Sunday, 21 September.  We were keeping our rental car for our first couple days in Garmisch because we were not sure what to expect. That allowed us to drive to Mass Sunday morning in Ettal where there is a famous abbey founded in the 14th century. We had intended to see it in 1960 when we drove up from Verona, Italy, to see the decennial Oberammergau Passion Play, but we were delayed on the road and arrived too late.

Today we arrived in plenty of time, although there was a light drizzle as we oriented ourselves to the abbey and its grounds before Mass. The present baroque church is quite grand and elegant, but it is relatively recent. It was built to replace the more modest original Gothic structure severely damaged (along with the abbey) by a disastrous fire in 1744. The church was designated a basilica in 1920.


The Mass at 11:00 was very well-attended. Most of the worshippers appeared to be German, or at least German-speaking. To our surprise, though, the Mass was said in Latin, all except the gospel and homily which were in German.

After Mass we walked around the complex at a more leisurely pace. The light drizzle had stopped and the sun was breaking through. We visited the bookstore and tourist shop. I bought a glass beer stein as a souvenir. The abbey's brewery was closed, but we walked through the courtyard, stacked almost full with cases of empty bottles. We found a small beer garden in the rear. We also spent some time browsing the commercial shops across the road from the abbey.

The Hotel Wolf 54 years later

Lunch at the Hotel Wolf

 

Us at the Werdenfelser Hof

Schuhplatter

Our group had dinner that night at the Werdenfelser Hof on "historic Ludwig Street" in old Partenkirchen. The meal was accompanied by repeated performances of the traditional Bavarian "slap dancing" (Schuhplattler). It was interesting at first, but by the tenth time it was getting old.