A Visit to the Monastery and More

Next on the agenda was a quick stop in Oberammergau, only because when we were there in October for the Passion Play here, I fell in love with the little shops, the charming streets, the wood carving, the people, the food.  To me it was quintessential Bavaria.  I wanted the kids just to experience it for a few minutes---thought we could do some shopping.

Anyway, we finally made it to Oberammergau, and Katelyn had "crashed" in her car seat.  She was soooo tired, and it was definitely nap time.  We were lucky and found a convenient place to park, and DJ willingly agree to sit in the car with her for a while (he hates shopping).  Sarah, Iz and I headed around the corner, checked out the sites, browsed in a few stores, watched a wood carver, and purchased a few souvenirs.  This was the only picture we took (in the same spot where I took DJ's picture in October):

We then headed to the last spot on our itinerary for the day, the Ettal Monastery and Pilgrimage Church.  Little did I know when I was in my "church steeple picture mode" last fall here and snapped a picture of this church with the big dome, that I would be coming back to visit:

In 1328 a monastery was founded by the Holy Roman Emperor in the small town of Ettal, Switzerland.  He was returning to Rome with "what was considered a miraculous statue of Mary and Jesus."  He was in trouble both financially and politically, so he thought founding the monastery would please God.  The statue became its centerpiece.  The monastery has quite the history and has had its ups and downs, but today it houses 50-60 monks.  In addition to their religious responsibilities, those monks make their famous liqueur, brew beer, run a hotel, and educate 380 students in a private high school.

You can enter the monastery from the street in several places going through arches.  Once you are inside there is a lovely garden courtyard with buildings (the church, the school, some businesses---they have to sell their beer, and living quarters) encasing the green beauty.

Here are a few close-ups on the outside of the church:

Then we went inside.  Boy, was I in for another shock.  It is another "Baroque beauty":

We enjoyed ourselves outside in the courtyard:

Loved the flowers, grabbed a few shots of some that were a little different:

On the way out of town, Sarah and I sent DJ and Iz into a bakery to get a snack since dinner was going to be on the late side.  Oh, my goodness, they came out with a box full of the gooiest, crumbliest (is that a word?), too-big-to-handle-in-the-car-goodies you ever did see.  So, after our drive back to Schwangau (with no treats), and after a lovely dinner, the rest of them had dessert in the form of a tasting party in our hotel.  I still didn't feel good and all I wanted to do was snuggle under my covers---bag the food! 

It had been a long day, full of wonderful sights, history, and togetherness.  Next, on the itinerary...Salzburg!