In 1633, a traveller walked into the travel wonder of Oberammergau unwittingly carrying the plague and causing the death of many of the local population in a short time. Seeking a higher power to secure itself from the Black Death, the citizens swore to God that they would re-enact the story of Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection every ten years for safety from this savage disease that had obliterated other towns and communities. Oberammergau escaped the clutches of this savage disease and the well-known Passion Play began its long run.
Even as religious observance has eased in many places in modern times and medical knowledge dramatically improved, Oberammergau avoids tempting fate and continues to fulfil its pledge of almost four hundred years, completing this stunning production on the years that end in zero. Indeed, apart from a war in 1870 and World War II (where religious plays were banned), the play has been completed every decade with the next due in 2010.
As per tradition, the play is solely conducted by the people of Oberammergau with the population studiously growing their hair and beards from the previous year to have the appearance of biblical times. The stagehands, musicians, technicians and costume makers are also drawn from the local populace. Indeed, it is clear who is in the play by simply wandering around town as the hair styles look like a flashback to the sixties and seventies.
The staging is an epic affair with the play running for five hours with a generous interval for dinner over a season of five months. It is conducted in the superb open-air Passion Theatre (audience is under cover) with a dramatic backdrop of the Bavarian Alps. One notable element of the play are the tableaux vivants that see significant biblical scenes frozen like a photograph with the actors remaining motionless on stage while a description of the setting takes place.
To support the popularity of the play with people travelling from all over the world to view it, nearly every house is converted into some form of accommodation and hotels for miles around are packed for months. I stayed with a family whose father and son were both performers, the father assisted in painting the backdrops while the mother helped sew the outfits. The friendly family only provided accommodation during the play though there was no sense of what must have been relief in getting the privacy of their own house back on the completion of the play’s season. Town life also continues with businesses and schools operating as normal adopting schedules to fit around the play’s afternoon start.
Located in southern Germany only a short distance from Germany’s highest peak, the town is a picture postcard of half-timbered houses with flower boxes bursting in colourful bloom and glittering churches, ornately decorated in gold. Many of the houses are adorned in detailed frescoes called lüftlmalerei, covering both religious and non-religious themes. While the most celebrated example is the Pilatushaus, two stunning secular examples are found in Ettalerstrasse. The familiar Hansel and Gretel and Red Riding Hood stories are told in wonderful detail across the front of two houses as if reading giant comic books. 
Several shops highlight the thriving woodcarving industry. Exquisite, detailed hand-carved figurines, bowls, plates and toys sit alongside machine-made commercial offerings meeting every conceivable price point. Woodchips lie on the floor as the owners patiently chip away at their latest creation. If you have a favourite saint or biblical character, it is inconceivable that your desires could not be satisfied among the huge religious collections.
In many ways, Oberammergau is a typical modest and picturesque German village. With its alpine setting and verdant surrounds, it oozes a timeless charm. More importantly, a town made a solemn vow and continues to hold its promise very dearly in eternal gratitude for the saving of their ancestors.
Other Germany Posts
Bacon Beer and Bishops (Bamberg)
The World's Largest Advent Calendar (Gengenbach)
Note
Passion Play photos courtesy of Passion Play, Oberammergau. Tickets for 2010 are available now.
Friday, August 21, 2009
A Timeless Promise (Oberammergau, Germany)
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Book Review: The Beijing of Possibilities (Jonathan Tel)
Last year for sixteen days the world stared mesmerised at Beijing - the creative artistry of the opening ceremony, the architecturally stunning swimming and athletics stadiums and the phenomenal sporting achievements of sprinter Usain Bolt and swimmer Michael Phelps. Behind the gold medals and sporting dramas, the media of the world tried to scratch below the surface of Beijing with various "human interest" stories but with little effect.
Jonathan Tel manages to lift the veil off Beijing and reveal the inner Beijing in a series of twelve fictional short stories in The Beijing of Possibilities. Highlighting the constant battle between tradition and the modern world, the stories take typical Beijing residents that a visitor would never meet and the Olympics media never highlighted or found.
In The Three Lives of Little Yu, Tel describes an infertile couple who raise three daughters (all named Yu) over three decades with tragedy befalling the first two. It is summarised by a typical Chinese proverb that litter the book's stories - "You cannot stop the birds of sorrow from flying over your head, but you can prevent them from building nests in your hair".
The Double-Happiness Ball Bearing Factory details a young man seeking employment via a headhunter and highlights the ingenuity required entertaining westerners seeking joint ventures and the quirkiness of Chinese astrology resulting in a rejection of another job.
Tel's characters are a strange mix. From a couple desperately trying to return a valuable ancient jade spoon they discover in their unit and a teenager working to pay off her father's debt to a cycling Gorillagram that prevents a theft but is accused by the police of being a capitalist sympathiser and a pickpocket who fortuitously forms a relationship with a rich businessman, Tel successfully unmasks layers of a sometimes stifling culture, rich history, generational change, government control and ancient superstition that would be impossible to discover in a visit to Beijing.
The Unofficial History of the Embroidered Couch is a satirical look at a relationship between a Ming Dynasty maiden and a modern Chinese advertising agent arranged over the internet.
Overall, it is the way that Tel can take the everyday mundane life of typical Beijing residents and share their dreams, humour and irony that makes The Beijing of Possibilities such an entertaining and insightful read.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Photo of the Week - Mt Rushmore in Plastic Blocks (Billund, Denmark)
Constructed from over three million plastic Lego blocks, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln gaze down at visitors to Legoland in Denmark. Squeezing the world into a small area, alongside Mt Rushmore are a number of other famous world landmarks including the Statue of Liberty, Copenhagen's harbour, Amsterdam's canals and Bangkok's Royal Temple. An African safari and a driving school reveal the almost limitless imagination that can be rendered with simple plastic interlocking blocks.
Friday, August 14, 2009
Feeding Frenzy (Alaska, USA)
If looks could kill! Scratch, a solo black bear and long time visitor to Anan Creek Wildlife Reserve, and sporting a savage scar across his nose, stands in the cascading falls for over half an hour, plunging his head into the frigid water and coming up empty.
Elegant Mom, strolls down to the river for the second time, enthusiastic youngsters waddling behind and leans into the water from the bank, plucking a writhing salmon from the creek in seconds. A few drops of water drip from her neck, a spray of water from the struggling salmon. She strolls off to a quiet spot under the tree to continue the family picnic. The cubs follow in anticipation with even more spring in their step as they assuredly traverse the slippery rocks.
Nearby, four black bears, stand in a protective rock cave, out of the main current of the waterfall. This is the prime fishing spot and these giant bears have mortgaged these locations for years. Their swelling bellies almost rub they are so near each other, but apart from a bit of light-fingered thieving from each other, most get on with the job of gorging on the salmon.
Keen-eyes bald eagles and gulls await any leftover salmon. After all, bears are not the tidiest of eaters and the better fishermen among them satisfy themselves with just the eggs and part of the salmon head. The flesh is ignored, and makes for a welcome meal for the waiting birds. It is ironic, as the prime fillets of salmon is something we would gladly pay generously for in fish shops, yet at peak fishing time, the bears happily discard this in favour of the most protein-rich portions.
The action is manic. Over 25 black bears are stationed at their favourite locations near and in the cascades, fishing their primary summer meal. Some are extraordinarily efficient catching salmon at will – others take a fair bit more work. Young bear cubs watch intently, soaking in the lessons from their mother. After all, they will have to fend for themselves in a summer or two (and bears that can’t fish in this area won’t survive the winter).
Suddenly there is a disturbance. A single imposing brown bear strolls towards the main fishing grounds, the black bears clearing the path as if royalty is in attendance. These are traditional enemies and it is only at such prime feeding locations as Anan Creek that they will venture so close. Most black bears wander into the relative safety of the surrounding forest while one quickly shoots up a large tree. The ever-protective mothers ensure that their cubs are safe with the instinctive cubs treasuring protective cover from their parent. 
But this brown isn’t chasing black bears. She is a champion fisher and in just a few minutes catches and gulps down the egg sac from three pink salmon. An eagle eagerly lines up for the remains from an overhanging branch but lacks the courage to interrupt this marauding diner. A brown bear family restfully watches on from a nearby log, unimpressed by all the activity.
Soon enough the big brown bear has had enough and wanders on. The black bears start sheepishly returning to their favorite spots and resume their feeding. And the normal mayhem of feeding returns to Anan Creek.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Bear Heaven (Alaska, USA)
Alaska is rich in national parks and reserves including several where visitors can view one of the greatest wildlife wonders on Earth – the bears feeding on the salmon run. 
Around 50 kilometres south-east of the uninspiring Alaskan town of Wrangell is the travel wonder of Anan Creek, accessible only by boat or float-plane. The pink salmon (or humpie) make their bold run upstream against the surging waters of Anan Creek and the eager attention of predators, ready to spawn through July and August. It attracts a glittering array of Alaskan wildlife including black and brown bears, bald eagles, gulls and harbour seals. The black bears outnumber the browns and both have a healthy dislike for each other. Black bears are nervous of the more powerful brown bears and often move away or climb a neighbouring tree.
About a kilometre along a wooden boardwalk from the mouth of Anan Creek is a US Forestry Service shelter that provides both great viewing above a small falls and an excellent three-sided hide at the river level providing fantastic close-up viewing of the feeding frenzy. Almost certain to be misty or wet, the walk in and out is slightly unnerving as it is in open country with bears contentedly strolling along and across this same path. Food and drinks (except water) is absolutely forbidden for good safety reasons.
It is an extraordinary experience to watch bears dining on their favourite food only a metre or two away with eager-eyes eagles and gulls ready to seize any leftovers.
It is truly a travel wonder – wildlife at its finest.
Note
More details on access and booking of Anan Creek Wildlife Observatory.
