Our guesthouse hosts saw us off this morning with a wonderful packed lunch and good wishes for our ongoing journey.
The severe storm that had been forecast for last night didn't arrive, nor did the rain that we thought we would have today, although the low clouds looked threatening and the sun never broke through. We did get the much lower temperatures, only getting to a high of 17°, which was a relief and made walking much easier.
We skirted around the edge of several towns or villages today without going into the centre so we didn't have any services.
Because we knew it was going to be a long day, also because rain had forecast, we more or less walked nonstop with just two short breaks.
Being cooler, we wore long sleeves for the first time in ages.
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| Leaving Rottenbuch. |
With such low clouds there weren't any glimpses of the distant Alps today.
Not long after leaving Rottenbuch we crossed the Anmer River on the Eschelsbacher Brücke, a single-arched bridge 75 metres above the river. We were above many of the tree tops - and they were very tall trees.
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| A wooden chapel - very unusual. |
After many months of learning German before leaving home Jeff said that he only learnt the sentence Kann ich hier parken - can I park here, and it's been a bit of a joke, especially when he told some of the German people we've chatted with as he's walking and not driving. But he felt justified when he saw this chair today with Parken. (Jeff actually learnt way more than that.)
The next town we skirted around was Bad Bayersoien. It looked quite big but we didn't go exploring.
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| This house had erbault (built) 1527 written in it. |
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| A poor photo of a panorama display of the landscape we are walking through |
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| I liked the patterns set into the woodside. |
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| It was so cool at one stage that we wore our raincoats for a while. |
Then past Altenau:
And on towards, but not into, Unterammergau as the Via Romea Germanica completely bypassed it:
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| This is a huge beehive. The bees flew in and out of the openings near the bottom. |
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| We often see deer but they usually startle and race off. This one watched us for quite a while. |
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| A very small milking machine setup. |
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| On the outskirts of Unterammergau. |
Then we had a 4 kilometres walk to Oberammergau through a peat moor area full of reeds and wildflowers, mostly alongside the Ammer:
The Passion Theatre where the Passion Play is held:
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| The Ammer River. |
I had been looking forward to being in Oberammergau, having seen photos of it over the years, mainly to do with the Passion Play which is performed every ten years, but I wasn't expecting the Oberammergau that we walked into today. There were bus loads of tourists, with people everywhere, and the town centre isn't tidily laid out and cars seem to race through in every direction.
Some very random photos of Oberammergau:
Some information about the Passion Theatre:
The Oberammergau Passion Play is performed in the Passion Theatre, a purpose-built open-air theatre with a roofed auditorium. The theatre has a long history, dating back to the first performance in 1634, which was held on a simple wooden stage at the cemetery. The current Passion Theatre was built in the 19th century to accommodate the growing number of spectators.
The history of the Passion Play
The Oberammergau Passion Play was first performed in 1634. According to local legend, the play is performed every ten years because of a vow made by the inhabitants of the village that if God spared them from the effects of the bubonic plague then sweeping the region, they would perform a passion play every ten years. A man traveling back to the town for Christmas allegedly brought the plague with him by accident. The man purportedly died from the plague and it began spreading throughout Oberammergau. After the vow was made, according to tradition, not another inhabitant of the town died from the plague. All of the town members that were still suffering from the plague are said to have recovered.
The play is now performed in years ending with a zero, as well as in 1934 which was the 300th anniversary and 1984 which was the 350th anniversary (though the 1920 performance was postponed to 1922 due to postwar economic conditions, and the 1940 performance was cancelled due to the onset of the Second World War in 1939). The 2020 was postponed to 2022 due to the outbreak of COVID-19. It involves over 2,000 actors, singers, instrumentalists and technicians, all residents of the village.
Source: Wikipedia
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| Part of the ceiling. |
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| A floor tile. |
Our home for tonight:
...and the view from our window:
Unterammergau and Oberammergau are named because of their position to the Ammer River. Unterammergau (unter meaning below) is situated lower in the Ammer River Valley then Oberammergau (ober meaning upper).
There is a tongue twister about Oberammergau and Unterammergau:
Heut’ kommt der Hans zu mir,
freut sich die Lies.
Ob er aber über Oberammergau
oder aber über Unterammergau
oder aber überhaupt nicht kommt
ist nicht gewiß!
English translation isn't a tongue twister:
Today Hans is going to visit me,
Lies is looking forward to it.
But if he arrives via Oberammergau,
or if he arrives via Unterammergau,
or if he arrives at all,
is not certain.
(Lies is thought to be an abbreviation of Elizabeth)
Oberammergau is a municipality in the district of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in Bavaria, Germany. The small town on the Ammer River is known for its woodcarvers and woodcarvings, for its NATO School, and around the world for its 380-year tradition of mounting Passion Plays.
Population 5,335
Source: Wikipedia
