DAY 11 - SEPTEMBER 12 - BEAUTIFUL TEGERNSEE

For memory's sake, Ron wanted to see the old McGraw Kaserne in the Harlaching district. It was originally built by the NSDAP, and Hitler called Munich the "capital of the party's movement". Some of the buildings were the first to be built with steel framing, so that they could withstand possible air-raids. The complex was occupied by US forces in 1945 until 1992. Ron's interest there, around 1965, was due to his fiancée at the time, who attended the University of Maryland Munich campus. He knew the general area, but we kept encountering construction. As we were about to give up, we came upon it by happenstance. It is easily recognizable, as it is adjacent to what is called the McGraw Trench, an "open-tunnel" encompassing Tegernseer Land Strasse.

We continued our drive to Tegernsee, where our first stop was the Seeglass Cafe in Gmund. We sat on the terrace abutting the grassy expanse that was used as the beach. It was a hot, sunny day, and there were many families and children enjoying the lake. We both had an ice cream and our usual wine and beer. My ice cream was chocolate stracciatella, one of the most popular Italian gelatos - made with fine shavings of chocolate. 

Next we stopped to see the Kaefer Gut Kaltenbrunnen, also in Gmund. There are two histories intertwined  here - one the Kaltenbrunnen, and the other Kaefer. 

Kaltenbrunnen was basically a farm estate dating back to the 14th century. It was at times owned by Bavarian royalty, and then proceeded to be a cattle farm, then a riding club, then plans were made for a luxury hotel but were disapproved by the local government. The property lay vacant for about 10-years. Eventually the Kaefer family acquired it and has created a complex with deli/gift store, dining room, terraces, and beer garden. There may yet be a luxury hotel coming.

We went into the gift shop. Lots of cute cocktail napkins, dish towels, glassware, etc. with the Kaefer (lady buy) emblem. Very cute. 

We then went to the restaurant terrace and enjoyed a Limoncello spritzer and a beer.

Kaefer is a very respected gourmet deli, restaurant and caterer based in Munich. It was started as a simple grocery store in 1930 and moved into the building on Prinzregentenstrasse in 1933. They began doing the concession for the Nationaltheater and others, and opened their restaurant, Kaefer-Schaenke, in 1970. We started dining there about that time. The restaurant has many small, private dining rooms, and we would sometimes see "celebrities" like Boris Becker. It is a beautiful, sophisticated place for fine dining, which was not on our radar during this trip. They have concessions and restaurants in many locales, including atop the Reichstag in Berlin, where we had a lovely lunch with a close friend on our last trip there.

We next drove into Rottach-Egern, where we have stayed a few times. Lake Tegernsee is known as the most beautiful and expensive lake in Germany. The fact that residents are affluent, and many are household names in Germany, has garnered the lake the nickname "Lago de Bonzo" (Lake of the self-important). Rottach-Egern appears to be the "ritziest" area on the lake. We have stayed in small, family-operated pensions, but there are many 5-star hotels. We enjoyed Christmas lunch at the Seehotel with friends many years ago. While waiting in the lobby, we were fascinated to see people arriving with full ensembles of Louis Vuitton luggage. One lady had 10 pieces on her trolley.

We ended up on the main street at the Monte Lago. Ron had a big portion of currywurst with pommes, and a Campari Orange.  I had riesengarnelen (shrimp) with garlic bread. The shrimp were over-cooked to our taste. It isn't a restaurant that was anything special.

We drove back to Munich to our beautiful lounge at the Hilton. Glad to have survived a day on the highways, and have a beautiful place to recover and relax.