Travel and Tourism
Day Five: 10 breweries April, 2008 - Pages 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9
Our fifth day in Bavaria was castle day. But, while our group left Ettal for Neuschwanstein, the most famous castle in the world, I had found a network of hiking trails called Wanderwegs. I wasn’t looking for them, but saw a sign on the roadside with a picture of a man with a hiking stick. The trail started around the corner from the hotel, so I could not resist hiking an honest-to-God “Alpine trail.” Just like Bullwinkle Moose, I wore my Bavarian hat, and had my map and hiking stick. The trail went across an Alpine meadow behind the hotel, and then continued about 20 feet into the treeline. It was there that trail signs pointed east to Oberammergau (which is due north) and west to Linderhof. Linderhof is home to King Ludwig’s hunting lodge, and is posted as 12km away.
Our fifth day in Bavaria was castle day. But, while our group left Ettal for Neuschwanstein, the most famous castle in the world, I had found a network of hiking trails called Wanderwegs. I wasn’t looking for them, but saw a sign on the roadside with a picture of a man with a hiking stick. The trail started around the corner from the hotel, so I could not resist hiking an honest-to-God “Alpine trail.” Just like Bullwinkle Moose, I wore my Bavarian hat, and had my map and hiking stick. The trail went across an Alpine meadow behind the hotel, and then continued about 20 feet into the treeline. It was there that trail signs pointed east to Oberammergau (which is due north) and west to Linderhof. Linderhof is home to King Ludwig’s hunting lodge, and is posted as 12km away.
Just inside the treeline, I could see the monastery dome from quite a distance. I followed the footprints that had beaten down the half-foot deep snow so I wouldn’t get my tennis shoes wet too fast. There was a bit of wind, making a whooshing sound in the trees, but those trees kept the wind off of me. Midway along I came to Graswang, a village of maybe two hundred, just below the treeline, and walked a manure covered farm path to it. But the Gasthaus wasn’t open, so I couldn’t get a beer. So I got back on the trail, although I got detoured after awhile by a horse fence right smack in the middle of it. However, with the help of the only other hiker I saw all day, I found my way to Linderhof in a total of four hours, which is what it’s supposed to take.
My wife had meanwhile toured Neuschwanstein (castle pictures courtesy of her) which I had visited back in ’89. We met there at Linderhof, and I toured the small castle there by myself. I then tried my luck with public transportation back to Ettal, with the local bus getting me there in just 15 minutes.
That evening, we boarded our motorcoach for a half hour drive to Garmisch-Partenkirchen for dinner at Panorama, a restaurant with a view of Germany’s tallest peak, the 10,000 ft. Zugspitze. Afterwards it was back to bed in Ettal, to rest up for the next day, which would feature the most delicious beer since the smoked Schlenkerla in Bamberg.
Next: Day 6
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