Just Ice and Whiskey

September 5th

About a month ago, Dan found out he was eligible to go to a conference for two weeks in Germany that conveniently ends the weekend before Oktoberfest starts. Dan was chosen to go and I decided to tag along.

After an Uber, an airport shuttle, two flights, a subway, a train, a taxi, and walking, we arrived 25 hours later in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and at the Edelweiss Lodge and Resort. I was hungry and the check-in lady was kind enough to direct us to a Bavarian restaurant around the corner that was still open. It was great. We walked in 15 minutes before closing (which I hate doing, but I was hungry). The barman told us all he had was pork tenderloin and potatoes or cheesy spatzel. That sounded good to me. Dan got pork, I got German mac n' cheese, and we each got a beer. I couldn't have been happier in that moment.

Good morning, Bavaria!

Since Dan is in conferences all week, I'm on my own to explore.
Today I walked into Garmisch to see what was there.

Apparently the houses here have murals on the outside of them.

What am I supposed to do with these? This isn't wine.

Gasthaus Brauwastl, the place we ate at last night.

ZugspitzstaBe 119, 82467 Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany

Just someone's house, with a great mural on it.

How cute is this house?!

It was a bit wet on my walk into town, but still lovely.

A small gravel walkway.

Bread!

AH! Adorable restaurants!

I wonder what's down this way?

Oh! Another neat building.

I found a church, because what's a small European town without a church?

St. Martin Catholic Church.

It had these unique candle holder things.

It also had a really fancy pulpit.

Ducks!

It's such a beautiful town.

The Faun by Petra Hebeisen (2009)

Flowers!

Winged Lizard by Fritz Horauf (2011)

The other side of the valley.

Turtle by Ingo Hipp (2011)

These kids were enjoying running around the labyrinth in the garden.

Garmisch-Partenkirchen is actually two cities, Garmisch and Partenkirchen. Hitler forced them to join together in 1935 to be a large enough city to interest the International Olympic Committee to have Germany host the 1936 Olympics.

This group came to the garden to do tai-chi.

I think these are other German partner cities to Garmisch.

Oh herbs!

Nightshade. Do not eat!

I like this gourd sneaking out of this plant wall.

Nasturtium, medicinal plant of the year 2013. Nasturtiums with horseradish have been proven effective in treating bronchitis, sinusitis, and bladder infections.

I was playing with my camera zoom.

Turns out this was all the Michael Ende Kurpark.

A flower clock.

So many murals!

Grasegger had a lot of really nice tracht items. They also have a wall of fabrics and notions to make (or have them make) your own dirndl outfit. It was beautiful and expensive; I didn't think they'd let me take photos of the walls of fabric, but they probably appreciated me NOT drooling on the fabric like I wanted to.

Down town was cute and quaint.

This mural is about Adam and Eve.

More of downtown.

Even more of downtown.

This house was built sometime in the 16th century.

I stopped and got a pastry and a cup of tea. Partially because I wanted a snack and partially because I wanted to sit for a little while. It was nice except my pastry attracted a lot of bees.

The next adventure was to the Museum Aschenbrenner, aka things Marianne Aschenbrenner collected. First up, porcelain things.

"Ei, how the coffee tastes,

sweeter than a thousand kisses,

milder than musician wine.

I have coffee and coffee,

and if someone wants to lick me,

oh, that's how coffee gets me!"

....Okay.

Inspired by a lost copper engraving by William Hogarth from the series "The Way of the Whore."

If you look at older art, like Renaissance art, babies and children are small scale adults. It apparently took until the middle of the 18th century for someone to realize that's not true.

Next, we have dolls.

In the 17th century dolls mostly served the purpose of showing off the latest women's fashions. The dolls clothes, even down to the undergarments, would have been made of the finest materials. They also would have served as an instructional device for young girls to know how they should look and dress themselves in the future.

It wasn't until the middle of the 19th century that doll makers thought about making dolls that were actually child-like. You could still get fashionable clothes for these dolls, but it was actually expected for the girls who owned the dolls to make their own clothes. This was cheaper and encouraged the development of sewing skills. The pretty doll with its pink skin, large eyes, flowing curls, and closed mouth represented the ideal of a well-behaved girl.

"Children who are loud and cheeky

Rarely attain favor,

Be modest and reserved.

This is good behavior.

Teach your children

through closed mouth to breathe,

This is healthier indeed.

The nose is there for breathing,

The mouth it does its task,

By eating and by speaking,

At the appropriate time."

In 1909, Kammer & Reinhardt marketed the first so called "character baby." I think it's a little terrifying. Turns out it was modeled after the bronze bust of Berlin artist Lewin-Funke. No wonder it looks like a weird old man.