Ettal is a small village about 1.5 km south of Oberammergau. The community is dominated by the Kloster Ettal, a Benedictine Monastery. The monastery was founded in 1330 by Holy Roman Emperor Ludwig the Bavarian for a group of knights and a community of Benedictine monks. This is the largest Benedictine monastery in Germany. Approximately 55 monks live here. These monks are a savvy bunch. They operate a higher education school with very high standards, providing room and board for its pupils, they brew their own brand of beer, and have done so continuously for 400 years, they produce different liqueurs and a particularly high-quality monastery bitters. On the monastery grounds are a museum, chronicling the brewing history, and a museum of the religious history of the Kloster. They also own and operate the Ludwig der Bayer Hotel and restaurant across the street from the monastery. My cousin Gundi (full name Kunigundi) sings here in the choir. I drove through here in the morning on my way to the Wank Haus, outside Garmisch-Partenkirchen. This picture was taken on 31 December 2016, Sig...