Back to Bavaria

But before Bavaria, how about a taste of pure America?

Plus sized- because hey, it's America!

My goodness, how does Germany get by without Reese's? Or Taco Bell, for that matter. My two long lost loves. <3 [I swear, the day they start importing Reese's and opening Taco Bells, I'm moving there.]
My last post left off in March, during the first week of the two-week Osternferien [Easter Vacation, also meaning Spring Break] where I talked about our day trip to Salzburg, Austria. That took place during the vacation with my host family which, as I mentioned in that post, took place down south, in Bavaria!

It's not a road trip without your stuffed animals.

To get there, we took on a 9-hour road trip, driving through the country and passing through progressively different landscapes. Seeing as I was living in the Lower Rhein area at the time, which I maintain is flatter than Kansas, you can imagine my excitement as mountains started cropping up the further south we went.
As we drove, the architecture began to change too, the buildings taking on a look unique to Bavaria; rectangular with large sloped roofs, stucco walls in white and pastels with decorative wooden beams and  trims, with arched doorways and painted shutters, and signs using lovely old German script.

Picture perfect.

 This style, Bauernhaus, is the predominating style in Bavarian villages and towns, a style one can usually immediately classify as "typical German". Bauernhaus, which can be translated as a "chalet" style, is actually the type of Old World Bavarian architecture is primarily characterized by. It is, in fact, simply the regional- and yet famously distinctive- regional variation of the farmhouse.
Another interesting feature that stands out are the Zwiebeltürme- literally, onion domes- that mark the top of Catholic churches, as in the picture above. Having become popular during the time of the Holy Roman Empire, these Baroque-style domes are easily visible and mark individual villages throughout the Bavarian landscape.
[Here's the corresponding Onion Dome wiki, and for more info and lovely pictures, check out this awesome Portfolio of Old World Bavarian Architecture!]

Right in the Winkl.

Even with the lovely scenery and architecture though, nine hour road trips aren't my thing. But hey! We were almost there, as this helpful sign pointed us in the right direction...

Winter Wonderland.

And then we arrived! Destination? Reit im Winkl, a small village right on the German/Austrian border, with ski resorts and slopes galore, as well as hiking trails, all of which spill over into Austria.

Ach Bayern(:

 The town itself was Bavaria in a nutshell, cozily surrounded by my long-lost friends, mountain ranges. I mean. Never mind that I went right back to square one in terms of language, not understanding anything through the thick Bavarian dialect of the locals- this was Germany in its purest form.
This place had Lederhosen shops.

Zum Alten Forsthaus

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but in Germany [and I think it's safe to say this applies to most of Europe], one stays at a hostel or a vacation home as opposed to booking a hotel room. In fact, in Reit im Winkl- where tourism is a huge part of the town's economy- you won't even find any hotels.
Ferienwohnungen- villa rentals- are scattered around the town instead, such as the one we stayed in: Zum Alten Forsthaus, a cozy apartment-style deal with the nicest owner possible, a soft-spoken man originally from Cologne. We'd run into him and his son working on  a motorcycle or walking dogs in the snow, and we'd often have coffee together. The entire setup is so much more intimate than a hotel stay, and I did enjoy how every such stay in Germany became yet another chance to get to know and talk to different people.

This thing is wicked.

 We ended up doing quite a bit during our week thing, even outside of frequenting Austria. Snowtubing for example was an absolute blast, and I know my younger host brother had the time of his life spinning down the slopes. I even talked my host mother into trying it out, and it made for such good fun.

Dat view

 On another day, my host parents and I went hiking after dropping the little one off at ski school. We took a lift up into the Reit im Winkl slopes- a dizzyingly steep, breathtaking ride over a white frosted forest.

 

The trails were extensive, both for hikers as well as a wealth of cross-country skiiers, and were simply gorgeous. I'm no stranger to snow, but I've never seen anything like that up there. Miles of rolling, untouched white, sparkling underneath a blue sky.

 As we reached the end of the trail, it led us to a snowy ledge, a natural viewing platform where the mountain steeply rolled down and out of sight, leaving us simply with this view.
Pictures will never, ever do it justice.

Middle photo by Ronny S.

Another interesting place I got to see during our trip was the Salt Mine in Berchtesgaden. Donning incredibly fashionable suits, we got to hop on a train and take a trip into the mountain and see the salt mines hidden inside, as well as displays of how the salt is extracted. A particularly poignant part of this tour was crossing a salt lake by boat as a light show took place, which looked like a scene right out of Ferngully- that one where Crysta and Zak dance across a lake to that beautiful rendition of A Dream Worth Keeping by Sheena Easton.

Magic <3

In fact, for old time's sake, here's the song itself: A Dream Worth Keeping- Zak and Crysta

And while we're at it, here's the German version as well: A Dream Worth Keeping (German)

Aaah, the nostalgia. [Ferngully, by the way, is a highly underrated film. Go watch it.]

Chiemgau Chiemsee

We decided to take a boat tour on Bavaria's famed Chiemsee on the last day of our trip. Also called the Bavarian Sea, Chiemsee is a freshwater lake that houses a handful of small islands and two large main ones, to which boat tours regularly take tourists. The times of departure for the individual islands are displayed on boards, as in the top picture up there.
Wait- did you guys catch that? Let's take a closer look at the names of the islands...

Well then!

Herreninsel and Fraueninsel are the names of those two islands- that, quite literally, translates to "Gentleman's Island" and "Lady's Island". I would love to know the history behind the names, and found them to be mildly hilarious.

The fountains were covered for the winter...

In any case, I only ended up going to the Gentleman's Island [oo la la!], that being home to the Herrenchiemsee castle. Built in 1878 by King Ludwig II of Bavaria, the palace "was never completed but was meant to be a replica of the Palace of Versailles, in France"(Wiki). Basically, funds to complete it ran out before construction was over, and only a third of the castle was completed- in which Ludwig II resided in for a grand total of just a few days in September 1885. The palace is now open to tourists- and it is gorgeous.
Well, what's finished of it, at least.
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The food in Bavaria was delicious as well, especially a few of the regional specialties. Although all of the pictures on my blog are taken by me, I unfortunately didn't take any pictures of these dishes myself- no wonder, I was too preoccupied with eating them! Links to the originals, however, are provided in the captions:)
 There are also a wide variety of meats and wursts that I wish I could elaborate on for you guys, but being vegetarian, didn't experience.
Then again, I ate enough as is...

Käsespätzle

One yummy plate is Käsespätzle, the German equivalent of macaroni and cheese. A compact, soft-textured egg noodle, these are mixed with grated cheese- typically Emmenthaler- and onions, served in an iron skillet for an extra authentic touch, with more cheese and bacon (or roasted onions) on top.

Germknödel

One of my favorites was Germknödel. These guys are super fluffy yeast dough dumplings, filled with a spicy plum or sour cherry jam and served with vanilla sauce and poppy seeds sprinkled on top. These remind me actually of Japanese steamed buns, and are just fun to look at and eat!
They're distinguished from their cousins, Dampfnudeln, in that they are steamed or boiled, whereas the other variety is baked in a deep pan.

Kaiserschmarrn

But perhaps the most notable of them- the mother of all Bavarian specialties- is Kaiserschmarrn. "Kaiser" meaning "emperor" and "Schmarrn" meaning "nonsense", this dish of deliciousness is an Austrian dessert,whose popularity spilled over into Bavaria. It's basically a pancake, light and caramelized, that's schredded into pieces, sprinkled with powdered sugar, and served hot with apple or plum sauce, or any fruit compote.
And the thing about this dish, is that it's huge. I mean, I don't understand why America gets a bad rep for big portion sizes- one plate of this is enough to feed a family of five for a week.
It's amazing.

Goodbye!

Reit im Winkl was such an experience in terms of seeing another side of German culture- perhaps the one we as Americans are more prone to envisioning, with Lederhosen and yodelers and Bauerhäuser galore. In addition, it was actually priceless in getting to know my then-relatively-new host family, and just spending time with them.
It was really altogether too short though, and soon we were back in the car on a looong nine hour ride back...
... back to their hometown of Millingen, where my host-family-switch had taken me about a month beforehand, and where I would stay until the end of my exchange in June.
What was it like there?
Well, that warrants a post of its own... ;)