We boarded the train back to Munich shortly after 9:00 AM for the ride back to Munich. Once in Munich, we grabbed a snack at the train station and then made our way over to the BOB - Bayerische Oberlandbahn. The BOB is a private train serving several cities south of Munich.
BOB Map
When using the BOB, one must be careful to board the correct car. As the train progress to the south, cars are separated at Holzkirchen and Schaftlach. In a very un-german fashion, there was mass confusion about which car we should be in. Normally, there is a board on the platform that shows which cars go to where. Additionally, each car has an LED display above each door and inside the train describing the end destination of each car. However, something odd was going on with this train and it took some time for things to get sorted out. We actually boarded one car, then disembarked and then finally loaded ourselves back into the same car.
Looking south along the Isar River
Once we got underway, we were in Bad Tölz in about 50 minutes. The weather there was the best of the trip and the Alpine views were spectacular. Bad Tölz is a spa town – hence the “Bad” distinction in the name. It was infamous for it SS school in WWII, but also as a famous retreat for wealthy city residents like Thomas Mann.. The Isar River splits the town into two pieces with its lovely old town and interesting shops on one side and the spa district on the other. Several of us hiked to Hotel Kolberbräu while the luggage laden waited for a taxi.
After checking into our rooms, everyone split up to explore the town. However, we eventually all found our way back to the hotel and enjoyed several beers at the tables set up outside.
Around 3 PM, things got interesting – my wife, Vonia, joined us – she had just arrived in
Kolberbraeu Biergarten
Germany this morning and soon after Steffi and Ingo from Hotel Ruchti in Füssen showed up. It was great to catch up with Vonia and our friends. At 4 Pm, Susanna appeared and she took everyone on a walking tour of the old town. She’s now expecting her third child and her husband was in Toronto at an adult hockey tournament. The folks from our first Oktoberfest trip might remember Susanna – she gave us the tour of Bad Toelz those many years ago and my son also spent a week with her and her family last year while attending a hockey camp in Bad Toelz.
Josefifest at Reutberg
At 5 Pm, we took several taxis out to Kloster Reutberg. This small nunnery has its own brewery which is now a community held company. On March 19, the brewery hosts the first beer tent of the season for its Josefifest – the day named for Mary’s father and a big holiday in Bavaria. Susanna gave us a tour of the church and we were all impressed with the beer garden and it sweeping views of the Alps on three sides. Too bad we didn’t have time to enjoy a beer here!
We mad out way into the beer tent and found the table that Susanna had reserved for us. The Josefi Bock Beer was excellent and we all enjoyed the food immensely. Then the band started to play and the atmosphere grew quite boisterous. It wasn’t long before people stood on the tables as their friends hoisted them to the ceiling – there’s something not seen at Oktoberfest!
This was an excellent party and the band played all the songs you’d hear at Oktoberfest. The crowd was well behaved and all having a great time. The only drawback was the smokiness and several of our guys had to bail early because of it. The rest of us stayed until almost midnight and then grabbed taxis back to Kolberbräu.
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