Andechs

Ammersee is a delightful, chocolate box lake an easy 50 km drive to the south west of Munich. We took a very pleasant 4 - 5 km walk from the edge of lake up through the woods and meadows to the Kloster Andechs, a Benedictine monastery on top of a hill, which has brewed beer since 1455.

It is rumoured that, in the baroque/rococo monastery chapel, there are relics of Jesus’ crown of thorns, but for certain, the composer Carl Orff of Carmina Burana fame, is buried here.

With magnificent views out over rolling hills to the Alps, the 3500 seat biergarten is famous for its Weissbier Hell, a very tasty, unfiltered, cloudy white beer. A warning, they also have their killer Doppelbock Dunkel beer, which has a 7.1% alcohol content. In the past, I (that is, Malcolm) have suffered its weird after effects of an irresistible urge to insult Americans.

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