Wednesday (the 7th) was meant to be something of a "free day" in that we didn't have anything scheduled - but we ended up filling the day with plenty of things, as we always do! My family doesn't really know how to just "chill out" on vacation - there are too many things to see and you can sleep when you're dead!
We noticed earlier in the week that there was a restaurant in the town of Garmisch called Waffle Haus and so we made our way there for a late breakfast on Wednesday. I had two cups of coffee: an iced coffee with a scoop of ice cream and then a cup of coffee with cream - both were delicious. I also had the cherry waffle and it was just as divine as it looks!
We discovered that in Oberammergau there was also an "activity park" which had an alpine coaster, a mountain biking trail and much more... so we made our way over and rode the longest ski lift I've ever been on up the side of the mountain. I'm serious y'all - this ski lift - it was the longest. Every time you'd think you'd arrived at the top, you've go over the peak and it would keep on going, ha-ha!
I'm not big on Alpine coasters, so I used my ticket to ride the longest ski lift ever back down the mountain, taking in the lovely views in front of me. My sister and her boyfriend rode the slide twice more, so we had some orange seltzer and waited on them before going back into the town of Oberammergau to check into a couple more shops before making our way to the town of Ettal and Ettal Abbey & Monastery!
Ettal Abbey is a Benedictine monastery built in the 1300's and the monks are well known for the cheese and beer that they make - we saw a little bitty beer mobile zipping around the Abbey while we were there and it cracked me up! The basilica of the abbey is beyond stunning - I was in awe while we were inside the building because so much of it is gilded in gold and is just breathtaking!
We were told that the Hotel & Restaurant that is run in conjunction with the Abbey had absolutely delicious food but I have to say - we had the most horrible service I've ever experienced while eating here. Our waitress seemed to be completely disgusted with us because we didn't speak fluent German, even though she spoke good enough English to tell me (when I ordered a burger without lettuce & tomato) "this isn't like a McDonald's where you order a burger how you like it - this isn't a burger". Suffice it to say - the whole dining experience was tense and I was never so glad to move on from a spot.
We decided - on a whim - to drive over to Linderhof Palace (one of four that belonged to King Ludwig II) since it was only about ten minutes away and this was one of the best decisions we made the whole trip! The palace gardens are always open and so while we didn't buy tickets for a tour (we arrived at 5:20 and the last tour was 5:30) just being able to explore the grounds and the gardens was amazing!
I honestly don't have a ton to say about Linderhof - beyond that the gardens are absolutely stunning. My sister joked that she needed a home with a garden like this one day and yes y'all, she's a little "extra" sometimes! I'll let you pore over all the beautiful pictures below. I managed to wander as far afield as possible and climbed up all the steps adjacent to the front of the castle...
... And I also went all the way up the hillside on the back of the castle to snap pictures in that direction as well. It wasn't hot out by any means, but the climb was straight uphill and so by the time I reached the summit, I had a nice little flush going on my cheeks! The views all around the palace were incredible to behold and it's easy to see why this was his favorite palace (although - later in the week when we went to Neuschwanstein... I had to wonder...)
The infamous rain had sputtered on and off the entire time we were at the palace but thankfully it had never been anything that warranted running for the car or having to bundle up too much. I am so glad my sister suggested that we make our way to Linderhof and that we were able to check it out - even if only the outside! I'd definitely recommend giving it a look if you're in the Bavarian countryside!
Since we'd eaten a bit of a later lunch on Wednesday, our final stop of the day was a restaurant in Garmisch that Lindsey and her BF James swore had the best Apple Strudel. We all ordered our own strudel, had an absolutely wonderful waitress who restored my faith in humanity and ended the day on a high note!
Where we Went Today
Waffle Haus - http://waffelhaus.org/
Kolbensattal Oberammergau - https://www.kolbensattel.de/alpine-coaster
Ettal Abbey - https://klosterhotel-ettal.de/en/klosterhotel/ettal-abbey/
Linderhof Palace - https://www.schlosslinderhof.de/englisch/palace/history.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment