hellooooooo gentle readers. if you follow me on facebook i’ve been posting a video each day of our bavarian journey. i’ve not done that before but find it an easy way to keep in touch while traveling. it’s easier for me than IG and light years faster than blogging via computer. but of course if you don’t do facebook, well, here i am. drinking coffee on this late LA morning and enjoying the pleasing mild temperatures. as you can imagine the temps in bavaria were deliciously cool. wait. not there yet.
where was i? oh yes, right here and finally blogging. tapping out these missives is how i order and document my world. and so i begin.
ann tyler was right about it being a patchwork planet and you know that when you’re high in the sky winging your way over the countryside of your destination. below the plane a soft green quilt unfolded. tiny roads to tiny villages unwound like a map.
we picked up our sixt car rental – a most satisfactory experience i must say – and knew we were getting off to a grand start when we were upgraded from our economy car to a BMW wagon. yes please, and thank you v v much! i didn’t pay for the navigation which was costly, but that was thrown in too. the best part was picking the car up from the underground parking and not waiting at a long counter line. our navigation was changed from german to english and away we went!
our first meal was splendid
first thing i noticed about germany is how clean, sensible, and efficient everything was. the roads and signs were clear and direct. even though i did think the 80 km. speed limit sign was the number of the highway and “aushfart” the name of a town. a hint of language barriers to come. we would spend our entire trip decoding words, signs, diagrams. never knowing if they were correct or not, but pretty sure they WERE NOT. there’s only so far a translation app can take you.
we headed south and about an hour out of munich got our first glimpse of those distant alps.
we knew at once that this driving-in-a-foreign-country business was going to be a breeze compared to previous experiences driving in italy, france, and turkey. those were category 3-5 experiences depending on the location.
the village of wallgau awaited us with large doses of unexpected fairytale charm. this village is tiny and i didn’t find a lot of information about it ahead of time. we sort of went on a wing & a prayer. oh what a right decision that was!
peaceful and quiet, with panoramic views, one after the other, spread out before us. there were even 2 balconies, not just one as the airbnb listing indicated.
oh heavenly days!
parking the wagon in the narrow drive with literally inches on either side was hair-raising. i went inside while our kindly neighbor ervin guided carol inside.
ervin spoke english, but we would find as the days went by that this was the exception rather than the rule. most menus were in german only and several people remarked in the various villages we visited that americans were less common in this part of bavaria and certainly in wallgau. this was exciting news for carol & i who love to be surrounded by people speaking the language of the country we are visiting. it also fed perfectly into that travel fantasy i have of being a stranger in a strange land.
woke up to this scene on our first morning in wallgau
boarding houses with photos of their rooms and apartments prominently displayed outside each family-run b&b
as modernity shrinks our world more and more, finding roads that seem less traveled, feels rare. i didn’t expect to find this in germany, but there you are, we did!
Ervin our neighbor sent us off to the post hotel for dinner our first night. i found this lovely little video from that establishment that showcases the wallgau region and the isar valley.
the isar river stole my heart from the first moment i laid eyes on it. it flows here in this wild river landscape between the karwendel mountains and wetterstein massif. if you decide to make your own pilgrimmage to wallgau perhaps you will appreciate knowing that it is in the general area known as the alpenwelt karwendel in southern bavaria and includes the villages of mittenwald, & krün.
the fairytale king ludwig II often retreated to this very region and according to his 1871 diary entry he favored this area for its, “romantic location and good visibility”. i enjoyed reading in some brochure or other how on full moon nights his majesty would have his servants row him across lake soiernsee so he could revel in the moonlit atmosphere.
ooooh can’t you just see that scene playing in your mind’s eye? i can! except in my mental movie giant swans are pulling the boat.
on our 2nd day in bavaria, we made our way to the leutaschklamm a stunning waterfall river gorge thusly named because of the roaring blue leutascher ache river which eventually flows into the isar near mittenwald. it’s located right on the border of austria and germany and is most easily reached by walking from mittenwald.
we picked our way along a wooden walkway that leads into the narrowest reaches of the gorge. deeply thrilling. i shan’t soon forget that pale blue water churning under our feet.
sister went on a very challenging hike from here while i stayed behind content to admire the scenery and inhale lungfuls of the meadowgrass air.
tranlating village scenes from photos to my arches pad
thus concludes my first postcard from bavaria. more to follow…
the very next day after i returned home i got to spend time with my old college roomate from DC that i hadn’t seen in 14 years! dear steve.
over 30 years ago we drove cross country in his vw bug without stopping. we put the seats down and made a sleeping nest out of the back. whenever it was my turn to drive i waited until he was asleep then pulled over and went to sleep myself. i woke before him and hit the road so as to give the appearance of having driven my fair share. HAH. couldn’t fool steve, then or now. the years have been very kind to him which he attributes to his bikrim yoga practice.
we reminisced about our alice walker inspired revolutionary garden where nothing grew. our past boyfriends. grace jones. the violent femmes. people who’ve faded out of our lives. the cancer he survived. so many things. past lives. future lives.
how good to reconnect with someone and see that tiny flame of friendship from decades past roaring back to life with a few breaths.
we did blind contours which steve had never done, but he was quick to point out that i was cheating by looking. HAH! nothing gets past him.
steve flew back to DC last night and i’ve been happily going through my trip photos and finding little scenes to paint on this gorgeous arches cold press paper block. piddling. settling back into domestic bliss here at moss cottage.
hope the summer has been treating you well and that you’re off on some creative adventure. do tell. i’ve missed you. auf wiedersehen. see you soon. and all that jazz!
As always, Mary Ann, you provide us with a visual and entertaining virtual trip. Thank you.
hi jan…thanks 🙂
Mary Ann,
This is such a wonderful post. Spans far off travels to new places, discovered enchantments, deep connections with old and dear friends… so sweetly and fundamentally relatable. The inter webs are so often just sort of mind numbing and overwhelming: your blog is a warm glimmer of humanity and beauty. Thank you.
your generous thanks are received and noted amy, thank YOU for leaving them for me. xo
Hi MaryAnn,
Welcome back. love your travel photos as always. Went to FB to look at the videos but all I saw was a video from 5 years ago, “Ticket to Venice”. I guess I am restricted or something. I don’t understand FB very well or were they on instagram?
Well, no matter. Always enjoyed your adventures.
we have to be “friends” in order for you to see my posts on FB …
LoveLoveLoved all the travel pix! What a wonderful trip!
Thank you, thank you for the lovely tour. Isn’t Germany just the neatest, tidiest, loveliest country. Lived in Baden Baden for four months in high school and loved every minute. Wish I could get in a Star Trek transporter and be there right now.
What a fabulous trip and thanks for the photos and detailed post. So good travelling with you and Carol, vicariously of course.
thanks nanci! 🙂
Another great trip and fantastic photos. I always enjoy perusing your oh-so-interesting journals, new and old. We lived in Germany for a few years when my husband was in the air force. We both traveled for our jobs and together we took off every chance we had; your pics bring back lots of memories.
We’re just back from yet another Oregon coast camping trip, this time to Bandon – a small town that I think you would love. The beaches are fabulous (Google Bandon beach for photos) and on low tide mornings a group of people rake an enormous labyrinth in the sand. You can help rake or just go and walk the path. (Google circles in the sand, bandon for videos). If you ever decide to go, contact me for a list of favorites eats & treats, things to see and places to go.
mmmmm bandon. i looked. so pretty! thanks for putting it on my map!
Absolutely love your blog, your pix, & all that. Thank you so much for sharing your work. It is such a lifter-upper for those of us who, for whatever reason, cannot do it at the moment! Xo
i like knowing this…
It has been so hot here (heat index 100+F) these past few days, I want to jump into those rivers and streams and fly up out of them with the shock of the cold water!
Looking forward to your further posts. I love the way you divided your pages for writing. I ought to try that. I have some old tape from a newspaper I worked at that was once used when pages were pasted up manually instead of being done on a computer.
XO
meet you at a stream tonight, day over there of course. we can take the leap together into that clear cold water. howz bout it?
i bought a ruler at the market so i could divide my page.
love the idea of the old newspaper days & ways.
For some of us who are homebound it is wonderful to follow your adventurous spirit.
oh annie, i’m happy to vicariously transport you here and there. a true pleasure xo
I HAVE been following your lovely little FB videos, but you know that. I love traveling with you and Sister. This was like a trip to a fairy tale.
always good when you & holly come along with us carol dahling!
I have so enjoyed your videos of Bavaria! I think you and Carol must have had a spectacular time there and I am thankful you shared a little tidbit each day, so I could travel along with you.
I am home-bound this summer as I wait for my hip replacement next month. Give me six weeks (actually 4 weeks to the day from the surgery will find my flying off to Nantucket and my annual visit to my friend) and I’ll be better than new! Can’t wait. More travel in the works for when I can get around without limping and groaning so much. Then—-WATCH OUT!
Happy summer to you at Moss Cottage.
you’ll be a brand new titanium woman within a couple of months. And you’re traveling right away?! To nantucket for a visit?! you know how to LIVE xo
Aww Deutschland. It is the most lovely place. I was lucky to live in a small village for two years. While enjoying your Facebook posts I thought a lot about how pristine and clean it is. I remember how surprised I was that everyone scrubbed their front steps and sidewalk regularly. And no litter ever. I wish we had the same pride of place. I miss that. I’m so happy you experienced that magical corner of the world. Can’t wait to see your journal.
we too noticed the extremely CLEAN roadsides & villages, we saw. amazing & beautiful
So glad to see you found the best chocolate bar in the world – the Milka! Hope you got the one with ground hazelnuts in it cause I can’t find it here!
being the chocolatier i am i can’t remember if they were peanuts or hazlenuts, but it was good!
So much fun! Wonderful post❤️