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Elise's day out in Bad Tolz

With Eric and Samuel in Vienna, over the last two days our hosts treated me to a lovely two days touring about this area of Bavaria. So beautiful in a manicured, neat, well managed, serene way. South America is a harsh rugged beauty, Bavaria has a well kept, neat, pristine, manicured air where they seem to have tamed nature and bent it to a well ordered state which reflects their culture.

We started by looking at the rafts in the river Isar, just near where we are staying. Apparently there is a tradition/holiday practice where people book six months in advance to dress in Bavarian costume, sit on a man made pole raft and float down the river Isar from Wolfratshausen to München drinking beer and listening to live music. Really?


Here you can see the rafts, two next to each other, with the beer jugs at the ready, the loo in blue and white at the back and the band getting ready. Apparently they make the rafts each day from the logs of previous rafts, driven back on trucks. Bus loads come. 

Three hours later, after being bolstered with beer they arrive at the rapids. Down they rush, hooting and whooping or perhaps returning the beer to the river in fear.


Next we drove to Bad Tolz which our hosts described as beautiful and they were not wrong. The town is picturesque with houses four or five hundred years, old each with paintings on. They call them ‘air paintings’. It was like every Bavarian town, neat and tidy, with fresh coats of paint. 


This town also had fancy cars (and motor bikes) and jackets selling for 500 euro a piece - yes, I saw the price tag.


 I liked this modern sculpture which displays the many sports in the area.


Another very managed site came next, the Sylvenstein-see. It is a reservoir for München drinking water. A massive dam which, when it was made, engulfed a town, the church spire you can still see when the water levels are low. The See, which I can not help but think of as a Sea it being so large, is so beautiful, stunning and on a day like today has many boats bobbing about. It appears to be low but in March it is so full that this year it spilled over the road on which we viewed it. In German style the road was made 3 metres higher recently and plans are afoot to make it higher still. All the down stream towns like Bad Tolz and Wolfratshausen would be flooded should the dam break. 



Following the steps of the German rich and famous, we next toured the Tegernsee. I can see why it is a magnet for powerful Germans such as Angela Merkel and the Bayern Munich football team, it is stunning. (The latter have a camp there every year and use the saunas, physios and massage along with the clean air the area apparently offers.) Again, it is a beautifully manicured and Picture post card perfect.  What a pity I only had my iPhone on which to take photos, I just can not do it justice with such a tool.



Our lunch was taken at the Klosterbraustuberl Reutberg brewery which also had a magnificent view. Given my lack of taste for beer, I only had a sip..... But I'm told it was great beer. 


One learns so much travelling with locals!


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