We split up this morning. Tessa and Margaret went back down to Marienplatz to check out the price of Birkenstocks, discovering they were only 29 Euros. Hurray!!! But everything was closed. Boo!!! It was Sunday, so they stopped at the Church on the way home but had missed the beginning of the service (it started at 10:30 - summer hours). Meanwhile, Barry and Connor checked out train tickets to Oberammergau and Garmisch. They found out that we could get a Bavaria Day Pass for 4 people for 27 Euros. That was excellent news because it allowed us to train hop all day. The scenery was supposed to be outstanding so we all looked forward to the trip. It took less than 2 hours to get to Obermamergau. From the big city to the small town. We didn't want to explore with 20 lbs of gear on all day and there weren't any lockers at the train station (at least we didn't see them), so we walked to the first hotel in sight. However, the receptionist said we couldn't leave our big backpacks there.

However, a few minutes later, we got to the Post Hotel. They were really nice about storing our gear so we, of course, ate at THEIR restaurant. For those of you who don't know, we spent part of our honeymoon in Oberammergau, so 19 years later, the memories flooded back as we strolled through this charming town: the buildings covered in Bavarian art, shops filled with original wood carvings and sculptures, the tradition of the Passion Play dating back to the 1600's, and Margaret's favourite place, the Christmas store, filled with Christmas ornaments and a multitude of beautiful figurines.

It took us a little while to find Barry's parents' home of several years, but when we did, we discovered it was for sale. Very tempting. What a great place to live and retire in!! We continued to wander down quiet streets, each home prominently displaying balconies cascading with brilliant flowers. Plum, apple, and cherry trees reached over many fences offering us a taste of their harvest. We would have stayed in Oberammergau, but couldn't find inexpensive accommodations. However, we were able to book the International Youth Hostel in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, so we ended our lovely afternoon with a delicious ice-cream and a promise to return. We then caught another train and headed to Garmisch.