D31 – SAYING GOODBYE TO SCHLIERSEE

It’s time we tell you a bit more about the Bavarian town that has been our home for the past five weeks. We have no idea what “Schlier” means, but “See” means lake and this town has capitalized on it’s little body of water.

Aside from being a magnet for tourists, it also doubles as a place for the townsfolk to gather on a weekend afternoon for a picnic and some local beer.

 The town is a perfect example of small town Bavarian life. It is home to almost 7,000 people and has just enough “gemutlich” to let you know you’re not in Munich anymore.

As with most towns in this region, everything extends from the church but tourism takes over quickly after that.  Please note that the church steeple is not tilting.  It is just the wide angle lens of the Go Pro camera.

There is a miniature golf course in town but this one has a twist…at least for us. Before leaving home I chanced to mention to Dirk Hermann, a mushroom vendor at our local Farmer’s Market, that we were going to Germany. “Oh, where?” he asked. “It’s a little town in Bavaria called Schliersee,” I responded. “That’s my hometown,” he said. “You’ll have to look up my brother who runs a miniature golf course there.”

That’s why you’re looking at a picture of Sven Hermann, who was surprised to see me since we’d met a year or two before when he was visiting his brother. Whoever said, “It’s a small world,” hit it right on the head with this one.

Astrid and Alex were anxious to show us a bit more of the area where they live, work and play. Alex is almost like a Chamber of Commerce for Bavaria. “We have no earthquakes, tornadoes, typhoons or hurricanes,” he says. “As well, we have four distinct seasons with recreation for all four. We hike, fish and swim in the summer and ski all winter.”

Warming up, he continued, “We have no forest fires, no droughts, no floods or coyotes.” “What about avalanches?” I asked. “Well, yes,” he admitted, “but we can control those with great success.” All in all, I couldn’t find much to disagree with. It certainly is a beautiful place to live.

This conversation was going on in a gondola as we ascended to the Tegernsee ski area, not 15 minutes from their home.

The gondola takes you to this lodge that sits at 2,451 feet above sea level…not super high by Mammoth Mountain standards,

but a good launching point for the many ski runs and hiking paths available.

Skiers consider this a good hill for those with intermediate skills and there are matching runs on the other side of the valley.  The arrows point at the beginning of the gondola and the top of Tegernsee.

Someone has taken the time to do a template of the opposite mountain range on the window of the lodge. “Every one of those mountain tops has a cross on it,” said Alex, “and Astrid and I have been to many of them.”

Well, if you’re on top of a mountain and you’re not going to hike or ski, what is there to do? In Bavaria, “Have a beer” is  the answer, and so we did. What a way to spend our last day in Germany…beautiful scenery, great friends, and outstanding beer.

For our final meal together, Astrid and Alex came up with another of those classic Bavarian restaurants that are off the well-traveled roads but known to all locals.  The Gasthaus Wurz also doubles as a hotel whose rooms are as welcoming as the restauant. The link is: http://www.zum-wurz.de/restaurant/restaurant.html  in case you’re ever in the neighborhood.  This one is especially proud of the quality beef they serve but they also have a sense of humor.

A speciality…although not on the menu…is this animal known only to this area although rarely seen. It reminded me a bit of the “Turducken” that shows up on Thanksgiving tables in the U.S.

We were joined by Johanna for this special event. Judging from this photo, Astrid’s good looks have been successfully passed along to her daughter.

“This is our treat,” Louise and I insisted. “It’s a small token toward the wonderful hospitality you’ve shown us.” So, we all ate and drank heartily but I should have checked one thing beforehand. “We don’t accept credit cards,” said the waitress when the check came. “We prefer cash…in Euros, danke.” Unfortunately, we had been spending down our Euros before leaving and could come up with only half the amount. Poor Alex had to reach into his wallet so we wouldn’t have to do dishes or scrub floors.

Perhaps that’s why he’s barely smiling in this photo. Perhaps it’s why I am. It was not how we intended to end our wonderful experience with them, but that’s just the way it was.

Tonight we pack for good.

Gute nacht from Schliersee.

Louise and Ray