Oberammergau and Ettal Monastery

Rachel, Stefanie, Dominic & AJ
Notice AJ's feet, he's not that much taller than Dominic!

We wanted to go to a Christkindlmarkt today but didn't want to deal with the crush of people in Munich. This decision led us to Oberammergau a cute little village about 45 minutes away. Oberammergau is known for wood carvings and the Passion play they perform every 10 years. Next performance? 2020.  

Rachel & Missy
Enjoying Kinderpunch & Glühwein

While it is a touristy place, it is adorable and filled with cute shops and a lovely little Christmas market. We will have to go back, because since it was Sunday, those darling little shops weren't open!  

The kids had a little Christmas shopping to finish and were all happy to find the perfect items. Steve and I were happy to walk around, sip on some glühwein and take a look in the wood carving museum. There was even a man working on an angel while we were there. This type of carving definitely takes skill and an incredible eye. He was just chipping away at a block of wood, no pattern, no markings just working with his vision.

Dome Fresco

The miraculous statue is inside the glowing part in the center of the Tabernacle.

Afterwards we drove to Ettal where a beautiful monastery is located. The monastery was built in the early 14th century and contains a miraculous statue of Mary & Jesus. It is tiny compared to the tabernacle that surrounds it and therefore hard to see. You cannot approach the altar or tabernacle so squinting or zooming in with your camera is the best bet! The monastery was amazing. It is the kind of place where you just can't believe what you are seeing. Then to think that it was created nearly seven hundred years ago is just unbelievable!

We finished our afternoon with a typical Bavarian meal at the Klosterbraü Restaurant across the street.  Delicious!

Bonus of today's visit - the kids had fun.  Our experience with teenagers has been that it is often like hanging out with Cameron from Ferris Bueller's Day Off - they don't think we see anything good.  Not today.