Wednesday, July 11, 2007--Munich--Day 3

Observation…….before we left, several people warned us to bring along some toilet paper. As space was at a premium, we scoffed at that suggestion. Bad choice. The toilet paper here is HARSH—a hybrid of auto mechanic paper towels and fine sand paper, either tan in color or depressing gray. All I can say is that European TP gives an entirely new meaning to the phrase “ripped me a new one”.

Well, we’re now on the bus again, ready for another day of touring after a hearty, if unusual breakfast. All I had remembered about breakfast in Europe were the delicious rolls—crispy on the outside, tender and fluffy inside—and butter. These breakfast buffets offer a very large selection of assorted, seemingly random items: dill pickles, yogurt, cereals, pickled herring, scrambled eggs of a very odd orange color, very undercooked bacon and sausages, cold cuts, cheeses, strips of mystery meat in a cream sauce, potatoes, soft pretzels, jams and spreads, cakes and tortes, coffee and tea, and thin, nearly flavorless juices. Most of the time I had either rolls and butter, or a roll with salami and cheese. Some places also offered individual, sealed, 3” tubes of liverwurst – more about these later. Breakfast is not my favorite meal, and I was not ambitious enough to try a lot of new delicacies that early in the morning. But the rolls and butter were just as memorable and delicious as I had remembered. I’ll miss them when back in the States.

Later………what a full day! Our bus tour of Munich was led by a local guide, Adele, to include about 20 minutes on the grounds of Nymphenburg Palace, in the pouring rain. We were then dropped off in the bustling center of the city, Marienplatz, in time to see the famous glockenspiel performance. By then it was lunch time, so we stopped at an open-air farmers’ market for a delicious bratwurst and beer, after which we wandered around and took pictures until our 1:30 excursion out of town. We first rode to the lovely village of Oberammergau, where the famous Passion Play is performed every 10 years. The state of Bavaria is approximately 90% Catholic, and hundreds of years ago during the plague (or Black Death), Oberammergau lost so many of its citizens that the remainder prayed and promised God that if He would stop the dying, the village would perform the story of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection every 10 years forever after. The deaths stopped, and Christ’s story is told every 10 years to many thousands who come from all over the world.


We then headed for Linderhof Castle, the smallest of King Ludwig II’s three famous palaces. The other two are Neuschwanstein (the Cinderella’s castle always featured on travel posters), and Herrrenchiemsee, a nearly exact replica of Versailles built on an island in the middle of a large, beautiful lake. Reportedly, the king was very enamored with the French king, Louis XIV. Jan, Mary, and I had visited Herrenchiemsee on a gloriously sunny day in 1971, and I very much wanted to take some of the group to see it, but the day was cool and rainy, not the best conditions for a boat ride to the island. So we opted for Linderhof, and it was a very nice tour of a tiny but opulent palace.

We left Linderhof and drove through the breathtaking Bavarian Alps to the winter sports town of Garmische to have an authentic Bavarian country dinner with entertainment. During the meal, a German “good ol’ boy” brought over a 3-liter stein of beer—picture a 2-liter bottle of Coke with another ½ bottle attached to it. He took the first hearty drink, then he indicated that we were supposed to pass the stein around the table until it was emptied. Our table held 12; one was a teenager and two of the women didn’t partake, so that left 9 of us to shoulder the responsibility. Fortunately, this was a local brew with only 3% alcohol content, so it wasn’t the death stein. All in all, it was a wonderful, noisy, fun-filled evening. For the first time, we are starting to bond with members of our group.

Observation…….driving through Germany has been so lovely. One would almost expect to see Heidi among the wildflowers. Each little picturesque village is more charming than the last, picture postcard gorgeous, with the church being the centerpiece of each town. The churches are usually one of two designs—they either have an onion dome much like the Orthodox churches, or they have a decidedly Gothic flavor. I’m so glad we’re seeing everything by motor coach at a moderate pace.

There are several photos of Maypoles in different towns and cities we visited. Each community erects its Maypole with special flags and ornaments, and during Mayfest, a large basket is set at the top of the pole. The basket contains cheeses, sausages, and other yummy delicacies. The strongest and most agile males in the community try to climb the pole to claim the basket. Oh, the pole is first soaped to make the contest a little tougher. Those zany Germans!!

Tomorrow, it’s off to Salzburg and Vienna. Nighty-night!