Alpirsbach
12 September 2017, continued
We continued up through the Gutach Valley to the point where Rt. 294 splits off, and made the quick decision to follow that east to Alpirsbach. This was the opposite direction from where we needed to go, but figured it was ok as we didn't get to see much in Gutach or ride the rodelbahn. Alpirsbach looked similar to Andechs on the last trip – a small town with a large monastery and a brewery. Sounds good to me!
We arrived in Alpirsbach, parked near the monastery, and the moment we stepped out of the car we were hit with the heavy aroma of the malts. That sweet, thick odor of malty brewing wort just hung in the air throughout the town. I've been by breweries before, and my own kitchen has smelled this way when I brew, but for the whole town to be engulfed in the distinctive scent was new to me. It was so amazing, and made you really want a beer!
The town didn't seem to be so big, and after looking around the property we decided to get tickets to in to the monastery. It was very old, founded way back in 1095! We walked through a gift shop before getting to the monastery itself, and the stuff in the shop was actually some cool beer swag. We went to the admission desk, paid for the tickets, paid an additional amount for the privilege of taking pictures (hmpf), and then went inside.
The doorway to go inside actually led to the outdoor hallways around the inner opening of the Kloster, the open courtyard a brilliant patch of green surrounded by the building. A break in the rain allowed the sun to show itself, and the light shone through the glassless windows and cast a pattern across the floor. Little details were carved into the corners and another pattern lead down the hall across the ceiling. We tucked into small chapels through old wooden doors, and wondered what things lie beyond the many doors that were locked. Eventually we made our way to the main church, which was simply set up with little relics scattered throughout. There was a large wall panel that opened like a book, and lots of brilliantly colored images arranged in panels told the Gospel stories. It was kina like a gigantic painted Jesus comic book. Work with me, folks. On the opposite side of the church was a giant pipe organ, and while it was definitely beautiful, its very modern design was strange in this old place. We didn’t pay the extra amount to go into the dormitories, which were apparently only allowed if you were on the tour. I get that it takes money to keep these old places intact, but it seemed here they picked at you for every Euro-penny. It is what it is, and so we went upstairs to the final part we were allowed to see on our own. It was set up like a museum, with relics found on the site from back in the 1200s, and parts of the wall pulled away to show how they built the buildings back then. Interesting stuff, and a spectacular glimpse into history.
Once out of the monastery it was time to find some beer! We walked down to the street, around the corner, back to the abbey, back down to the street, and... where was the beer? We consulted the all-knowing one (that would be Google) and it said there should be beer where we were. Looking at the maps again, we found the spot that was the beer cellar, but there was no way in. Back around the front, and we finally found a door that went down to the cellar. Beer time! Until... not beer time? There was no one in the cellar except for a couple employees cleaning up, and they informed us that the beer cellar was only for the guided tours (same ones that led to the dormitories), which were over. So, no beer? We walked out a bit dejected, frustrated over all the hype of the brewery here but the inability to actually get anything. We were remembering our stop in Andechs last year where their beer hall was full of taps to try, hearty pretzels, and most of all people enjoying themselves. I'll admit, we were let down a bit in Alpirsbach.
We decided to try one of the local restaurants for a drink, and made our way through the pouring rain to Löwen-Post, where we couldn't get a snack as they were in the break between their lunch and dinner service, but we could still grab a drink. The place was still really busy, looking like they just finished up a party (or maybe everyone just knows each other here), and the food that was on the tables being finished looked pretty good. We tried some Alpirsbacher beer – a zweller and a dunkel – and they were tasty brews. Really a shame we couldn’t get them over at the brewery, but this place was nice and would surely do. We sat with our drinks, watching the rain fall outside the window and the stunning servers floating through the room in their dirndl dresses. How could they all possibly be so attractive? Maybe it's the malt that hangs in the air? If anything could make everyone beautiful, that would surely be it!
We sat for a bit at our table by the window, enjoying our drinks and feeling the frustration of not being able to flirt much with people whose language we barely speak. We longingly gave one last glance back to the lovely servers as we prepared to venture back in the rain. It had gone from a light drizzle when we went to the monastery to a steady rain when we were looking for the beer, but when we left the restaurant it was at an absolute downpour. Right by the car was a small chocolate shop we had read about, and we wanted to drop in to get a few things to try. We ran through what seemed to be a monsoon and made it into the Schau-Confisiere... just at the time everyone else visiting town got there as well! Lots of people were dropping in there as the last stop before getting on their tour bus, all were German pensioners. It was like the German version of the Red Hat club sans red hats. The place was packed! We managed to squeeze in and pick a few chocolates out before the crowds drove us back to the car. These chocolates were fantastic! Our last chocolate buy was in Zurich, so we bought these with Swiss prices in mind. Not only were the chocolates so good here, but we got a bag for about 5 Euro!
The rain was really coming down hard. We sat in the car having some chocolate while we dried off a bit, then started our way back west. The weather was going to prevent any real stop offs, so we just drove back through the Kinzig Valley seeing what we could through wet windows and windshield wipers. We were almost all the way to France before the sun started peeking out from the clouds!
