Mittenwald

We started running out of steam on the last two days of our vacation.  It is so fun to go and see all the touristy things, but it is also really nice to sleep in, sit and enjoy the scenery, play card games, and just spend time as a family.  We did make one last outing to Mittenwald, a small town not far from where we were staying.  The only reason we went there is because I'd heard it was a beautiful town.  There were no castles or anything on the itinerary, our plan was just to visit the town and see what we could find.  We wandered around admiring the buildings and mountains and stopped at anything that seemed interesting.  We ended up having a very Bavarian lunch, visiting a violin museum, and (of course) finding a place to have ice cream.

 

 

Many of the buildings in Mittenwald were beautifully painted.  They looked like something out of a fairy tale with the wooden shutters, elaborate paintings, and window boxes overflowing with flowers.

We found a museum about the history of violin making in Mittenwald on a little side street around the corner from a church.  Violins, cellos, and violas have been made in Mittenwald for over 300 years and there are still violin makers in Mittenwald today as well as a violin making school.  We knew the museum was in the town and it's something I wanted to go and see.  Poor Jared, who does not enjoy museums, suffered through the experience. 

Abigail and Natalie tried shaping blocks of maple and spruce and Samantha, who wished the museum was more hands on, reached into a display to pluck the stings on a string bass.

 

 This stream ran through town and in many places flowed in between the sidewalks and the street.  There were little wooden bridges to cross to the stores and restaurants, but it was more fun to try jumping across. 

Finally, because even in the rain no day was considered complete without it, we stopped for ice cream.