"Oberammergau" Oberammergau by cynthi

After I finished my classes this summer, my sister (Beth) came to Germany and we did a little bit of roaming around. One of my teachers, Frau Stein, was generous and sweet enough to offer us a ride from Ansbach (where my classes were held) to Oberammergau, and we stayed off the Autobahn for a leisurely trip with lots of senic stop offs. Ahh, the Romantic Road.

When we got there, we weren't sure how long we wanted to stay, or for that matter where to stay. Frau Stein took us to the Tourist Infromation center, where after just a few minutes of talking, the very nice lady helping us secured us a place to stay that fit into our price budget.

In front of the Pilatus Haus

Beth and I didn't really know what we wanted to do in Oberammergau, so after we got settled into Pension Schnitzlerstube, we talked to Toby about things to do and see. He assured us that there was more than we could do inside of our four days that we had left before a one night stopover in München so I could my flight home (even though I didn't want to leave) in Oberammergau. We weren't 100% sure, but after the first day, we knew that we were going to stay there.

The first night that we were in Oberammergau, we followed Toby's suggestion to eat at Stern, and by chance, we were seated next to the Stammtisch. I asked (auf Deutsch, natürlich) if I could watch this group of men play, what I am convinced, is the most complex game of cards. I figured out that it was played by teams, and the team that I sat next to started to win. To show appreciation of my presence, my new friend Ernst bought me a beer and all the guys started speaking to us in English, which is much better than my German and was a relief for Beth, who speaks French. We had a great time with the men and stayed long past the game for lots of conversation. We also met some other new people who trickled in as the night wore on, including Georg, who invited us to go to a wine festival in Mittenwald on my Birthday.

After the festival

While in Oberammergau, Beth and I did some shopping, including frequent stops at Ernst's shop (my beer buying friend turned out to be Ernst Kraus, woodworker extraordinare), where Ernst showed us some beautiful angle carvings that he was working on.

We also did some trecking, we rode the ski lift up the mountain in Oberammergau and hiked our way back down and got to play with some sheep in a field. And, we took some day trips, including a trip to Garmish to go to Mount Wank on my birthday. Beth just couldn't pass up the opportunity the name gave us, and we made jokes the whole time we rode up on the cable care about how she and I were going to the Wank climax on my birthday. (by the way, if you ever decide to go from Oberammergau to Garmish, take the bus and not the train, it is half the time and the cost).

Also on my birthday, we met up with Georg and his friend Hubi (who all knew Toby and Gerti, our friendly Pension owners) and we went to a wine festival in Mittenwald, and then to Georg's house for... you've guessed it, even more wine.

• In a nutshell:Way more than the Passion Play to this town.