...the little village where Benedict XVI was born, we were the only visitors. The one shop was not open, but provided coffee for us when our kind German guide knocked on the door and got chatting. There is a museum in the house where the future Pope was born, but it was not open. The whole village was silent...just one or two visitors in the church while we were there. However, the townsfolk seem to be quite proud of Benedict XVI: there is an annual festival marking the life of their most famous son , a commemorative column in the village square in the form of a rolled-up scroll with events of BXVI's life, a tourism centre with a film and various displays...you can get your postcards marked with a special stamp, and there is lots of literature included a mapped out "Benediktweg" for cyclists which takes you to all sorts of local places associated with him...
Bavaria is of course extremely beautiful, and we've been enjoying mountains and lakes and glorious barque churches and delicious food, visited Tittmoning where BXVI spent part of his childhood, and Traunstein ditto...
The Bavarian tourist industry, which is thriving, offers beers, sausages, local costumes etc in great abundance. Apparenly when BXVI was first elected there was "Benedict beer" and shops sold BXVI teddy bears and cakes and so on, but there's nothing of that now. However, every church and village and institution with which he has ever been associated marks him with plaques, statues etc.
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