Ettal

We were up early for another long day. We ran into an interesting sight on the Autobahn. All the trucks (and there were plenty of them) were in the kerbside lane moving at a very slow pace. The line lasted for at least a couple of K’s.  We thought it might have been a protest of some sort. It turns out that at various parts of the road trucks over 7.5 tonnes have to stay in that lane and are not allowed to overtake. Different!!

Our first stop was in the medieval town of Rothenberg. (Our readers will immediately realise we have been here before – on the river cruise) This is a walled town that was saved from bombing in WW2 by the mayor doing a deal with the Germans. If he could skull I litre of beer the town would stay intact. Obviously he succeeded.

Our next stop was Munich (Munchen in German) the capital of the region of Bavaria. This was the city that held the 1972 Olympics. The Olympic Stadium and the tall TV Tower are quite impressive.

The HQ of BMW is a building in the shape of 4 fused pistons. Then it was onto the centre of town and the very impressive old and new Town Halls (Town Hall is Rathaus in German). The old Town Hall has a Glockenspeil which plays 3 times a day.

After some free time to explore the very busy market and shopping areas we left for Ettal, a lovely small village at the base of the Bavarian Alps. We are to stay here for 2 nights.