Most of Europe closes on Sunday’s so we have made it our slow day where we get up later and cruise a bit more.
There was a marathon in Tegerisee, just out of where we stayed the night, which forced us to come to a complete standstill this Sunday. From there we just took our time stopping at the lakes for a picnic before arriving at our next destination Bad Tolz.
Once again we parked close to the centre of town for next to nothing and walked into The Market Square for a quick nosey before bed.
We treated ourselves to gelato and poked our head into the local church just after service before heading back to discover the gypsies had arrived in a convoy of VW vans and luxury caravans. It was funny because all of the campers were standing out on the pavement shooing them away and it obviously worked because they left. “Good riddance” we were told, “gypsies are trouble”, they said. I guess we’ll never know.
It also poured with rain that night and the wind blew shaking the motorhome around. It was a reminder to us just how lucky we have been with the weather. Just the day before the temperature had reached 30° in mid autumn.
Sadly overnight the temperature plummeted and for the last couple of nights its been hovering around 5°. We treated ourselves to a hot coffee and one breakfast – (tight arses) – before a last wander through the beautifully painted town that is Bad Tolz.
From there we headed to Garmisch Partenkirshen for a front row seat at The Olympic Ski Jump Stadium. She’s a pretty big jump. What got us though were these kids, maybe aged 10 if you were lucky jumping from the smaller ramp but still clearing 20 plus metres and landing perfectly at the bottom. Incredible to watch.
After a night at the ski jump, we headed to The Ettal Abbey where the monks brew beer and liqueur. Its certainly big business.
It was easy to forget you were inside a Monastery – that is until you entered The Basilika.
Obviously the church that beer built.
From there we took a wee detour, unplanned, rerouted and headed back to the castles in Fussen – our last destination on The German Alpine Road.
The castles are grand but once again busloads of tourists filling the streets and it takes away the magic. When you go out of your way to visit something like Neuschwanstein, you want to experience the atmosphere and the authenticity of the place – to feel that you are in a German Castle – not surrounded by hundreds of foreigners all jostling for the best picture. It’s not the ethnicity that’s the problem, it’s the sheer numbers of people that the buses bring.
I was feeling a bit disheartened with the day and headed to Fussen not even feeling like visiting except to get some groceries for our trip back to Austria. We parked in the official camping place about 3kms from town and went to bed to think over our plans for tomorrow. The good thing about tomorrow it brings a new day with fresh feelings so we headed into Fussen and I’m so glad we did because Fussen is everything I want in a town. It’s got history, outstanding churches, cafes and a variety of shops, beautiful architecture and a lovely market square where the locals come to eat and it felt like we were part of their village. It felt like a living community and you get this wonderful community vibe and it just makes all the difference.
I have to say we loved our time on The German Alpine Route with it’s wonderful mountain passes, lakes and rivers and the wonderfully decorated houses in the villages and towns we passed. We loved the traditional clothing and how there are beer gardens on every corner and cycleways wherever you go. We also loved the Abbey’s and the Churches, sometimes 2 or 3 to a town and the bells that toll ding dong dang to resonate all the way to the farms in the village where the farmer has his cows safely tucked inside.
Just get rid of the buses!!!
Downunder Wanderings 