Photography +1

When equipment improves, skills eventually require improvements, as well. Therefore, we decided to spend a weekend in Berchtesgaden to improve our landscape photography skills. And we stopped by the “once-in-ten-years” Passion Play in Oberammergau.

Friday 10.06. We drive to Berchtesgaden. Nobody is at home when we arrive at our guest house in Schönau, but fortunately, the owners left our key in the mailbox. We walk to Königssee to enjoy the view – which is all there is to do, as all restaurants are closed at 21:30, already.

Saturday 11.06. We meet our photo class in Freilassing (group of 4). Coach Thomas Weber gives a short introduction before we drive to Goellinger Waterfall. Lots of traffic around Salzburger and it takes almost 1h to get to Goelling. The waterfall is only a short hike from the parking lot and offers plenty of opportunities for filter photography.

On the way to Hintersee, we stop at Maria Gern…

… and the church in Ramsau

Our first stop at Hintersee is the Märchenwald; another great spot for filter photography

We end the evening at the classic spot at Hintersee – the rock with two trees. As added bonus, we can watch the moon rise over Schartenspitze.

Sunday 12.06. After a late breakfast we drive to Oberammergau via Munich (to drop off our photo equipment).

Every 10 years, the town of Oberammergau puts on the Passion Play. 1800 of 5000 people in the town participate (plus sheep and goats). The theatre holds 4.500 people, over 30% come from the USA. Average age is high and we see 5 medical emergencies during the first half. The play is surprisingly high quality, the story is well known and we all know that while the main guy will die, there is a happy end. The play is split in 2 parts of 2.5h each. First part starts at 14:00, second at 20:00. While it is fun to watch, we decide to leave after the first part, as we have a tough week ahead of us. We ticked the box but will likely not go back in 10 years.