Tegernsee & Rottenbuch, Germany

I’m a planner. With all the online options to research travel destinations, you can form a fairly clear idea of areas you want to visit. I pin places on Google Maps, read restaurant reviews on TripAdvisor and review lodging on Booking.com.

It’s good to plan but many times the best travel memories are spontaneous surprises. Not the “took a wrong turn” or “we don’t take credit card” surprises but the small towns, scenery and events that pop up as you travel. I’ve learned if you come across a random street fair or festival, you drop what you have planned and join in.

With clouds overhead and rain in the forecast, we decided to drive a short distance to the east of Lenggreis and visit the Tegernsee. “See” in German means lake (confusing because it sounds somewhat like “sea” in English). This area of Bavaria is spotted with pristine glacial lakes which become vacation hotspots in the summer for visitors from Munich.

The big draw was the Herzoglich Bayerisches Brauhaus Tegernsee which was a fancy way of saying the brewery on Tegernsee. Bavarian breweries invariably boast a Bräustüberl which is a tavern (indoors) and Biergarten (outdoors) serving traditional German food paired with local brews.

We took a long table under the welcome umbrellas outside which protected us from the rain. An efficient waitress quickly served us with Tegernsee beers as we deciphered the menu. After a hearty lunch of soup, sausages, kraut and potato salad, we headed to a few nearby cemeteries for a dose of history.

Far off the road in a hidden field we found the oldest World War II cemetery for German soldiers in Bavaria. As is typical, the stone markers were shaped as understated Iron Crosses and placed close to the ground. Most of the soldiers buried here were young, some not yet 20. They died in the last days of the war in the spring of 1945 as the Allies pushed into the heart of the Reich.

Not far away was the Durnbach War Cemetery, maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. This cemetery contained the graves of soldiers from Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom. Located deep in Germany, most of the fallen buried here were airmen from Allied bombing runs. Some were killed attempting to escape from POW camps.

Headstones were often arranged in small groups, designating crews who died together when their planes were shot down. Mixed among the hundreds of graves displaying the mark of the Royal Air Force were four Americans, designated with the seal of the United States. For various reasons, these US airmen were serving with British bomber crews when they met their fate.

The next day, we decided to head west and soon came across the small town of Rottenbuch (pronounced ROTE-n-book). I spontaneously pulled off the road into a cobblestone courtyard after spotting the tower. As I’ve mentioned before, Bavarian churches hide miraculous interiors inside plain exteriors. We stood in the nave looking up in awe at the swirling Baroque ornamentation of religious scenes and angelic figurines.

Outside, as we were looking through the small cemetery, an older man walked through decked in traditional Bavarian wear. We could hear music not far away and decided to investigate. As we came under an arch, we saw a large group of men in lederhosen and feathered caps hoisting a tall Maypole. It was the first of May and we realized these festivities were taking place in villages across Bavaria.

A stage hosted the local brass band which would strike up a jaunty tune every few minutes. Small children, some also dressed in traditional Bavarian wear called Trachten, played nearby. We watched from a respectful distance before gathering our courage and deciding to join the festivities.

Following the lead of the locals, we bought food and beer from stalls clustered around busy picnic tables. A barrel of beer was tapped once the Maibaum (Maypole) was in place and the men celebrated by clinking glass steins. The band even broke into a familiar “Ein Prosit” which we remembered from our days at Oktoberfest back in Tulsa.

After soaking up the atmosphere in Rottenbuch, we hit the road again and soon arrived at the Pilgrimage Church of Wies (pronounced “vees”). The oval rococo church, designed in the late 1740s, sat in a picturesque valley in the foothills of Alps and was designated a UNESCO World heritage site.

As we entered, we found ourselves witness to a dedication ceremony complete with priest, proud parents and a surprisingly docile baby. Inside the church, it was evident everything was done to make the supernatural visible. Sculpture and murals combined to unleash the divine in visible form.

A few kilometers further down the road near Füssen we arrived at one of Germany’s most recognized landmarks, Neuschwanstein Castle. We chose to enjoy the castle in its Alpine setting from a distance rather than join the other tourists making the trek up to the gates.

The memories of everything we experienced over the afternoon underlined the importance of planning but also remaining flexible while traveling. And always, always, join any local festivities you happen to come across. Servus!

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