A Tale of Violins, Dewy Webs, Slapdancing, Trout, and the Bergschwein

September 22:

(be sure to check out last week's entry, if you haven't, so that everything here make's sense.)

I woke up to another foggy morning amidst the foothills of the Bavarian Alps, in a farm house in the town of Wallgau.

I brought the fresh milk and rolls up to the apartment of Sybille and Wolfgang where we enjoyed another good breakfast.

By the time breakfast was over, the sun was out in full force and it looked to be a marvelous day...

We got in the car and drove through the some of the small Bavarian villages. Nearly every old building in these parts has at least several fresco paintings on the walls. Most usually depict some sort of traditional scene...

We drove through the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen where I had been many times before, and then on to the base of Germany's highest mountain, the Zugspitze.

We bought tickets for the cable tram to the top and then rode it up the north face of the mountain to the top. This was actually my second time on the Zugspitze, having been there a little over a year previous with my friend Alan.

We got to the top and had stunning views in all directions. Though the air was clearer this time than when I was here last, there were still a lot of clouds that formed quickly over the high mountaintops and then blew away. Oftentimes we were completely covered in cloud.

Wolfgang and Sybille on top...

View down to Eibsee where the car was parked...

View to the Austrian side of the Zugspitze...

Is Nate the Bergschwein!?

Here is the very peak of the Zugspitze that one could climb to. I climbed it last time and there were a lot more people this time, so I just enjoyed it from a distance...

It was great...

We took the train down the mountain through the long tunnel, through the forest, and back to Eibsee.

After getting back in the car we drove around and through the mountains into Austria. There was some pretty cool scenery as we drove through the Leutasch Valley to the town of Leutasch...

Sybille and Wolfgang knew of a restaurant where Onkel Rudi often took them next to a trout farm...

We had to wait a little while before the kitchen opened up, but it was no problem relaxing by the pond with the mountains in the not so distant distance...

When the kitchen finally opened we each ordered trout (of course!)...

It was fresh and really tasty...

After eating our fill we drove around a bit more in Austria, visiting the town of Seefeld as the sun started to go behind the mountains...

Around sunset we drove to a really ritzy golf course with some amazing views. It was too dark to get pictures, but it was interesting to see a bit of the course (though more interesting for S&W).

After arriving back to the farmhouse that night I slept well.


The next morning we awoke to fog again, though it quickly disappeared as the sun came out. Sybille and Wolfgang had big plans to play a lot of golf this day. I, on the other hand, decided to go on a hike. Sybille showed me where they had hiked in years previous and with the map and a small lunch in my rucksack I was on my way...

It was a perfectly cool and sunny morning. I left the farmhouse and crossed the Isar river. The dew reflected in the spiderwebs...

As I hiked I listened to Mahler's 6th and 7th symphonies. Mahler was a turn-of-the-century Austrian composer who often reflected nature, particularly the Alps, in his music. He even used cowbells in several of his symphonies. As I was listening I would sometimes hear cowbells, I always had to take the earbud out of my ear for a moment to see if the cowbells were coming from the music or from actual cows (or in some serendipitous moments, both!)

After a few hours I passed by one of the huts at the top of a saddle. I was about halfway to my destination...

My trail led off the main dirt road and followed a narrow path hugging the sides of the rock as it curved around the valley...

Before long I rounded a bend and came on a stunning view of mountains, clouds, and waterfalls...

I continued towards the falls...

I then came over the lip near the waterfalls that led to the basin between high alpine peaks. Here was another mountain hut, the Soiernhaus. This hut was built in 1866 by King Ludwig II who loved to come here to relax...

It was lunchtime and they were serving food. I had brought some food with me so I just ordered a large Apfelschorle (carbonated apple juice) and enjoyed my lunch on their terrace with a fine view of the surrounding mountains...

After lunch I hiked down to the twin Soiern lakes at the bottom of the basin...

The first lake....

The second lake (it was September so the water levels were quite low)...

The jagged peaks above were cool...

I came out of the basin and then found my trail again to take me around the valley...

I passed by the waterfalls again...

...and got one more grand view of where I had come from...

...and then I rounded the bend and continued on my way...

I passed by the hut from earlier that day. Of course in Catholic Bavaria there are many small cross stations depicting Christ on the cross. This one even had its own little yard...

A few hours later I returned to the farmhouse. S&W were still out golfing so I just relaxed in my apartment and went through my photos from the day.


The next day was Thursday and we went to the town of Mittenwald near the Austrian border. I was in Mittenwald nearly a year previous, it is one of my favorite little German towns.

After parking our first stop was to visit the violin makers museum. Mittenwald is famous for its violin making and Mittenwald violins are famous the world-round. Those from Salt Lake might remember driving by Peter Paul Prier's violin studio on 200 s. Herr Prier studied violin making at the exclusive school here in Mittenwald (and is even mentioned inside the museum)...

It was actually a very interesting and well-laid out museum. There were some very creative exhibits. Here is the "workshop"...

Some very old violins. Even Mozart played a Mittenwald violin...

They also make some more exotic instruments here including the Viola d'Amore...

Nothing says "amore" like a viola with a grumpy man on the end...

On one of the main intersections in front of the church in Mittenwald there is a statue of one of the great Mittenwald violin makers...

We wandered around the town a bit...

More artwork on the houses...

A fountain of fresh, cold, drinkable water is always nice to come across...

We drove back to the farmhouse in Wallgau and had a relaxing afternoon and evening. They had some rabbits at the farm and when we had extra rolls that went old we would feed them to the bunnies...

The next day was Friday. We played golf in the morning. I did quite a bit better this time around, though I'm still an abysmal golfer.

That evening we went to a special event in the nearby town of Krün. It was a "Heimabend" or "Home Evening." It consisted of a bunch of locals of all ages in their traditional dress putting on a show of traditional Bavarian music and dance. It was great!

We sat in the main hall of a community center and we ate traditional Bavarian food. Pretty soon we noticed a bunch of kids and teenagers in lederhosen running around getting ready for the show. Here's one boy showing some of the others how to do the moonwalk. It wasn't part of the show, but he was really good at it...

The brass band came out and started to play some Bavarian tunes. There was an MC who spoke with a hearty Bavarian accent and told some jokes...

One of the first numbers was a slapdance but on by the kids. If you watch this video without cracking a smile, then you have no soul..

A women's trio came out and sang a song in Bavarian accompanied by a zitar. They were quite good...

There were several other song and dance numbers. One of the coolest was this quartet with a spoon player. He was excellent...

The adult men also did a slapdance...

The teenagers did a dance as well...

When the kids weren't on stage they had fun running around and watching the other numbers...

Now, I have admit that I was by far the youngest person in the audience that evening. Nearly everyone in attendance had gray hair. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the evening and found it especially authentic because these were not professional musicians and dancers, these were just the locals proud of their heritage and putting on a show for us out-of-towners.

The finale of the evening was the woodcutters' dance. This was almost like a choreographed play, the woodcutters came on stage with a big log, axes, and a saw...

The music started and they danced around the log and the took up cutting tools and started to go to work on the log in rhythm...

At one point they "fall asleep" until one of them comes around with a frying pan and slaps them all on the bum to wake up. Then the go back to cutting.

Finally when the log is sawed in two the dance is finished and they take the two pieces offstage and out the door...

It was a great show, and fun to see the real Bavarian culture.

I was the designated driver going back to Wallgau.


The next day we had a fairly relaxed morning, our final farm breakfast...

And then we packed up and S&W drove me back to my apartment in Munich.

It had been an awesome week with my third-cousins-twice-removed in Bavaria!

Here are some of the places I visited that week. The yellow are places described in my last blog entry and the blue are from this weeks entry. Just click on the marker to see what it is...

View Wallgau in a larger map

"Ah the dewy webs we weave..."

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