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!

Just a Little Church in the Country----Wrong!

After Neuschwanstein, we were headed to Oberammergau, but the kids had read about this church which was just a few miles off the highway.  We decided we should check it out.  Weiskirche, appropriately called "The Church in the Meadow",  is described by travel guru, Rick Steves, as "overripe with decoration but bright and bursting with beauty, this church is a divine droplet, a curly curlicue, the final flowering of the Baroque movement."  It is Germany's greatest Rococo-style church and "is newly restored and looking as brilliant as the day it floated down from heaven." (another quote from Steves).

There is an intriquing story behind this church, but let's just say you would NEVER expect to find such a thing in this little farming village!  So I give to you, our (the A-Team's and the Morgan's) version of what we caught on camera which doesn't touch what it really looks like.

The views from the outside are pretty impressive...

...but get a load of the inside!

We were so glad that we took this little detour!  I have often pondered, since going to this church and others that we have seen in the weeks since, about the love and devotion those that designed, built, and crafted these edifices must have had for the Lord.  This quality of work is phenomenal, especially when you consider the tools they had to work with (or lack of).  Someone or lots of someones had to sacrifice a lot.  But I've also wondered if at some point, if some of the churches became a monument to the people who built them or adorned them, or if at some point some of the churches became the subject of one-upmanship....the church over in such and such a village just built __________, we need to do something bigger, better, more spectacular.  I hope not, but after you see a few of my coming posts, you'll see why I've wondered.

We left Weiskirche and headed for Oberammergau with lots to talk about---what a wonderful experience it had been!

Another Trip to T.H.E. C.A.S.T.L.E.

I don't know that I could ever tire of going to Neuschwanstein.  The castle itself is iconic, but the setting it's in is like heaven on earth.  I love the granduer and majesty of mountains.  I love the gurgling streams, the rushing waterfalls, and the glassy tranquility of pristine lakes.  I love the patchwork grid of farmland newly planted, rich in the life of growing crops, or ready for the harvest.  I love the rich, lush green of the forest.  It's all there in that one place and you can see one or more of those things as you look in any direction. 

Wednesday morning we headed up the hill.  Unlike our trip there last fall (here), we road the bus to the top instead of walking.  We wanted to get a lot done that day so time was of the essence.  I must admit there were moments when I experienced a bit of anxiety as our huge tour bus moved up the fairly narrow path to the castle, but we were there in no time at all.  We got out of the bus, got Katelyn all ready to go in her new backpack, and hit the trail. 

Actually, we didn't go directly to the castle.  We went up higher to Mary's Bridge which was above the castle (up there in the clouds!)...

 so we could get pictures like this:

   



Yup, that bridge was up there quite a ways.  Up higher than the castle, up above the stream and some waterfalls, and just up there---out in mid-air way above anything solid.  If that wasn't enough of a trip, there were some loose planks on the floor of the thing.  Just a little S.C.A.R.Y!

But, oh, could you catch some awesome views.  Like these:






Here's a close-up.



After some picture taking, we hit the trail again, going downhill, and then back up to the castle.  Along the way, we caught some different views of the castle and some different views of some of us!

Once we were at the castle, we had to wait until our appointed tour time so we got some shots of the castle exterior and our surroundings:

We even got some shots of us waiting in the courtyard:

We had a wonderful tour of the castle.  It's still just as amazing as ever.  Little Miss Katelyn was a trooper as we listened to our guide.  All too soon, we were ready to go back down the hill.  We were going to take a carriage ride, but we were enjoying our walk so much that we decided to keep going.  We then left the area for new places to explore and said good-bye (can you believe those clouds---par for the course, we travel, it rains and/or visibility is cruddy!).