Wheels Around Europe . . . . . . . : Bad Wiessee to Bad Tölz

Our Germans friends on the Stellplatz all had a spring in their step this morning after their side came back from behind to win against Sweden last night. I didn`t go to the bar after all last night, instead I did the blog and checked out utility comparison websites, joy of joys, that time again !

It rained a little overnight and was dry but cloudy this morning but by about 1000 it had brightened up and was warm in the sun, but there is a cool breeze around giving everything a chill. Then we hear what lovely weather you are all having in the UK, ah well, enjoy it, and lets hope it lasts all Summer long.

We set of and headed west along the Deutsche Alpenstrasse

Or the German Alpine Route that runs from Lake Constance in the west to Lake Konigssee in the east and hugs the Alpine peaks all the way.
It meanders through a lush green landscape interupted only by pretty villages and the mountain peaks in the distance.

Our first stop was the rather affluent town of Bad Wiessee on the west shore of Lake Tegernsee.

It`s quite a smart town with a very pleasant waterfront with lots going on.

There is a statue on the waterfront to Louis Braille, he who invented the system of reading for visually impaired and I assumed he was a son of the town but apparently not, he was a Frenchman so I`m not sure why he has a statue here. They must just think his achievements warrant recognition here.

There were also some impressive bronze figures around the lake and it just struck me how in the UK you would rarely see such statues in a public park. Sadly they would be unlikely to last the night without being removed for scrap value. They make such a welcome addition to the lakeside scene though.

We wandered around for an hour or so and came back through a residential area where almost every house had a rather smart Porsche on the drive. Clearly the local dealer is doing good business in this town.

After we`d seen what there was to see, we set off for Bad Tölz.

It is a town that sits on the River Isar, with a long history and has some quite interesting buildings and an attractive town centre, with the typical of the region painted buildings that all look so clean and beautifully looked after.

There were lots of children riding down the river this afternoon on all sorts of kayaks, inflatable boats, doughnut rings and all sorts, having some great fun in the water.

The river is only shallow here but this evening I noticed some pretty sturdy flood defences in front of the houses so I think the calm shallow playground we see today, may become a raging torrent when there is Spring melt water from the nearby mountains.

A church on a hill caught my eye whilst walking round so we had a walk up the hill to it this evening. It`s called Kalvarienbergkirche, a bit of a mouthful. But it`s a very unusual Catholic Church with an assortment of chapel buildings in the grounds and a number of religious scenes recreated, figures, crosses, a Grotto type building and crucifixion scene. Very ornate and the from the exterior the church looks very impressive. Lots of photos taken but the impressive front was difficult to get as it`s on such a high point. No grave yard though for some reason.

We`re parked up on the Town Stellplatz (GPS 47.76269 11.55099) that overlooks the River Isar and is a five minute walk into the town.

There is no electric here but since the fridge is working nicely on gas that’s not a problem to us. It`s currently recording -12.7c in the freezer compartment so that`ll do just fine. Cold milk for breakfast !