High in Oberammergua (No, not that kind)

After leaving Innsbruck, Tom and Jim headed back into the heart of Bavaria. Their path took them to Oberammergau, followed by Oberstdorf and Neuschwanstein. But while Oberammergau was their first stop, the impression it made feels like it deserves to be described last.

Not that the others weren’t memorable. Oberstdorf greeted their arrival with a snowstorm, a sure sign that winter had arrived. The snow fell fast, turning the town into yet another Bavarian Christmas card. Beautiful, yes. Practical, not so much. Finding the youth hostel in such weather proved difficult, especially while lugging still-too-heavy backpacks. Tom, drawing on his now patented technique for ensuring international understanding, stopped two young girls—Erika and Elly, according to Jim’s journal— and asked:

“Scuzi, Scuzi. Wo ist die Jugendherberge?” Before they could answer, he added, “YOUTH HOSTEL. KNOW WHERE IS?”  

The girls looked at each other, suppressing a laugh. Elly answered in flawless English, which surprised the boys when they soon learned she was born and raised in Oberstdorf.

“We’re going in that direction. Follow us—it’s hard to find, especially tonight.”

Hard to find? Given the driving snow and the distance, it would have been impossible without the help of those two Good Samaritans. The foursome trudged for nearly two miles along a creek and up and down several hills. Jim was dismayed to discover that the “waterproof” boots he purchased back in the States were not even water-resistant. Tom kept up a steady stream of conversation with Elly (Erika apparently didn’t speak English) until, finally, the girls pointed to some lights in the distance.

“There it is,” Elly said. “Jugendherberge.”

“Ah, thank you!” Tom said, enthusiastically. “Bitte, bitte!”

“I think you mean danke,” Elly said. And off she and Erika went—to a destination unrecorded in either Tom or Jim’s journal.

From Oberstdorf, they took a bus north through another snowstorm to Neuschwanstein and the model for Disney’s Magic Kingdom castles, the castle of “Mad King” Ludwig II. Ludwig and his Wittelsbach Family ruled Bavaria for centuries. As they approached, Tom and Jim were awed by the stunning sight of this dream castle rising up against the backdrop of the Bavarian Alps.

While stunned by the view of the exterior, Tom—for the first time in all the castles visited—was unimpressed with the interior. Opulent, yes. But what could compete with the beauty of the surrounding Alps? To Jim's amazement, his friend was mostly silent as they explored the large, often drafty rooms--rarely attempting to engage anyone (English-speaking or not) in conversation. 

Oberstdorf and Neuschwanstein were spectacular, but it is Oberammergau that lingers most in the boys’ memories. The town is home to renowned woodcarvers, and their creations, which fill the town’s tidy streets and alleyways. Oberammergua is also famous for its once-a-decade Passion Play—an immense theatrical undertaking that fulfills a vow first made by the townspeople in 1633, when the townspeople promised God they would reenact the suffering Christ if spared the Bubonic Plague and the ravages of the Thirty Years’ War. The town survived; the tradition continues to this day, with the next production set for 2030.

For Tom and Jim, the first thing to suggest that this place was different was the youth hostel and its huge picture window, offering spectacular views of the Alps in the distance and, much closer, the jagged peak of Mt. Kofel. It struck them as the perfect place to recharge. They decided to stay for a few days.

When the duo split that first day, Jim followed an icy, winding trail up Mt. Kofel. At the summit, a steel cable bolted into the rock dangled over the final climb. A misstep meant disaster. It was crazy to attempt it, he thought. But he tried anyway. And when he hauled himself onto the peak, lungs burning, he could only stand there—staring at the view. He started laughing and couldn’t stop. To this day, he’s not sure why he had that reaction—it had to be sheer exhilaration. The “high” he experienced momentarily silenced his gnawing question about what to do when the two-month Eurail pass expired: go home and start a career or stay and see more of the world. Standing atop Mt. Kofel, high on both realistic and unrealistic possibilities, he “decided” he would stay and see the world. Not more of the world. All of it.

The next day, motivated by Jim’s uncharacteristic ebullience and insistence that he “do” Mt. Kofel, Tom made the ascent, facing the same icy path and hair-raising climbs. When he reached the top, he too felt the mountain’s power. For real mountain climbers, Kofel is a hill. But for two boys from the flattest parts of Ohio, it was pure inspiration. It seemed to force both of them to self-reflect, reshaping how they saw the journey and themselves.

When Tom returned to the hostel, Jim was sitting by the massive window, scribbling furiously in his journal, no doubt trying to capture experience before its spell wore off. Tom grabbed his own journal. His first sentence came quickly:

“Kofel. I can’t believe we did that and didn’t die.”

***

And now for the NOW: Reflections on Oberammergua

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