DAY 4&5 (11th & 12th June 2024) – Mittenwald & Bad Haring
After three days of adventures in and around Garmisch-Partenkirchen (in short, G-P) and all the attractions therein, it was time for us to pack up and make our way into Austria for the real purpose of this trip – the meetings and conference with our suppliers. Since the first agenda of the conference was a welcome cocktail in the evening of the 11th June, we decided to make a detour to Mittenwald, famed for its violin-making history. We spent a good amount of time there, immersing in the history of the village and everything else it had to offer.
Thereafter, we made our way to Hotel Panorama Royal in Bad Haring in the afternoon, via another small village named Worgl. We had a meeting with the representatives of the host company for about an hour before going off to our AirBnb unit to rest for a while. We went back to the hotel for the evening cocktail and dinner, where we would be spending the next few days.
The following day (12th June) was spent almost entirely attending the various talks and enjoying the scrumptious meals, especially dinnertime, where we were entertained by a quartet playing folk music on their instruments. Naturally, we made a lot of new friends, and reacquainted with some of the familiar faces from the industry.
Mittenwald
We packed our stuff and headed off to Mittenwald, a mere half an hour away by train, and left our things at the station. The Kirche St Peter und Paul was the first stop. On the way there, we encountered the biggest violin sculpture we have ever seen, a symbol of the village’s 300-year history of traditional violin making. It was carved from a single tree trunk!
The church was built between 1738 and 1740 before the southern church tower was erected in 1746. The richly painted church tower makes it a standout landmark for the village and makes it is easily recognizable. Just beside the tower, a bronze statue commemorating the village’s own son Matthias Klotz, who was a famous lute and violin maker. He was born in the village and died there 90 years later, bringing his own style of violin making to the village, and creating a tradition and legacy of violinmaking to the village.
Next up was the Geigenbau Museum, but AS and YH did not want to join me. So, they went walking about while I spent the next hour inside the museum, perusing through the exhibits of old violins, different types of violins, the history of violins and violin makers, and stories behind all of them. While I am not the biggest of enthusiasts of the instrument, I do appreciate the masterpieces in the hands of a violin-virtuoso.
Bad Haring, Austria
We had a quick lunch at a nearby restaurant before boarding the train to Bad Haring, but we had to get off at the town of Worgl in Austria, home to about 13,000 people. We only had a short time to walk around and explore the town (Bro Ray: I am sure there were more things to see if we had the time), as we had to catch the connecting bus to Bad Haring.
The bus dropped us off at a major intersection in Bad Haring village and we had to walk the rest of the way, which wasn’t very far, to the AirBnB unit. We placed our bags and then headed out to the Hotel Panorama Royal on the other side of town nearer to the hills. It was a huge place, and could certainly fit a big group of people, very suitable to host a conference of this size (about 150 participants). Most participants, we were told, stayed in this very hotel, while we were the only ones staying at the AirBnb. Anyway, our next two days were spent here.
The Conference
So, I won’t bore all of you with the details of the conference we attended (Bro. Ray: It was a good thing we came this round, as we managed to understand in detail what our hosts were planning for, in the coming years). Suffice to say, we were well looked after by our amazing hosts, and the food that was served throughout the two days here were amazing. These are just a sample of the fare:
And to top it all off, we were entertained by these four lovely ladies playing instruments and singing folk music. It certainly made the atmosphere lighter and happier after the long day of seminars and talks. While I may not have understood the language of the songs, the crisp harmony of the musical instruments and melodic voices brought out some really good cheer among the attendees.
Summary of Day 4-5
The reality was that we were always going for the conference, but we flew in a few days earlier to make an adventure out of it, and it was a fantastic idea to have made the plans that we had. Leaving Garmisch-Partenkirchen, we made our way slowly into Austria, stopping at Mittenwald before coming into Bad Haring. Although I don’t play the violin, I have an appreciation for the instrument, especially when played together with other accompanying instruments. None more so than the lovely ladies who entertained us during our dinner.
The conference was a great success, and we met many new friends. When we get back home after this adventure, we certainly have a few more things to work on.
