Mittenwald, Again

If someone invited you to Mittenwald, would you say No?  No, I didn't think so. We didn't either.

It's the poster child of a southern German Alpine village, I think  - quaint, picturesque, and so placed that you can easily visit other quaint, picturesque places.  And we have friends with a place there!  Which invites the question:  Is it better to have a vacation apartment in the Alps or friends with a vacation apartment in the Alps?  Sorry, I know the answer to that question.....

So, off we went to visit dear Muriel and Tony once again.  We never tire of visiting with them wherever the place, but Mittenwald is super special. 

The weather was not so great when we arrived, but when the rain gives you rainbows, how can you complain?  It was actually a double rainbow, though faint.  Double not-complaining.

 On Day 2 the rain continued, so we opted for the museum day.  No one objected - it was on the schedule for sometime anyway - so off to the Franz Marck Museum in Kochel .

We took our picnic lunch with us since dear Tony would not DREAM of eating at a restaurant for lunch.  But we love picnics more than restaurants anyway!  Unfortunately, the weather did not allow us to picnic outside, so  in the car we ate. 

But weather didn't keep the paratroopers from doing their exercises on the lake.  Wave after wave of helicopters came in, dropping hapless guys into the cold waters to be rescued by waiting boats.

I was happy to go to the museum instead.  It was a wonderful exhibit. Here's a copy of my favorite picture.  Donkeys - and purple!  What's not to like.  Silliness aside, the composition  as well as the technique is impressive.

 

The town deserved a walk-around, regardless of the weather.  No one was sitting at the outside ice cream shop, however.

 

But there was a hat shop!  You know Werner, and you know he loves hats.  It was time to replace one of the straw hats - they do wear out - and Tony thought he should get one, too.  Good idea.

Day 3 arrived sunny and warm, just as planned.  Off to hiking.  Man oh man, it is so, so beautiful down there in the south.  We took the tourist bus to Krün, a village about 9 k from Mittenwald and started our walk back.

 World Cup fever.

 An example of the wall paintings. 

 And the incredible views along the way.

When we sat down for our picnic lunch, we had to deal with looking at this. The peak in the far background, with the snow, is the Zugspitze (especially for you, Michelle).

And then on the way down, we ran into some goats.  They look like they've been dipped in chocolate. Such a dramatic marking!  (P.S.  And now I know it is a Valais Blackneck, originally from Switzerland.)

Back to civilization, with a shock.  This may have been part of the manoeuvers we had seen the day before, but tanks with soldiers with guns is NOT what I want to see on my little Alpine adventure.

But then back to Mittenwald.  It didn't take us much longer than the predicted two hours when you consider lunch and lots of picture taking. 

Day 3 was another walk, this time to a Klamm - a gorge - with little waterfalls cascading into brooks that flow into streams and then into rivers ....

But it starts flat.

OK.  A pic from the top.  The red line at the bottom is where we were later, after lots of ups and downs.  I have to say, I am most happy on the down side of the hills, gorges and mountains. Frankly, some of these places are a bit high for me and I tend to cling to the wall as far a possible from the edge. Sometimes, that isn't nearly as far as I would like.

Regardless, it was a great walk once again with views impossible here in the north.  All in all, another big +++++ day .

Already Day 4?  Yes.  Time flies. 

This is the morning view of the view from the living room. See the funny patch there?  See the folks there?  They're scything the hay by hand (too steep for machines) and later the hay is tossed and dried and taken away, all by hand.  Werner could tell you much more about this kind of work since he did that on the farm growing up.  Just not on hills.  But all by hand.

We spent the morning doing little stuff in Mittenwald and then headed off to Garmisch and the Folk Music Festival.  Frankly, my dears, we are not fans of Bavarian Alpine music, but this was fun - people who like to make music and do it in a natural and oh-so-comfortable way.  We loved it.  (And excuse my misspelling of "yodel" as "jodel" - my German interfered.)

For your pleasure, a detail of the "socks" that are part of the summer traditional dress.  One of the locals told us it came about because of course the feet wore out before the legs, but who could throw good stuff away!  So these became the summer wear.  I don't know if he was pulling my leg or not.

Last evening, an evening out at the local restaurant with the local beer and local food. It was all good.

 

Tony and Muriel say we have to visit them next time in England.  I think that's a fine idea.  But we will certainly plan another trip to Mittenwald.