A quaint Bavarian town | Ettal, Germany

Lake Plansee, Austria

Red roofed houses with window sills lined by colourful flowers, cows grazing on the rolling meadows, bells hung around their necks, a friendly server in dirndl doling out the local brew in the backdrop of the snow clad Alps. That is how I imagined a German town to be. Ettal, on the Germany-Austria border was exactly that, just that chapel was a huge monastery and bier was brewed by monks. This town is about an hour drive from Munich and a little over by train.

Ettal Germany


The monastery is Benedictine Abbey of Ettal and is its biggest attraction. The imposing church is usually the first sights as one enters the town. The sheer size of it in a town of less than fifty homes will take you by surprise. The interiors of the church are even more impressive with intricate designs in marble, pastels, golden leaves, a wood carved altar and a huge organ. Life size paintings adorn the wall and are so detailed, you could feel yourself to be the scene. We entered when a ceremony was in progress and the silence of the church was filled in by the melodious chants of monks. A few minutes later as the monks receded, we had the entire church to ourselves, to marvel at the painting on the dome.



Benedictine Abbey of Ettal
Dome of the Ettal church
Dome of the church

We also took a small detour to Austria to the nearby Lake Plansee. Its a turquoise green lake, with water so clear, you have to see it to believe it. It has one of the highest water purity levels in Austria and is an exceptional spot for divers. We just sat by the edge of the lake marvelling at the clear waters and the dusking sun shimmering on the lake.

Clear waters of Lake Plansee
Love the reflections in the lake

A perfect weekend getaway to take in the Alp scenery and enjoy the locally brewed Doppelbock. And while you are at it, be sure to dress like the locals.

Bavarians dressed in Trachts
Bavarians dressed in Trachts


Alps are by far our favorite mountain getaway especially considering the ease of getting to them. 
We went for hiking around Chamonix in French Alps.
An amazing experience is to drive the high alpine road in Austrian Alps


4 Comments:

  1. Thank’s great post.

  2. Hey! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading this post reminds me of my previous room mate! He always kept talking about this place. I will forward this post to him. Fairly certain he will have a good read. Thanks for sharing!

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