PASSIONSSPIELE IN OBERAMMERGAU, GERMANY

 

What a great time we had at the Passion Play!  Riding the train for six hours, we arrived in Oberamagau in the afternoon.  We traveled with two other couples (the Morans and VanDyks.)  We all loved the feel of this little town; we got to see most of it as we pulled our luggage down the street to our gasthaus on the opposite end of  town from where we exited the train.  We had purchased a package deal months earlier for our gasthaus, meals, and Passion Play tickets.  Unfortunately, as we arrived at our gasthaus, I discovered that I had forgotten our tickets at home.  I had purchased all of the train tickets and was so pre-occupied with those that I didn't even think about the other tickets.  We got off easy as it only cost 20 euro to have them re-printed.  Thank goodness Barbara had brought the receipt that proved we had bought them.

The Oberammergau Passion Play dates back to a vow made in the year 1633.  At that time the plague raged in the entire region, including Oberammergau.  Many people died.  It was then that the people of this town vowed to portray the "Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus" every ten years.  From that moment on not one person succumbed to the Black Death.

Since there are no outsiders permitted to participate in the play, the majority of the residents of Oberammergau were the actors, actresses, and stage-hands.  The play runs for six months from April to October and is over six hours long.  The open air theater holds 5000 people.  It was definitely worth the effort we made to get there.

We had extra time to lazily walk around the town taking in all the sights, sounds, and smells.  At one point we came upon a house set back off the road, but there was a showcase on the road of their wood carvings.  After sending Bruce in to see if we could look at their carvings (the rest of us were chicken!) we were invited in by a very nice older couple.  Their work was outstanding!  They did all their own work, assisted by their son.  The wooden marionettes had carved faces both front and back.  We have one on order and should receive it by Christmas.

The Gasthaus where we spent two nights

 The stage of the open air playhouse 

 

        Herr Buehner, his wife, and their son.

   When we walked into their yard Herr and Frau Buehner were having breakfast on the porch that overlooked their magnificent yard.  They told us the story of how he longed to marry his sweetheart and her parents were not sure he could support her so they insisted that he go to Master woodcarving school.  He did and his master carving (a shepherd) holds a place of honor in their home.

 

Some of the marionettes that were carved by Herr Buehner and his son, then painted by Frau Buehner

The rolling hills of Oberammergau with a castle perched at the top.

 

Our little group doing one of the things we do best: eating!  Oh, and did I mention coffee breaks?

 After leaving Oberammergau, we headed to Salzburg.  It was a beautiful sunny weekend that proved perfect for our sightseeing.  The highlight of the weekend was the Frauline Maria bicycle "Sound of Music" tour. For 3 1/2 hours we rode through the city and all over the countryside.  It took a while to get "Do, Re, Mi" out of my head! Salzburg is a city rich in history and culture and we enjoyed our stay there very much.  

The picture on the wall of the room in our hotel.  Would believe we were on the "Sound of Music" floor?!

Greg's lame attempt to copy Maria on the same exact steps.

  :)

The gazebo-what a lovely couple!

The scenes in the movie of the front and back of the house are actually two different houses.  This is the house where they were attempting to quietly escape (out the front) in the their car when the police discovered them.

The comment was made by two "early twenty" girls that they were surprised we would be doing the bike tour and not the bus tour.  Hmm....  Are we getting old or what!  I think we kept up with them just fine.

The Abby