Andechs Vs Ettal

We are non drinkers but love to go to Andechs. We drive but I understand the S-Bahn gets close with a bus. The atmosphere is great, both for food and drink, but also for the community of monks and the church. Really neat. Different levels, different outdoor table areas and indoor table areas, neat scenery, huge car park. Its quite hilly so if mobility is an issue that may be a concern, although I can't remember any route around the area that exclusively requires steps - plenty of paved inclines. Its a bit remote but that is a lot of its charm. We love it. Haven't heard of Ettal...

I saw Andechs in October 2007. I had been in Oberammergau for two nights two weeks earlier and went to Linderhof. I was going to stop in Ettal just to see if there was anything there to see (my impression from their website is that there is not much there to see), but I spent the whole day at Linderhof and was was jetlagged, so I went back to my room in Oberammergau. I did enjoy Andechs, particularly the food. The S8 goes out to Herrsching. Check the schedule with the MVV website (www.mvv-muenchen.de). Not all trains are met by an MVV bus (mine wasn't, but there was a private bus to the Monastery for a couple of Euro). If your train is met by an MVV bus, it's included in the ticket. It's €11 for a Single Tageskarte Gesamtnetz (all zones day ticket) and €20 for the Partner Tageskarte (2-5 P). (Those will be the prices after Dec 12; current prices are a little lower)

Regarding Ettal, it is definitely worth a stop if you are in the area near Oberammergau or Garmisch, and if you love Baroque architecture, as I do. The interior of the church/ abbey is just beautiful, with some similarities to what you would see @ Zwiefalten, for example. I'm sure there are videos on Youtube if you want to give yourself an idea. Ettal is easy to find, it is not huge, and does not take long to visit. The religious order there also makes an herbal liquor there that you can buy .... a little like Jägermeister.

Never been to Ettal, but enjoyed Andechs very much. The beer is some of the best and the food was fantastic. Not much to the town, but we did stay in a hotel just down the hill from the Abbey, which made for an easy trip to bed. The hotel had their own butcher shop and made some fantastic venison sausage!

Other than the liqour, the only thing you can say there is to see is the church, which confirms my decision to skip Ettal. Sorry, but I've already seen too many overly decorated churches in Germany; I'm sick of them. The next day I stopped at Wieskirche. I had an hour between buses. After five minutes looking at the church, I went across the road for lunch.

Hi Rachel,
Anedechs is regarded as the best beer in Germany. By whom, I have no idea. I really wanted to visit there, but couldn't make it fit into my intinerary. Being a beer afficienado, it's on my list, and I will make it there. I did, however, stay in Ettal. On December 24th and 25th, so there wasn't much going on. Probably not much going on any other day of the year either, now that I think about it. I did, however, pick up some bock bier at the convenience store across from the church. It was made by the monks and it was AWESOME. I searched all over Bavaria for that stuff, and I found it on Christmas day. Merry Christmas to me! The church was interesting, but I enjoyed the Wieskirche, nearby, a bit more. Given Andech's proximity to Munich, I'd try that one out, if you can only choose one. This leaves you with more options if you get bored of it quickly.