Oct 28 & 29

We awoke to a winter wonderland with 5 inches of fresh snow all around.  Newspaper headlines said it was the most snow since 1939 (I assume it meant for this time of year.)  Global warming??  It was cold both days with temperatures at or below freezing.  On Sunday, all shops and many restaurants were closed and the weather wasn't conducive to riding the HOHO bus so we walked to the Neues Rathaus (New City Hall) (new since the 1909) which contains the Glockenspiel, an ornate tower clock with 3 tiers of mechanical figures that twirl, dance and joust for several minutes at 11am, noon & 5pm.  Before noon we watched a wacky street band in funny costumes playing German music.  We watched the noon Glockenspiel show and then wandered around the historic district.  We searched out Munich's most famous tourist trap, Der Hofbräu Haus, a 5000 person capacity beer hall, and it looked filled to capacity and then some with everyone walking around searching for the rare empty seat.  The tables are large heavy picnic table style seating 8 to 10 people.  Waitresses hustle from the bar to the tables with several liter mugs of beer in each hand.  A good variety of food is available and a German oompah band was playing and you could barely hear it above the din.   We had no intention of staying there as we don't care for the crowds but went in to look since neither of us had been there for many years.  It also had free toilets.  We peeked into a couple of churches and, since it was so cold, went back towards our hotel.  Around the corner is the Shakespeare bar and we stopped in for a glass of beer.  The owner's daughter was tending the bar and we chatted for a while.  She travels a lot and said how much she enjoyed Florida, except for Miami.  She had rented a car and circumnavigated the state for a month and, when she went to return the car in Miami, the attendant could only speak Spanish, no English whatsoever.  She was quite irritated to say the least and had the same trouble around Miami (we have that trouble also and avoid the city.)  For dinner we went to a restaurant a few doors from the hotel and had an excellent steak tartare which was prepared at our table.

On Monday some snow had melted but the temperature stayed at of below freezing.  We hadn't prepared well and had lightweight jackets and sweatshirts (after all, it is early fall and predictions had been for lows in the mid 50s.)  We broke down and bought nice waterproof jackets with roll up hoods and zip out linings so we'll be flexible.  We also found cheap stocking hats & gloves to carry us through.  We went back through the Rathaus square and to the Victuals Market, a large outdoor market with stalls for meat, cheese, fruit & vegetables, seafood and cooked food stands.  We shares a white sausage (pork) on a roll and wandered throughout the market.  If we lived here or were here for a few days with cooking facilities we would definitely shop there.  We then walked to the Residence, the Government buildings, and looked at the different types of architecture in the area.  After about 5 hours of walking in the cold we returned to the hotel to warm up and repack.  Tomorrow we fly to Venice and embark the Regent Seven Seas Mariner, a 700 passenger luxury cruise ship which will be our home until January 7. 

Oct 27

We checked out of our time share resort and headed towards Munich.  The temperature was 5C and it was overcast with light rain.  After an hour the temperature had dropped to 1C and the rain turned to snow, but the road & ground still retained enough heat to prevent the snow from accumulating.  We got to our hotel about 3 hours after leaving Oberstaufen but couldn't check in yet.  We found a gas station to fill the tank, returned to the hotel to unload the luggage and, while Pat guarded the luggage, I returned the car.  By that time we got checked in and decided to walk to the old town.  Our hotel is across from the main train station at the edge of the historic district.  It was alternating rain and snow, cold & windy.  The pedestrian shopping streets and Rathaus square were crowded with Saturday afternoon shoppers and beer drinkers.  We hadn't expected weather this cold and didn't bring winter hats so we stopped at a C&A department store and bought stocking hats which made things much more comfortable.  A little over 3 hours of walking in this weather was enough for us and we returned to the hotel for a cocktail in the room.  We went to a good German restaurant next to the hotel for dinner.  Pat had pork knuckle and I had a selection of 6 different sausages with sauerkraut.  It was too early to retire so we found a small bistro nearby for a glass of wine.  We sat at the bar next to a couple of young women, one American and the other Canadian, who are teaching in an International Baccalaureate program in Istanbul and were having a short break in Munich during the Muslim 4 day holiday (the holiday that was supposed to be a ceasefire in Syria.)  It was an interesting conversation and lasted through 2 glasses of wine.   We went back to the hotel, set our clocks back an hour (daylight time ends Sunday morning in Europe) and went to sleep.

Oct 26

It was a cold and overcast day and we decided to visit the resort town of Obertsdorf which is the southernmost city in Germany,  It was only a 1/2 hour drive along country roads to the town, but unfortunately the low cloud cover blocked the views of the mountains.  The town had a few old and frescoed buildings but it's main focus is being a hiking and snow ski town.  Instead of rows of beer halls, there were rows of ski equipment, sport clothing and winter clothing stores.  The hiking is almost done because the temperatures are close to freezing and it hasn't snowed so skiing isn't in season yet.  The town was fairly crowded however.  Being a resort town, prices were high.  We drove around the periphery of the town and it is filled with condos and ski chalets.  One thing we noticed on the drive in and out of the area is that there are dozens of ski areas, almost one every 2 kilometers.  Instead of being massive ski slopes like Aspen or Vail, there are a multitude of smaller ones all around the area with bus service servicing them all.  Many Germans arrive by train because parking is expensive and inconvenient.  It wasn't the quaint Bavarian town the brochures described so we headed away.  The next town, Fischen, had a nice old church but everything else was condo row.  We drove back to Oberstaufen and had a wonderful Bavarian lunch of potato soup and a mixed plate of cold cuts & local Allgäu cheese and local wine.  Most Americans think of German white wine as being sweet like the Rieslings, but most Germans drink a dry white similar to Pino Grigio or Chardonnay.  The local red & white wines we had were dry and very good and cost about $4.50 for an 8 ounce glass.  We went back to our room and packed up for the next day's drive and had the remaining food in the refrigerator for dinner.

Oct 25 (2 postings with photos - see post 2 below first photos)

We headed out again in fog to see 2 of Ludwig II's castles.  Once we got into the area near Füssen the sun was shining and the temperature was in the mid 50s.  The 2 castles, Neuschwanstein & Hohenschwangau, are on hilltops facing each other over a valley with souvenir shops, hotels & restaurants.  Neuschwanstein was designed by Ludwig and a stage designer and was built from 1869 to 1886 and it is the prototype for Disney's Cinderella castles.  Unfortunately for the view, the exterior under the turrets was sheathed in scaffolding for renovation so we had to take a photo of a poster to have an image of how it's supposed to look.  Hohenschwangau is less impressive but more historically important.  Ludwig's father, Maximilian II rebuilt it from the ruins of a 12th century castle and Ludwig grew up and spent most of his reign in it.  He only lived in Neuschwanstein for 6 months before being deposed.  It's a well set up tourist trap and to see the interiors you need to buy tickets for a specific time and language.  The tours last 30 minutes in a rush job through at the guide's pace and you're outta there with no time to linger and view the rooms you have an interest in.  We don't enjoy that type of tours and, with a 1 1/2 hour wait for an English tour, we saw the exteriors and had a good Bavarian lunch.  The lake and area where the castles are is picturesque, particularly now with the fall color change in the trees.  On the way out we came across a small herd of roe deer in a farm field.

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 We left the castles and drove into Füssen, an old city a few km away. and walked into the old town.  Ruins of a late Roman  fortress were discovered during archaeological excavations in 1955.  Between 1274 & 1286  the first town wall was constructed on the hill.  This was turned into a castle in 1291 and in1322 the Bishoporic of Augsburg acquired the hill and completed the unfinished castle.  From 1489 to 1504 Bishop Frederic II extended it into an imposing Burgschloss, most of which is seen today.  Paintings on the buildings date from 1499 and are still remarkably fresh looking.  It was a fascinating walk around the grounds. Füssen looks like a town that would be a good place to spend a night or two.  As we returned to Oberstaufen the low cloud & for returned.  We'll see what tomorrow brings.

Oct 24

Again it was foggy, cloudy and cold, but the weather forecast promised sun by mid day.  Typical weather report - it lied.  We headed out to see Oberammergau & Garmish-Partenkirchen and wished the fog weren't there because we couldn't see the mountains & villages along the way.  Before we got to Oberammergau we diverted to see Schloss Linderhof, one of Mad King Ludwig's castles.  Unfortunately they have already winterized it by digging up the gardens, covering all the beautiful statues outside with crates and shutting down the fountains.  The gilded mermaid as a center for a fountain in front of the castle is magnificent (I saw it some decades ago) but hidden today.  We wandered around the exterior for awhile and didn't stay for the interior tour (in German) which would have delayed us too long for our day trip.  We basically stopped to look at the outside anyway.  We continued on to Oberammergau which Pat had seen 20 years ago and I last visited in 1960 to see the Passion Play.  Oberammergau is famous for 2 things ; wood carving and the Passion Play.  The wood carvings range from small shelf items to life size figures, mostly religious.  The Passion Play is held every 10 years (except for a couple of war cancellations) and was a result of the city promising to have a play about Jesus' life if they were spared from the plague in 1634.  None died and the play has been held since then.  It's an 8 hour production going from 8 to noon and 2 to 6.  All in German of course.  Many of the buildings are painted with religious frescoes.  Jesus & Mary are everywhere.  We found a nice local (read not tourist) restaurant for an excellent Bavarian lunch.  Bavarians typically have their main meal at lunch and a light meal at night, but when we're driving through mountains, a heavy meal with wine isn't the best idea so we go lite.

We drove to Garmish-Partenkirchen which is another tourist and winter sports area and there were many painted buildings, but without the intense religious theme.  It was more modern and a typical upscale ski town with high priced shops, many of which were closed during this slow period between warm weather and ski season.  Temperature was around 40 F and it was cloudy so it wasn't as impressive as it should have been.  We did encounter some sunshine on the way back and saw some beautiful mountain scenes.  If it is clear tomorrow, we may go back that way and see Ludwig's castle that was the model for Disney's Cinderella Castle.