Do you ever wonder why Germans plan, then plan some more, then plan even more on top of that? Ha, it’s because in order to be efficient and effective you have to have all your ducks lined up properly. How else could you manage to see the entire town of Grassau that has 31 villages?
If you don’t plan, you’ll be ping-ponging all over; maybe wind up in nearby Austria or Berchtesgaden. A total misuse of time, if you ask me. So, you gotta plan right, or you’ll miss out on all of what Grassau has to offer.
One thing it offers a lot of are festivals and markets. Even I had a hard time wrapping my head around how many there are around here.
Come May when there’s a Trödelmarkt (Flea Market), followed by a village flea market in early June, and a Village Festival and Summer Festival at the end of June.
July kicks off with an Antique Market, a Country Festival, and a Beer Festival. It isn’t over in July as there’s also a Garden Festival and the Gautrachtenfest. August is just as much fun with another Village Festival and the Rottauer Mostfest.
September starts with a Children & Family Festival, and ends with the Michaelimarkt. All this in addition to the weekly Farmers Market, on Saturdays from the end of March to the beginning of December.
In between all the festivities you can go see some of Grassau’s sites. Start at the Pfarrkirche Maria Himmelfahrt. This building was erected back in the 15th century, but a church has stood on this spot for more than a millennia.
There are a number of other churches found in Grassau that are worth seeing, like the Kriegergedächtniskapelle (what a mouthful) that has Baroque frescoes, and the St. James Church that has both Romanesque frescoes and Gothic artwork.
Wait… there’s more! The Leonhardkapelle in the village of Weiher has an annual Leonhardi Ride in October; and not to be confused with the St. Leonard Chapel (18th century) in the village of Rottau.
Rottau, by the way, won the Unser Dorf soll schöner Werden — or Our Village is Beautiful — competition back in the early 1970s. Rest assured it hasn’t lost any of its charm over the last 40 years.
All that’s left to do now is hike through the Hochmoor of the Kendlmühlfilze. This is a raised bog area, and the Moor & Peat Museum could do a whole lot better to explain this natural phenomenon better than I ever could.
I’ll just stick to planning. ;-)
