It's not what we do - go away for Christmas, and then go away with friends! No family! But the circumstances led us that way.
Muriel and Tony from England had decided to go to their place in Mittenwald for the holiday - their kids were all over the place and well cared for. Would you like to join us, they asked? Well, yes! We weren't headed to the USofA, René and crew had ample family there, so we headed south for what we hoped would be a White Christmas.
And it so was!
Of course, we went by train. First of all, it doesn't take as long as driving, and first of all it is a lot easier to sit and read and stitch and snooze than drive, and first of all it doesn't cost any more than the gas for the car, and of course first of all it is so e a s y. So: Vegesack to Bremen to Munich to Mittenwald. Piece a' cake.
Along with Tony and Muriel, snow greeted us as we arrived! Great start!! We settled in, had a bit of dinner, and next morning were greeted by more snow drifting, drifting down. That was sadly the last of the snow coming down, and it did get a bit warmer, but not enough to melt it all. It was a White Christmas.
Day 1 we hung around Mittenwald, walked around and reacquainted ourselves with the village, enjoying the crunch of snow under our boots. We don't ever have weeks of snow in Bremen so it is a bit of a treat and since we are on holiday and don't have to drive to get to work or such, it is just fun.
The church steeple is well-known and always lovely to see and hear. The upper mountain shot is the Wetterstein, the view from the living room; below is the Karwendel, here shrouded in clouds, the view from our bedroom window. And a little interior shot of a violin maker, a major industry there (aside from tourism, of course!).
After a late breakfast and an early lunch (the guys are late getter-uppers which fits Werner just fine - he was always the last one up) we drove to Seefeld. Along the way, the evergreens with snow was picture perfect.
Seefeld is one of those "go-to" places for skiing in Austria (only a short drive from Mittenwald) with nice slopes, really nice upscale shops, more shops, and a nice shopping center. Of course that's a slight exaggeration, but not too much. Seems when folks aren't skiing, they're shopping! The local church had a beautiful altar piece, and of course there are the clocks.
Day 2, and it's going to rain. We all headed to Munich anyway. By car, it's only an hour plus so we take the train - no issues with traffic or parking. But the train stops and stops and has to deal with hills and curves and it's slower - like twice as slow! Nevertheless, we arrived and though we went our separate ways, we kept running into each other!
There was a Christmas market around the old town square. A short listen to the Glockenspiel, buy a Lebkuchen (gingerbread), and head to the cathedral.
I have never counted, but
I'd say I've seen many hundreds of churches and chapels and cathedrals
in the last umpty years. So, this one does not make it on my list of
impressive cathedrals. It is a neo-Gothic construction over a much
earlier church, rather restrained inside, no real character of its own,
windows that are modern . (Boy, does that sound dissy!) Large it is! But bigger is not necessarily better.
Hunger bites! We'd looked at a couple of restaurants around the square and I had my eye on a traditional place specializing in Nürnberger Bratwurst und Sauerkraut. After some hesitation - it looked so UN-busy from the outside - we went in. Wow! Full! Lots of locals and a fair sprinkling of tourists and a cozy set up and good beer, brats and kraut!!
Then off to find the Neue Pinakothek.
Funny - we ran into Tony and Muriel again! And we all decided it was not our favorite museum though there are some delicious pieces and striking views.
Back to M'wald and dinner out at our favorite local place then a cozy fire sitting around the Christmas "tree."
Day 3 - Sunshine.
Let's take a little walk while we can.
We needed to do some shopping for the days ahead as Sunday everything is closed, Monday is a federal holiday and Tuesday morning we are off again on the train home. One stop was the local Mittenwald brewery, always fun to pick up local items. It's only been around since 1808, so for Germany, not all that old, but they claim to be the highest!
That evening was a very special treat - the local Trachtenverein (Trachten is the traditional dress of the region - Dirndls and Lederhosen - and these folks keep up the old traditions) had a performance at the local church. There was music and a bit of speaking. A men's choir, a women's trio, a children's choir, all local but all sounded so professional. Though not Christmas music that I recognized, it was nevertheless uplifting!
And now it's Day 4 - Christmas Eve!! It's sunny and we decide to head to Garmish and check out all the Nativity Scenes in the shop windows along the main street. We don't catch them all, but many, including the two chocolate ones that, IMHO, wasted a whole lot of otherwise good chocolate on a display.
Here's the small chapel dedicated to the plague victims - a few hundred years ago - but still in service.
(And you can see how the snow is disappearing from the streets...)
That evening we were invited as Tony and Muriel's guests, to a local friend's home, a 15th c. building in the oldest part of Mittenwald. But first another tradition: opening all the goodies on the Advent Calendar. Muriel does it differently - all the gifts are opened on Christmas eve and then everyone takes turns choosing a gift. What fun! My best was a teeny grater.
Big hallways, gothic arches, lots of doors and rooms off of central hallways - what an interesting home. The entrance level was originally where the horses and carriages came into the courtyard, later the site of the bakery that the family ran for several generations, now rented spaces for shops. It was such fun to take part in a traditional celebration with local residents, good food and real candles on the tree. Did I say special??
And then Christmas Day! We opened the few gifts we'd brought and then we went UP.
Werner and I took the cable car (gondola) up to the top of the Karwendel and walked around. I had thought it would be like the Zugspitze - you go up, you stand around and you look. But this is more. There are paths cut into the snow, you can go to the top and then further (if you have the right equipment), but it was scary enough for me to just get to the top. Hang on!
I only turned 3 shades of green. On the left of the picture, waaaaaaaaaay down below, that little part that looks like a bunch of cotton balls, is Mittenwald.
So, from about where we were standing in that picture above, we could look to the peak across. The red circle to the left is two crazies heading to the smaller red circle, the panoramic view -- the valley on one side and the mountains on the other. They sat there just about the whole time we were on the mountain. Others came and went, a snowboarder trekked there and then boarded down. In the summer, it is a full circle from the station to the station, but not in winter. I can almost imagine walking the trail in the summer, but not quite...
I made a snow angel, but it was not easy!!! And definitely not pretty. The surface was hard.
But wow. It was a total wow and I'm so glad I gathered my courage and walked around up there. We chatted with lots of other folks who all commented on what an amazing sunny Christmas day it was and it was.
Then it was time for Christmas dinner, flaming Christmas pudding!! We ate like Kings over the holiday and my waistline knows it. But it was all so yummy.
After dinner, we played a game. Muriel and I love games, Werner can be cajoled, Tony, well, Tony is not so much a game player. But he did! He played! Bananas is the game, a variation on Scrabble but you have to make a crossword with your letters. Challenging! And since Tony won a couple of times, a real success. :-)
What a lovely holiday. Thanks Muriel and Tony for sharing your place with us! Thanks for all the snow and the wonderful company.
Happy New Year to all. I'll wait to say Good Night.
So long, Mittenwald. Looking forward to our next meeting.
No comments:
Post a Comment