Germany Day 5: Ammersee Region
We took a drive from Munich to explore the region around Ammersee (lake). The first stop was lunch at the beer garden at Kloster Andechs (monastery), well-known for their brewery. After a peek inside the baroque church and climbing to the top of the steeple for the view, we continued our drive down to Herrsching where we went for a peaceful walk along the lake shore and stopped for coffee and kuchen at an outdoor cafe with a view of the lake.
Andechs was a Left Buddy planned itinerary stop for months prior to our trip. It's a pilgrimage of sorts for him. The cashier at the Andechs restaurant was very patient with me. I'm sure she must have been thinking that Americans cannot do simple math. I was purchasing a couple of drinks and I originally handed her more than enough money to pay for them, expecting to get change back. But she could see that I had exact change in my hand and would not accept anything until I had given her exact change. This was complicated by the fact that I was not yet familiar enough with Euro coins to easily recognize them and I was struggling to read the numbers on them without my reading glasses. But she pleasantly waited for me. It did get me thinking about how Americans usually do not pay with exact change (if they pay with cash at all, anymore). I wonder if it has to do with prices not including taxes in the States so you are not sure how much the total bill will be until it is rung up. But in Europe, the posted prices include all taxes and surcharges, so those are the actual prices you pay.
There was a great view of the surrounding countryside from the church steeple; however, it was through a wire screen, probably put there to keep out all of the pigeons. Along one side of the parking lot for Andechs was a small RV park. It was just a row of paved parking spots. I don't remember seeing any hookups. I noticed more RV's in Germany this trip than I did thirty years ago. However, European RV's tend to be smaller than American RV's, just as with most everything else.
On our walk along Ammer lake in Herrsching, we came across a very interesting building next to a tennis club. Initially, we thought it was part of the tennis club, but after some research, we discovered it was the Kurparkschlösschen, which translates to spa park little castle or palace. Apparently it was built in 1889 by Ludwig Scheuermann as a country house (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_Scheuermann) and may have been called Scheuermannschlösschen at one point. Today it is an event venue that can be rented out. What did we do before Google and Wikipedia?
After enjoying our coffee and kuchen lakeside and spotting a red-crested pochard on the lake, we meandered through the countryside on backroads, not really caring if we got lost. Not the fastest way back to Munich, but we drove though some cute little villages. We finished off the day with a Tram ride into the center of Munich and had dinner at Hofbräuhaus, yet another of LB's pilgrimage stops but one that he's fine with making a lower priority should we go back again. It felt just a little too touristy.On the Tram ride back to the hotel, we passed the Augustiner-Keller on Arnulfstraße and wondered if we should have eaten there instead. We guess that will have to until our next trip!
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--RB