 1 Friday 18 June, 2010 When we left Stuttgart it was raining heavily and this mucked up the satellite signal to our TomTom navigator. We eventually ignored it and followed the signs that said München and found our way to the A8. It rained the whole 270 kms to Wackersberg. |
 2 Friday 18 June, 2010 When we got to our guest house in Wackersberg, Barbara our host made some Bavarian pancakes and coffee for us. But, horror of horrors, the internet did not work on the laptop although the iPhones did. |
 3 Friday 18 June, 2010 It was with great relief that we settled into our room. The cot was moved out the next day. |
 4 Friday 18 June, 2010 This 500 year old unoccupied barn is opposite our bedroom window. |
 5 Friday 18 June, 2010 Our guest house is very conveniently located about 5 minutes from Bad Tölz and is a perfect place for touring the magnificent Bavarian Alps. We drove into town and went to a McDonalds to see if the laptop worked there. It didn't which confirmed that the problem was with the laptop. |
 6 Friday 18 June, 2010 When I got back to our room, I found the problem and breathed a sigh of relief. The hills surrounding the guest house are beautiful no matter what the weather. |
 7 Friday 18 June, 2010 In our two previous visits here, the field and the mountains were covered with snow. That night we went to our favourite restaurant, the nearby Altes Zollhaus and had fantastic Bavarian fare. It got dark at about 10 pm after which we went to bed exhausted. |
 8 Saturday 19 June, 2010 The next morning, after Barbara had served us breakfast, we went into Bad Tölz. We had not stopped for rest since getting on the plane in Sydney so today was a goof-off day. |
 9 Saturday 19 June, 2010 We park the car and stroll down Marktplatz in the Altstadt area. Altstadt means old town and most German cities and towns have remarkably restored areas like this to remind Germans of their heritage. Also popular in Upper Bavaria is the highly decorated buildings done in a style called Lüftlmalerei. |
 10 Saturday 19 June, 2010 This is the old Rathaus (Town hall) that is now the Stadtmuseum Bad Tölz. In our first visit to Bad Tölz in 2006, I spent most of the day here in its internet cafe while Jenni and Dani looked in the shops. A new larger Rathuas is nearby. |
 11 Saturday 19 June, 2010 the Parish Church of the Assumption is currently closed for renovations that will continue through 2010-11. In July 2007, to the delight of local historians, during the restoration the remains of the original church from the early 13th Century were found. |
 12 Saturday 19 June, 2010 We walk down Marktplatz towards the Isar River. The church in the background, on the other side of the river, is the Franziskanerkirche a Franciscan monastery that was closed in 2008. |
 13 Saturday 19 June, 2010 Just before crossing the bridge we turn left and then into Fritzplatz to see the St. Florian fountain. Florian von Lorch was a Roman official who adopted the Christian faith and died a martyr in 304 CE. He became the patron saint of firefighters. |
 14 Saturday 19 June, 2010 The Roman regime sent Aquilinus to the Roman province of Noricum to persecute Christians. Aquilinus ordered Florian to offer sacrifice to the Roman gods but he refused to do so. He was beaten with clubs and tortured with spikes and fire, but still he refused to recant. He was executed by drowning in the Enns River with a stone tied around his neck. In this depiction, Saint Florian is extinguishing a fire burning in a house. |
 15 Saturday 19 June, 2010 The "Florian Principle" is named after an ironic prayer to Saint Florian: "O holy Saint Florian, spare my house, kindle others". This saying is used in German much like "not in my back yard" in English when someone tries to avoid an unpleasant situation by putting others in the same situation. |
 16 Saturday 19 June, 2010 We are about to cross the Isar River. Its source is in the Karwendel range of the Alps in Tyrol; it enters Germany near Mittenwald, and flows through Bad Tölz, Munich, and Landshut before reaching the Danube near Deggendorf. |
 17 Saturday 19 June, 2010 Because of continuous rains, the Isar is swollen. When the rains stopped a couple of days later, islands appeared in the middle which the locals used for sunbathing. |
 18 Saturday 19 June, 2010 From the other side of the river, we can see the Kalvarienbergkirche perched on a hilltop overlooking the river. This kirche is described fully in the The day off in Bad Tolz folder. |
 19 Saturday 19 June, 2010 We return to the car via Marktplatz and spy these flowers in bloom. |
 20 Saturday 19 June, 2010 This is where we had coffee and cake last year with Bonnie and Dennis. There is something superior about cakes and pastries in this part of the world but our coffee is MUCH better. |
 21 Saturday 19 June, 2010 My ability to translate German is improving. |
 22 Saturday 19 June, 2010 We return to the Guest House where it is still raining but very beautiful and totally relaxing. This small road leads to to the very small village of Wackersberg. |
 23 Saturday 19 June, 2010 During this time of the year farmers continually mow the fields to store hay in their barns. This is necessary because the fields are under snow for six months of the year. Next stop: Mittenwald in the rain. |
