Jail Break!

After settling into my bed and breakfast, I ate a light dinner, then went for a long walk. Oberammergau is the site of the Passion Play illustrating the life of Christ put on every 10 years in celebration of the town being spared some horrible disease in 1633. Only local townspeople take part in the play, and until the 1980's only men were allowed as actors. I am glad they've changed the rule as a hirsute Madonna with bulging calf muscles is a scary thought!

Many of the town's buildings are brightly and beautifully painted with various scenes of farming, Grimm's fairy tales, and the life of Christ. The town sits beneath the shadow of a steep mountain peak topped by a crucifix. A sparkling clear mountain stream ambles through the village with a walking path on either side. It's a crisp, clean town abundant with blossoms and wood carving shops, for which the town is famous.

I walked along the stream, burbling happily on it's way west, passing a barn as I went. I noticed that the barn had a very large, sliding door for driving large machinery in and out, with a smaller, people-sized door placed within the larger door. The large yard was roughly fenced and I saw that the barn door appear to be angled outward, with some smallish, bent metal rods leaning against it to hold it in place. Two goats were at the fence being fed day-old bread by two young girls. I stopped to watch them for a moment and as I did, a rumbling occurred, accompanied by the sound of bleating goats. The door heaved a bit, then lifted, and a goat appeared from beneath the door, making straight for the little girls with their bread crusts. Quick as could be, there was a stampede and about 50 wild, bleating goats poured underneath the rickety door, charging the fence. A couple of tiny babies squeezed out of the gate and made for the bread bag, while their elders ran down the yard a bit and began to hop the fence. Within a minute the stream bank and walking path were covered by goats all heading for the little girls and their bag of bread. The girls held the line for a bit, looking absolutely horrified, then they broke ranks, dropped the bag, and made for a nearby bridge. After demolishing the bag and devouring the bread, the goats proceeded to the other side of the stream in search of greener pastures.

I could just see the town overrun with goats, whilst the Polizei chased them in vain. Excitement in a small town!