Day 18 - Back to Munich via Bad Tolz

 On Tuesday we started back in the general direction of Munich but really had no schedule since our flight out was about 12N on Wednesday. Our neighbors, Duane and Sue, lived in Germany in the 80's while Duane was in the Army.  They often speak of how much they liked the town of Bad Tolz which is about 50km south of Munich, so we decided to swing through and check it out. 

We found it to be very charming, the river Isar runs through it and it has the same green hue that we saw in the Berchtesgadener Ache. The water itself is very clear, it has something to do with the rocks on the bottom. 

From the bridge across the Isar you get a nice view of Kalvarienberg church on top of Mount Calvary. 

To the left is a chapel. Leonhardi-Kapple, built after the "Christmas eve of murder" it was a night in 1705, you will have to read about it.

The town market is very nice, we stopped and had our mid morning Kaffe as us tourists do.  

Everything is on a slope but no one seems to notice. :-)

After Kaffe we decided to hike up Mount Calvary to see the church. As you make the climb you come by the sleeping deciples and Christ with an angel, all made by a sculptor from Tolz.  This is just one of several. 

Behind the sculpture are beautiful views of Bad Tolz. 

The walk includes the stations of the cross, it is not a long walk but you could spend a good amount of time along the way. 

There are several small chapels along the way, inside and out they were beautiful. 

The church was not open but it is worth the hike just for the views. 

We hiked back to the village and roamed around a bit. If you get the chance Bad Tolz is worth the stop it is obvious why Duane and Sue have such fond memories of this town. 

We wanted to get lunch at a brewery, also recommended by Sue and Duane, so we set off for Klosterbräustüberl Reutberg in Sachsenkam, only a short drive away. Kloster Reutenberg got its start as a Capuchin monastery in 1618 but became a Franciscan convent in 1651. Like their male counterparts, the Franciscan nuns preferred beer to water and founded a brewery on their grounds in 1677. It has a long history, but we thank King Ludwig I for keeping it alive. 

The gods were still in our favor, the weather was amazing.  We were lucky to get a table on the deck overlooking the Alps and have a nice lunch. More sausage and beer for Fred. I normally don't like sauerkraut but here in Germany it is not as tart and I have been eating lots of it....but it does make me fart!

After a big lunch we made it to our hotel in Freising just north of Munich.  We took another nap, we are getting pretty used to our afternoon siestas, and then took a walk. Juergen recommended a place for dinner which we found, it was a good recommendation. I tried again to get an Octoberfest beer, I guess I will go home without trying one. 

One thing in Germany that is different than the USA is that in Germany, people, cars, trucks, bicycles, etc., all share the same space. You can sit at a table and traffic will pass by with less than a foot of clearance between the vehicle and your table.  It is unsettling at first but you do get used to it. 

We retired to the Hotel and it was still early enough to watch a movie.  When we were at Dachau the guide complained multiple times about how Hollywood misrepresents what happened in the camps during WWII.  I raised my hand and asked if there was a movie that got it right, she said that "The Counterfeiters" was very close.  It is German so we had to watch it with subtitles, but it was a pretty good movie, depressing but a good story.  The fact that it was based upon a true story makes it even better. It not only showed the brutality of the Nazi's but the heroism of some German citizens.  Watch it if you can spare the $3.99 on Amazon Prime. 

Tomorrow we go to the airport and fly out around 12N, all good things must come to an end.