Mittenwald, Upper Bavaria, German Alps, May 2009

Sharing pictures from a day-trip to Mittenwald, a small village in the German Alps, 100 kilometres south of Munich. It's nestled between the Karwendel (the largest mountain range of the Northern Limestone Alps) and the Wetterstein (a mountain range topped by Germany's highest peak, the Zugspitze).

It's first mentioned in chronicles, about a thousand years ago but probably dates back to much earlier and at least Roman times. Today, it is famous for the stringed and plucked instruments manufactured by the ten instrument makers who continue their 300 year old tradition as well as the many exuberant fresco paintings adorning the facades of most of its houses.

This type of facade painting is called "Lüftl-Malerei" and can only be found in this area of the Alps. It usually consists of  decorative "Trompe-L'oeil"-elements and depictions of saints and biblical scenes.

In many ways, Mittenwald is typical of the pastoral and picturesque villages in the Bavarian Alps - well-kept gardens in lush green, quiet streets and a neatness that puts even the most perfectly trimmed themepark to shame.

I lived in such a Upper Bavarian village for five years, and the landlord was constantly after us, patiently nagging us to at least keep the front yard shipshape. I even learned to use a scythe because Sepp (the 78-year-old landlord and farmer) insisted that a lawnmower would destroy the grass. In the beginning, it was all blisters and a lawn looking butchered rather than trimmed but I think, if I heard Sepp's voiceSaturday morning calling me to fix the lawn, I'd still sleep-walk outside and fumble for the scythe.

After Mittenwald, we drove on to Schloss Elmau, a wonderful estate not far away. Actually it used to be a great place - a charming chateau hotel that annually hosts a very prolific Jazz Festival in early November. But after a fire broke out five years ago, they changed the hotel concept. It's now one of the "Leading Small Hotels of The World" and no longer exudes the warm, cultured hospitality I had come to love in the past. Still pretty to look at, but they do not welcome outside dinner guests anymore, so we went to a small countryside restaurant in the vicinity with a lovely scenery.