Riegsee

With beautiful blue skies and the shining sun it was the perfect weekend to get out and enjoy the weather. The area South of Munich has considerably more snow than we see in the city. Some of the visitors tempted fate by walking onto the frozen lake.

Andechs Monastery

The first pilgrimages to Andechs were way back in 1138 and it continues to be a a right of passage for Munich residents and adventurous tourists. If the weather is right it's a nice day trip to the swanky Starnberg area.

While the church is quite a sight Andechs attracts many visitors that not only pay a visit to the Benedictine monastery, but to sample the beer which has brewed since 1455. If you end up going by S-bahn be prepared to hoof it for about an hour before being able to praise the Lord for that fantastic beer.

The Abbey on the Isar

About 15 KM south of Munich’s center is a stunning Benedictine Cloister, Schaftlarn, that has roots all the way back to 762. The Benedictine monks had a strong presence in Bavaria as several monasteries and Cloisters were founded around Munich at this time. In fact, the first priests to Schaftlarn came from Freising, where they formed the world’s first brewery at Weinstephan. For a long period between 1140 and 1803, as Germany was reduced to an array of small independent states, the abbey was passed to the Premonstratensian Order – a young order founded only 20 years earlier. By the middle of the 14th century, this order included 1300 monasteries for men and 400 for women across Europe. The Premonstratensian order actually built the current structure (pictured here) in 1707. But then in 1866, King Ludwig I restored possession to the Benedictines. Today, and for the past 100 years, the Monastery has become well known for its school.