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.


 

US Trip

We've been back for a while, but we were gone for a while, so putting this together has taken a while.

We had such a good time. Visits to all the family, a side trip to Arizona, a brief stop in Tallahassee. How could it be better?  (Answer:  More time.)

It started with A REALLY SHORT overnight in Orlando but nevertheless a chance to take a picture or two of us oldies with the youngies.  What a happy face on Dylan.  And really, isn't Werner so happy looking all the time??  Hayden is happy, too, but he likes to close his eyes when the camera goes off.

We headed to Tallahassee the next day for a visit with Nancy. I know everyone understands that touching base with old, old, old dear friends is more than fun. It's essential. We had an abbreviated visit but enjoyed every minute of it.  Werner, too. He's so easy - goes shopping, eats food, repairs little things.

Then off to the kids in PC!  Big kids and grandkids.  (Google keeps trying to correct "grandkids," but I refuse to be corrected.)

Though teenagers have lots on their plates, we got to see a soccer game of Hunter's, way up in Dothan and well played.  He's on his way!  We are so impressed by how much he's grown and developed.  Not a kid any more. 

And - wonderfully and finally - we got to see one of Hannah's dance recitals. She's so good!  No pictures of the recital - not allowed - but here's one of the lovely dancer and her beautiful mom after the event.  (Taken with my phone without flash, hence the bluishness.  My camera just DIED suddenly and we had to buy a new one before we headed to Arizona! I'm hoping to get over this bad camera luck, and now.)

It went by so quickly, this time with the Ginns, though Werner got to enjoy a read or two on the terrace.  Florida is always a vacation for Werner. And this terrace is a dream.

And the hangy down tomatoes are growing again!  I wonder if they'll get the same yield as that first year. That will be hard to beat. 

Then we were off to Arizona and a visit to Mary.  Our friendship spans 4+ decades but we were last with her in Rhode Island about 9 years ago.  It couldn't be more different, these two places -- desert and coastal.  Both are wonderful. We saw the red hills, Native American sites, cowboys, international tourists, partied with the locals, communed with the political activists.  What fun! 

An afternoon in Prescott.  You can't avoid turquoise, saddles and hats.

Our first hike, around Lynx Lake.  Grateful to not have seen lynxes.

The view from Mary's house.  Evenings were spectacular.

To Sedona.  Unfortunately, a wildfire had broken out and the air was rather smoky.  But even with the smoke, the landscape was breathtaking.

Places to pause.

The Montezuma National Park.  Here, the  cliff dwelling.  It looks a bit artificial in the picture, but it is so old and so authentic.

And the water source for the area.  Amazingly, the "well" is naturally high in toxic metals, but the indigenous peoples knew how to detox the water. And they knew it was toxic. How???

 The rock formations there often look like - not rocks.  I see a dog here!

 Next day to another other-worldly site.  Really, America seems to have a bit of everything.

I was not at all surprised when Mary told us this site was used to film Planet of the Apes.  Really.

We ate fantastic home-cooked food, had wonderful conversations and were treated to delightful sights, met fascinating folks (some of them German! would you believe - of course, the Germans are everywhere) and got a delicious taste of the real Prescott.  Thanks for it all, dear Mary.   

Ah. Sigh.  It was time to move on, but not without promises to visit again soon.  I am seriously hoping it will be here in Germany when we see Mary again. Sadly, the older we get, the less likely it seems that our contemporaries can come to see us.  Insert here a plea to visit us before you get too old, all you old folks.

On to Atlanta and sisters. Sisters!  What would I do without them?  I can't imagine.  We shopped and visited a restaurant or two - or three or four -  and spent a lot of time just talking.  I think there is this time when you live together as siblings and live apart as adults that brings you closer than when you all lived in the same house. I'm glad to be in that place.  Sibs rock.

There were a lunches out with Mother, a respite from her routine.  Who doesn't like to sit in a swing?

Ginny, Werner, Mother and I visited Gibb's Gardens, a private property north of Atlanta open for visits.  We all enjoyed it, but Ginny so much that she bought a season pass so she and Barry could visit again.

And we had a belated celebration of Mother's 94th birthday with the family in Atlanta.  Not everyone could be there - there's so much on the plate for all of us! - but it was a good gathering and a great afternoon.

And, finally, back to Orlando to have a real visit with Lee and family after the first night.  Dylan is such a hoot and is so much fun to play with!  Hayden is learning so much - it's such a treat to see his progress.  I got to do the semi-annual weeding of the plant beds, expend some calories and get some sun.  Werner, well, he played with the kids.

We blew bubbles.

We celebrated Werner's Birthday.  We almost forgot it !!!  What a funny thing.  Dylan made a card and Hayden couldn't wait to help blow out the candles.  And the cake wasn't half bad and just the right size.

There was time for a bike ride.  Dylan is doing major practice so she can come visit us because, you know, if you come to visit us in Germany, you have to ride!

Reading at bedtime is one of my most favorite things.  I don't care how old or young you are.

And there are storms in Florida! The wind comes up so quickly and the trampoline from next door gets slammed into the house and a few minutes later slammed into the fence! Ouch!

 
And between, there's fun and sun in the pool.  Even Werner and I got to enjoy some sun and warm and cool water.  Neat!

And last, but so far from least, an attempt at a group photo of grandparents and these crazy kids.  It didn't work out so well, but the results are so funny to me! I love these pictures!

What a wonderful visit with everyone.  Again, the only negative was the too short time at each and every one of these places.  Thank you all for putting us up and putting up with us.  When will we do this all again?? 

Friedrichstadt Long Weekend

WE had a little get-away with Ursel.  Since she's on her own, it's nice to share little holidays and besides, she's a really congenial travel partner. Pair her with the MOST congenial travel partner - that would be Werner - and it's a GREAT little get-away!

This was our third stay in Friedrichtstadt and our 4th visit.  That could well be a record for return visits by us to any one place in Germany.  The lovely little bed-and-breakfast where we've stayed before didn't fit the bill this time though, so Werner found a vacation house.  Good grief! What a house!

It was built in the mid-1600s - so, yes, it's over 300 years old - built when the town was founded and in the meantime lovingly restored and updated.  It is a little jewel.   I seriously coveted the oak floorboards, about 20 inches wide, set in place with hand-forged nails. There were antique Delft tiles from the 1700s in many corners of the house, others the owners had collected, and many others that had been hand-painted and fired by the owner herself.  Wow.  All that ambiance for less $$ than a hotel room and tons more space.


We walked the town and took in the sights.  It's a mini-Amsterdam with Dutch-style houses and canals, colorfully painted doors.

And of course there are artisans - here a great shop with fun ceramics and good paintings.  

We ate out the first night, and would you believe that was the last????  The service was great but we weren't impressed so much with the food. 

Next day, Tönning.  You all know by now that even the smallest village has a fantastic church, and Tönning was no exception, though the church is exceptional.  We were lucky to arrive just as a wedding was over, so the church was open (not a given with protestant churches here) and had flowers form the wedding around.  But that was icing.  The church is a wonder - hand-cut pews from the early 1700s, ceiling paintings from the 1800s, a crucifix from the 1600s, all lovingly restored and cared for.

The old harbor is lovely, too, though we did a rather quick walk about since it was windy and not so very warm.  Like, C O L D.  Lots of old buildings there reminiscent of Holland as well.

Day two, Sunday, started in Husum but Ursel and I quickly decided we needed to be there on Monday when the shops were open - the windows  looked really interesting and inviting!

 
So we headed back to the car and drove up to Seelbüll where the German artist Emil Nolde lived and worked.  We visited his home and the gardens and the center that shows his history, has a gift shop and - ta da! - a coffee shop.  Coffee and cake are always welcome.

Day three was back to Husum.  But honestly, can it get even WINDIER here in North Germany??  Of course it can, but this was plenty for us.  We took LOTS of opportunities to duck into shops to look at whatever they were selling!!  I tried on a few things, but nothing quite fit.  It was the wind, I think.

Speaking of which, there were windmills everywhere.  Germany is trying to meet a self-imposed deadline for shutting down all the nuclear power plants which means finding other energy sources.  We rely too much on natural gas from Russia (!!??) so Green is the way to go.

Day four was back home again, but with a stop along the way in Meldorf, site of one of the oldest and largest cathedrals in North Germany.  Werner and I had been to Meldorf before, but the church was closed on that day, so it was a new treat for all of us.

And then the ferry.  What a wait!  There are so many trucks carrying goods across this area but the number of trucks on the ferries are limited.  Cars get on a lot faster.  Thank goodness. That was a long line.  If you're a trucker, you sit a lot.

It was Ursel's first trip across the Elbe on the ferry and she was so impressed by the landscape and the views.  Of course.  It is impressive.

A quick stop in Brake to refresh ourselves (coffee and cake, of course!).  It seems we are only in Brake at Christmas time and it is such a wonderful little town.  We'll have to go back later this summer.

 And then on to Bremen.

Great trip.  Great companions.  Looking forward to the next adventure.