Sunday 4th October – Winkl, Germany

On my way back from the shower, I heard three very loud echoing shots that sounded as if they came from a cannon. Jane said that there had been some before and they seemed to coincide with church bells ringing. There were still more later and on our way out of the campsite, I asked the owner about them. He explained that it was a holiday weekend and that many (hunting?) groups got together and fired black powder guns in celebration. I asked him where it was happening and he said “everywhere, you will hear it echoing all around the mountains.
We took the very crowded bus to Berchtesgaden and the Haus der Berge – the centre for the Berchtesgaden National Park. On the way we passed a large group of men in traditional dress standing in a field and taking it in turn to fire their guns in the air. An interesting tradition, or boys and their toys?
Haus der Berge is a very large building with fascinating information about the flora and fauna of the park. Stuffed animals were everywhere, from a coal tit, through a collection of chamois (mountain goats), to an Alpine cow. Many of the museums and information boards that we have seen have only been in German, but here everything was in German and English. There was a huge amount of technology – buttons to press, interactive panels, videos to watch, and it all worked! The exhibition was full of bird song and large birds apparently flew overhead as the sound moved over the exhibits. A small mountain cabin housed a video exhibition where we could select stories of the herdsmen and dairy workers who looked after the cows during the summer months when they were in the mountains. They gave us an interesting insight into the transhumance culture of farming in the area and all of the interviews were subtitled in English.
We walked up the stairs, two floors to where a massive screen showed an excellent video of the flora and fauna in the park. At the end of the video, the slats of the screen rotated to expose the real view of the mountains – very impressive.
The centre has a restaurant and we decided to go there for a coffee. It was very quiet and we were able to sit at a table on the balcony with a wonderful view of the mountains. We relaxed and enjoyed view and, as it was approaching lunch time, we decided to stay there for a meal. Jane had a schnitzel and I had a venison burger and they were excellent, especially with the accompanying view.
We then walked into the centre of Berchtesgaden, which is a major tourist resort and was full of, almost exclusively, German tourists. Many people were dressed in traditional costume – lederhosen for the men and dirndl for the women and we were entertained by two bands, which the crowds (and we) enjoyed. The band members were all enjoying the local beer and schnapps.
Photos: Part of the main exhibition hall; Coffee and cake with that lovely view; Two ladies in traditional dress inspect more options; One of the bands; A snatch of the second band playing.