Day 14

With two days left and most bucket list items accomplished, we decided to visit one of our favorite spots from previous trips - Kloster Andechs. This amazing monastery and brewery sits on a hill above the town of Herrsching and overlooks the Ammersee.

We took the U1 to the Hauptbahnhof then hopped on the S8 to Hersching. Once again the trains here in Germany proved to be amazing. Just as we hopped off the U1 and went up the escalator to the next level

and there was the S8 just waiting for us as we stepped onto the platform. The ride to Hersching took about 35 minutes and we exited the train to dem out the footpath to Kloster Andechs. Once we determined the path to take we set off for the Kloster. The path took is up through the town and into the forest. Although not very long it was a good hike and upon reaching the monastery we were ready to have a beer and some food. The weather was overcast but pleasant and we were able to secure a table in the Biergarten. Tavis, Cindi and I were a bit ahead of the others on the hike so we ordered drinks and waited a bit while they caught up. Once everyone was present and accounted for, we went in to get our lunch. Sharon got a Haxe. Tavis got roast pork, Owen and Cindi shared a Haxe and Christian and I shared a Haxe and Leberkäse. Needless to say there was plenty of food. The Haxe was enormous but I think the ones we do at the Brewery have better flavor. The beer was the real star of the show however. Christian and I each got a Maß of the Dunkeles Dopplebock and Cindi got the Helles. Both beers are outstanding, but the Dopplebock is easily one

of the best beers I have ever had. After a second, in my case smaller beer,* we went to look around the gift shop. I found a great hat and a metal sign that says Biergarten. Owen also bought a deck of cards.

*Author's Note - Christian got a second full liter of the Doppelbock thinking it was merely a Dunkle. This resulted in him becoming "squiffy", a Christian word for marginally intoxicated.

We made our way down to the bus stop to catch the bus back down to Herrsching. From there it was back on the S-Bahn bounzfor Marienplatz once again. Tavis, having spotted the 2 story Lego store yesterday, wanted to make a pilgrimage to such a temple of all things Lego. While he and Cindi explored the LEGOs, Christian, Sharon, Owen and I went into a Café nextdoor for some drinks. Owen wanted to try out his new cards with a game of

cribbage and continue our daily matches. This is where we discovered that no one is to be fully trusted. The deck of cards were short 16 cards - all the 2’s, 3‘s, 4‘s, and 5‘s. You would think you could at least depend on not being shortchanged by a bunch of monks! Maybe this is their way of curbing gambling.

After drinks and a couple rounds of cribbage we were off to find Tavis one more patch and look for somewhere to have dinner. The desired patch was one with all the flags of Europe on it. We found it at the same shop we visited on the first day in Munich. Around the corner was a lovely Italian restaurant called Ornella. It had an interesting

mix of sushi, pasta**, pizza and steak. Everything was quite good and we all left sated. It was then back to the hotel for a final drink and off to bed. Tomorrow is our last day to explore.

** Editor's Note - Tavis won for best dinner selection with his pasta dish.