Well, we knew pretty much straight away that Rhupolding was a special place - the town sits close to the Germany/Austria border in what is known on the map as Upper Bavaria East. We flew into Salzburg on 9th August and within 45 minutes were dropped off at our hotel. The journey from Salzburg to Ruhpolding gave us some wonderful views of mountains like we have never seen and lovely Alpine houses.
Our Hotel was situated in the heart of Ruhpolding and is family run - the current owners being 4th generation. We were hastily checked in and encouraged to dump our bags and head straight to the restaurant for dinner as they stopped serving at 9pm!
The weather on our first week was glorious, hitting 35 degrees on some days. The second week was a bit cooler but mostly dry and we got out for walks every day (with the exception of the Sunday after we arrived which was a chill day to wind down from work and another day for just relaxing in between walks/excursions). In the two weeks we have been here we have walked many miles and climbed great heights!
Ruhpolding is nestled in the Chiemgau region in the Alps with a population of approximately 6,800. It is certainly geared to those who like activity holidays. It has hosted the Biathlon World Championships four times and in the winter is home to those with a love of winter sports. There are in excess of a hundred hiking routes in and around the area with many suitable for cycling.
The town is immaculate. There is no litter, the local flower beds are mainly wildflowers and the local houses and businesses are decorated with colourful hanging baskets and meticulously painted murals. The residents' gardens are also well maintained and you can tell there is a real pride in the town. Even 'tourist avenue' (as our Thomson rep described it) is tasteful - not offering the usual tourist tat you normally find but lovely linen and handmade wooden gifts (not cheap mind you!).
There are various bronze sculptures dotted around - some celebrating the Bavarian connection to wood cutting and one showing two children with a pretzel! Yum!
The local river, the Traun, was crystal clear - I've never seen river water like it and we were told the drinking water in Bavaria is the best you will get anywhere. Walking around there are loads of water fountains for you to take quick refreshment. The dozens of Alms dotted around the hills also offer really tasty local dishes and beer (or water if you are so inclined!). I couldn't fault the place at all - it is known for being wet (on average 20 days in the month of August are wet) but we were lucky with only one really wet day.
There is a strong Catholic faith here. The local church (St Georges) sits just above the hotel with a view right across Rhupolding. On our travels we have passed numerous private places of rest/memorials - all tended with great love and care. The cemetery is of the like I have never seen before - the headstones more a work of art than the standard stones you get in the UK and the grave itself planted out with a colourful selection of plants (again very well cared for).
One thing it is short on is bird life. I'm not sure if that has been to do with the heat but we haven't seen many birds. What we had plenty off was butterflies and dragonflies and the fields are alive with the sound of crickets and grasshoppers - which was lovely given they are so rare in our part of Scotland as it is so wet! We've seen the odd sheep and the odd goat but apart from that it tends to be cattle that is kept by the local farmers.... and no pigs, which is surprising as the Bavarians eat a lot of pork!
Blair also had wood envy. Nearly every house has a ready supply of chopped and well stacked wood, obviously in preparation for the winter.
Walking through the woods we encountered huge trees that had been logged ready for chopping and splitting.The hillsides were also covered in lovely Alpine flowers - no bracken anywhere!
