Continuing our policy of taking it easier, we did just one "thing" today: we went to Kloster Andechs, a scenic attraction located near a popular Munich summer getaway area.
We were guided here by Earl Steinbicker's Day Trips in Germany. We're making quite a lot of use of this book. Each day trip is presented on two or three pages including a map, and we heartlessly rip those pages out and carry them in a pocket. "Where does Earl say to go next?" we say, and pull out a crumpled book page.
Herrsching is a resort town on the Ammersee (ah mer zay), a large lake at the end of the S8 rail line, about a 40-minute ride mostly through green countryside. Herrsching, its resort hotels, marina, and lake cruise ships are a summer destination, but the town was not at all crowded on an overcast and somewhat chilly weekday.
Kloster (cloister) Andechs
From Herrsching we took a clearly marked bus 5km to the village of Andechs, at whose center, atop a steep knoll, is the Benedictine Abbey.
The top of the sign says, a cordial welcome to the Holy Mountain. Well, OK, it's a good 200-foot climb from the car park. This sign is all in German, no English (or other) translations, and this was true throughout the site. That's good news and bad news. The good: this place, like Herrsching, is off the tourist trail. We heard only German being spoken around us, unlike downtown Berlin or Munich. The bad news? We have to struggle through with our pitiful vocabulary (bitte, danke is about it) and sign language. Germans deal with this very kindly. One lady kept giving us helpful advice in German. We kept saying "danke, danke shon" and not understanding.
So anyway, up the hill to der Kloster.
Helpful lady at end of group ahead.
Very steep, but an old guy with two canes preceded us.
Kloster Andechs bills itself as a place of pilgrimage on account of some relics brought home by a local Count in 955. In truth there are two reasons people come here. One is the decoration of the interior. Do click through on these pictures and rococo yourself.
The second reason people come here is the beer brewed by the monks and served in the very large beer hall/restaurant attached to the church. Some say it's the best in Germany. Anyway the beer hall was full of Germans talking and drinking beer. We went in and got a very good and very cheaply-priced plate of roast pork and potato salad (one order, and it was an ample lunch for both of us, €3.50) and David had a half-liter of Andechs lager. Meh. Not any better than Herbert's favorite Augustiner, that we had two days ago. (And, keep this on the Q.T. but... Anchor Steam is still best.)
We Get Lost
Earl said that a pleasant, wooded walking trail goes the 3km from Herrsching to the Kloster, or you could take a bus. Marian said sagely: it's on top of a mountain. Let's take the bus up and walk back. So, having had our fill of rococociery and beer, we located the top of the steeply-descending path.
We felt so smug to be going down, not up.
It was clearly marked.
"Fossweg nach Herrsching"—"Footpath to Herrsching"
Bye-bye, Kloster.
Shortly after that point, deep in a woodsy ravine, the clearly marked fossweg nach herrsching was blocked by a temporary fence and a detour sign. So we detoured onto an unsigned path. We asked walkers coming toward us, "Nach Herrsching" (pointing that way) and they said, "Ja, ja, Herrsching." But somehow we took a wrong turn. (Overcast sky; no sun reference.) And found ourselves in a town, but not Herrsching, indeed, a sign said Herrsching-5km. Farther than when we started!
So we had a helpful cafe owner call us a taxi. €10 to go the 5km back to Herrsching, where we had a gelato to celebrate our narrow escape.
We could have taken a cruise boat to a lake island but it didn't look like a good day for that.
So we came on home.
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