Other

Local Activities

When no music sessions are scheduled, there is time for the other important component of the Berwang Holiday Music Course: leisure activities and relaxation.  Within a reasonable distance of Berwang and certainly within easy reach for a 'free day' excursion, there are a variety of places of great natural beauty or of cultural interest.  These include:

Castles, such as those at Neuschwanstein, Linderhof and Hohenschwangau;

Churches and monasteries, such as at Wies and Ettal; also, many of the villages surrounding Berwang have beautiful small churches and chapels;

Theatres, including the one at Oberammergau, famous for the Passion Play Theatre, and the new theatre on the shore of Lake Forggensee, built to show the King Ludwig II Musical;

Places having a music connection, such as Salzburg (Mozart's birthplace), Garmisch-Partenkirken (home to Richard Strauss) and Mittenwald, where string instruments are made;

Mountains and lakes, including Germany's highest mountain, the Zugspitze, alpine gardens, Heiterwangersee, Plansee, Eibsee and Riessersee; and

Towns and villages of interest for their history, geography, tourist attractions and shopping facilities, such as Innsbruck, Fussen, Mittenwald, Garmisch-Partenkirken, Salzburg, and the small villages and hamlets surrounding Berwang.        

      Sometimes, Course members organise themselves into small groups to go to places by car, or we organise coach excursions for larger numbers.  For example, for the 2003 Course, there were: a full day excursion by coach taking in Eibsee, Riessersee, Garmisch-Partenkirken, Ettal, Oberammergau and Linderhof, returning via a road bordering the shores of lake Plansee.  A short, morning excursion by 'toy train' comprised a 'whistle stop tour' of Brand and Mitteregg, with superb views of Rinnen en route.  A smaller party also booked to see the King Ludwig Musical and were taken by coach one evening to the shores of lake Forggensee where a new theatre, built specially for the musical, is sited.