them, feeling so comfortable, except the water was really, really cold.

    On the way back, getting on the bus was nuts. Lines are not a thing here, apparently. We were waiting patiently in line, at the front of the bus with an older couple. As soon as the driver opened the door everyone just tried to jam on in front of us in all direction. Look, I'm from Philly. That IS NOT happening. Not to mention, they were cutting off the elderly. So as I held out my arms and puffed up, I said, "Let Oma and Opa get on first." They smiled sweetly at me.

    It wasn't until we got on the bus, Herr Hai pointed out, "You know, I don't think they're much older than us."

    OUCH...

    This is also the day when we bought our wolpertinger, the one in the profile picture. I wanted to wait, but Herr Hai said to get them from the giftshop at the train station since we haven't seen them elsewhere. So just in case, we got two. Super cute.

    Be prepared, you'll see rare pictures of us... Apologies for that.    Read more

  • TravelerBavaria and Middle Rhine

    Final Impressions Berchtesgaden NP

    September 2, 2022 in Germany ⋅ 🌙 63 °F

    Well, we're done here. Time for the final wrap up. This area is incredibly beautiful, and we wished we had more time to spend. There are two gorges to hike, the salt mine, other small towns, a hike along part of the lake, not to mention the Jennerbahn which takes you up to the top of the mountain where there's skiing in the winter. Definitely would like to come back to the area, though maybe having a car would have been better. Jury's still out on that.

    Tomorrow, we leave for Munich, having a transitional day before we head down to Mittenwald. Berchtesgaden, as I mentioned, was a late addition to our trip, as was flying into Salzburg. We're both glad we did it.

    The place we stayed was very nice, Pension Möslerlehen. Breakfast was good, except the liverwurst, but I should have known better. I never liked it before, no reason for me to like it now. The location was a bit out of the way, but that's what we wanted. Very peaceful, nice landlord, and we managed to communicate even though she only spoke slightly more English than I did German. Cash only, as many places in the countryside are.

    So just a few pictures of the general surroundings, our in room picnic including some good Grassl liquor, and a sort of dark picture of the crowns the cows wear on their heads when they come home from the high fields. However, they only wear them if the season is good, and no animals are injured or killed.

    Ade Berchtesgadenland!    Read more

  • TravelerBavaria and Middle Rhine

    Munich

    September 3, 2022 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 64 °F

    Transition day from one mountain village/town to the next. A short, but packed, day in Munich, one of two big cities on our itinerary. We wanted to focus on smaller towns/ rural areas this trip, since we live in a biggish city and wanted to experience something different. So a few posts on Munich coming.

    First, just street views from around the Altstadt. We stayed just beyond the walls, but not too close to the main train station. We did a good amount of walking, and saw most of what was on our short list. Will definitely want to come back in the future and spend some time here.

    I regret not adding the English Garden and the Art Nouveau area on the other side of the river, but again, hope to be back.    Read more

  • TravelerBavaria and Middle Rhine

    Asamkirche

    September 3, 2022 in Germany ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F

    After checking into our hotel, the Asamkirche, a rather unassuming (from the outside) church was our first stop. I read it was a must see-- amazing interior. and etc. Catholic Baroque, of course, seeing how it's southern Bavaria. I wasn't predisposed to like it, while I love Baroque music, the art and architecture, not so much.

    This was absolutely my most favorite interior of the trip. It was breathtaking. There's so much going on, and it's busy, but despite that, to me it wasn't overwhelming. It's so much, even more "so much" than usual for Baroque, but it didn't seem that way. It worked.

    The chapel was built by the brothers Cosmas Damian (the painter and architect) and Egid Quirin Asam (the sculptor) in the 1730s-1740s as a private family chapel. It stands next to the family home (privately owned today).

    I had to select ten pictures, and it was difficult. The detail, the artistry, it was very engaging and I took over forty in this place-- forty and there's no stained glass windows-- so that's saying something. Definitely a place we'd return to.    Read more

  • TravelerBavaria and Middle Rhine

    Munich 3, Frauenkirche

    September 3, 2022 in Germany ⋅ ⛅ 72 °F

    Due to the short day, we chose only one other church, and it was the big one, Munich's Frauenkirche. It's the seat of the Archbishop of Munich and Freising, the church where Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) served before his election.

    A few interesting things about the church: built in the 1400s rather quickly for a cathedral of this size (approximately twenty years). The towers, with the Bavarian Renaissance onion domes were added later. Mostly destroyed in the end of World War II, it was finally fully reconstructed in 1994. Plain on the outside, with the buttress structure on the inside, the church is less impressive than other Gothic structures.

    Inside is the huge monument tomb of Ludwig the Bavarian (1282-1347) who was at various times of his life Duke of Bavaria, King of the Germans, King of Italy and Holy Roman Empire as Ludwig IV. Along with the usual king and HRE things (fighting with the Church, the French, the Italians, etc) he also abolished the serfdom of the peasants, and expanded the rights and privileges of towns, very important for economic and intellectual development.

    Also in the church: the Devil's Footprint. There are a few legends around this somewhat disappointing site. The most agreed upon: the Devil made a deal with the master builder-- he would see that the church was completed quickly, but there could be no windows, or the builder would lose his soul. When it was complete (remember that short twenty years), the Devil came to look, saw no windows, deal complete. However, he soon learned he had been tricked, because the windows in the nave were behind the interior columns. Too late to do anything about it as the church had been consecrated, or to reap his soul, he stamped his foot in anger, turned into a whirlwind, and tried to blow the church down. No luck. It's still there, but so is his footprint out in the foyer.

    We didn't go up the tower (next time) because someone (not me) didn't want to pay for it. Overall, big church, impressive, but it didn't wow me. Too much modern glass. Understandably, it had been destroyed at the end of the war, and often times in the rebuilding, decisions were made to go in a different direction.    Read more

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