
Goodbye Ladies and Gentleman - it was a great week. Safe travels and maybe we`ll see each other next year
Ursula und Johanna
Day 8: Loop to Elmau, Mittenwald and the rooftop of Germany


Prepared for a piggy muddy day...

Obama...? Tamara at Elmau!

Leberwurst instead of Brezel!


Ferchensee

Hey, King Ludwig II did not drowend with a bike either!


Mittenwald: famous for violin building and wall paintings

Those who did not reached the Ferchensee had to cool their feet right downtown

Heading back towards Garmisch

Thrilling final of an awsome tour: getting up on Germnays highest mountain, the Zugspitze, by cablecar!!!


Who dares?

!!!




Crazy last hamburger downhill flow

Drucie at 60 km/h
Day 7: Pfronten - Garmisch
we startet a sunny clear day, with mountain view all over, with a breakfast at the terrace of our eagles nest the Burg Falkenstein. A steep downhill brought us on our way. One after the other turquoise mountain lakes lead us to Füssen the medievall town at the river Lech. Round the corner were the next highlights - Neuschwanstein, the fairy tale castle of our crazy Bavarian King Ludwig II and Hohenschwangau. We peddle along another mountain lake and entered Austria. Lunch break was necessary after already 60 km on Plansee. Last not least Linderhof, with a guided tour. Some hopped on the shuttle, some cycled the Abbey of Ettal. They waited for the shuttel there - but the van had a flat tire. So we had to cycle all the way to the hotel. We made it - 101 km and a beautiful sunset with the Zugspitze on our right side was the finish of a big day.
Theme of the day:
Experience is what you get when you don`t get what you want 

the Falkenstein Hotel in the morning sun

start of the day with an awesome breakfast.....

...at the terrace

we tried hard to get another group picture

Morning briefing with, well, almost everyone

last view down into the valley before we rolled down


the Weissensee - the first of many beautiful mountain lakes on this day

Barb, Janice and Diane

John is enjoying

the Alatsee



posing at Alatsee



Füssen and its castle


Neuschwanstein hard to see in the background


castle of Hohenschwangau


Drucie at the Alpsee

the girls at Linderhof castle

Kloster Ettal in the afternoon

Ettal the Baroque beauty from inside


sunset at the Zugspitze - the highest mountain in Germany

John and his girls

we made it - 101 km
Day 6: Oberstaufen - Pfronten
Please pack your togs today. Shortly after we have left Oberstaufen we cycle along the Alpsee to Immenstadt. This small town offers many attractive cafes and a few exceptional shopping opportunities. The Rottachsee and the Grüntensee in midst the Allgäu mountains are very inviting for a refreshing swim. In between there are a few steep climbs with magnificent view into the mountains. Many times we cross the Bodensee-Königssee Radweg. It is one of the most attractive cycle routes in Germany going through the Alpine foreland along many lakes and world famous sights.




the Alpsee in the morning

L




picnic at the Grüntensee


the best of Allgäu


view from our high end Hotel Falkenstein


can you see Neuschwanstein?

Diane and John are on their 10th tour - congratulation both of you. Fits well to your anniversary


Magic moments above Pfronten

the Falkenstein ruin
Day 5: Oberstaufen - Lindau
quite a ride to Lindau, where we met with Barb and Ann. A lot of people seemed to have the same idea as us. But we got a ferry ride to the Austrian side of the lake, walked to the Pfänder gondola und drove up the mountain. A beautiful 360 degree view, even with some mountains
and down we go back to our hotel. A long and exciting day!

the Allgäu at its best




coffee stop in Lindenberg and a lovely market

the harbour in Lindau


we catched the ferry.....


.....went to Bregenz, the Austrain side of the lake,,,,,




,,,,, to the gondola up the Pfänder and flew down on the other side back into Germany and Oberstaufen.

Ann - always ready for a joke and a laugh
Day 4: Kempten - Oberstaufen
The Alps are still the mystery! Also today we are lucky with the weather, no rain, but dense fog. Lets go - the glassblowers are waiting.


little detour through Kempten the old Roman town - here the town hall

the fountain of St. Mang church

Schmidsfelden and the glassblowers



You can experience how the glass is taken out of the furnace at 1200 degrees Celcius and then manually formed into shape. Watching the glass blowers doing their highly skilled job you realise why this craftsmanship is a recognised cultural heritage since 2015 in Germany. A lot of concentration, dexterity and many years of experience are needed to master the art of glass blowing.



Diane and John in their special dress

along the way - iiiaahhh


Milking in bavaria

Day 3: Murnau - Kempten
Our Tourbook says: "We are cycling through the foothills of the Alps: picturesque with its rolling hills, lush meadows and the Alps constantly framing the scene."
Reality is that some think we are on a "Mystery Tour" - the big mystery are the Alps. Where are they? Are they excisting? Who knows?? Dense fog the whole day - but maybe tomorrow. It still was a fabulous day. Ok the pizza place run out of gas but the bee excursion was worth it and the Weißbier in our hotel was as good as the last one 

Janice and Sarah

Drucie

Diane, Tamara and our honeypie

Famous Rokkoko church "Wies"

and a choir was singing


Lots of pittoresk small villages...

...and rolling hills without traffic.

Everyone is curious to identify the peaks of the spectacular alpine panorama infront of us

At Seeg we learn about bees...

...beewax...

...beecombs...


...and how to fill beehoney in a glass.

the group with the passionated guide Simon

First ones on new roads!

Tamara knows about the stamps churches and chaples provide all along the Camino de Santigo
Day 2: Starnberg - Murnau
Located only 27 km south of the inner city, Starnberger See is Munich's closest neighbouring lake. With a beautiful view of the Alps, (if its clear) this lake is quite a sight to behold.The lake got famous because of the mysterious dead of King Ludwig II.
The outstanding location attracts of course the rich and the beauty. So no wonder that the density of millionaires is the highest here in Germany.
We cycled all the way along the eastern side of the lake to the southern end, visited the Buchheim Museum and made our way along the Osterseen to Murnau. 70 km - well done!

Morning briefing surrounded by painted bavarian kings and queens. And sunlight outside after a very rainy night!

last view to Starnberg.
Sarah, Janice, Diane,John, Tamara, Drucie and Barb
we cycled along the eastern shore of the lake

Was it murder? Was it suicide? Did he die trying to flee? Lots of questions stay unaswered about the mysterious dead of the Bavarian King Ludwig II. A wooden cross marks the spot were he was found lifeless at June 13th, 1886, after having been for a walk with Prof. von Gudden.

the Votiv Chapel

we tried hard to find a millionaire! We found some other locals - this guy smokes fresh fish.......

........we met a mushroom collector and a naked millionaire swimming in the lake (sorry, there is no picture)


Barb couldn`t try a "Weißwurst" but we had the best fish rolls ever


the Buchheim Museum



Murnau

the Gabriele Münter house
Day 1: Arrival in Starnberg

Bayerischer Hof at the lake Starnberg

not painted by Kandinsky but by Johanna


we had not enough for dinner, so we needed a good desert