Our latest hike proved to be a little more adventure than we bargained for. We have also discovered that there are biting flies in Germany, too. They must be a late season phenomenon, though because till now, we have not encountered them. I have bites all over me!!
We started out a good bit further from our initial starting point than planned due to the road being closed past the first parking area, so we got out, hiked up through the woods and made it to point A - a little Hütte (those places we eat on our hikes) at the beginning of the trail. We checked the time they closed, just in case our destination Hütte wasn't open on Sundays. The first stop was a beautiful scenic overlook over the Grosser Alpsee (big alpine lake, and the word for lake is pronounced "zay".) Then, we set out on the marked trails. This group of trails led us across several cow fields, and this time, they were occupied. Going, though, was not an issue. The cows were content to be off in the field chewing their cud. The last section put us back in a forest, and the hike was just lovely, if not a bit buggy. Not too steep, either, thankfully. When we reached the 2nd Hütte, sure enough, it was closed. So we turned back to head to the first Hütte, back across the cow fields. All was fine till the next to last field - and there were the cows - LOTS of cows, covered in flies and smelling of ... well, the things that cows smell of. They had crowded completely around the only exit of the field. Then, they started crowding in on us, too, moving a bit faster at us than we were comfortable with. Our only recourse was the jump the barbed-wire fence they had us penned against. Wayne went first, and then while he lifted from his side, I lifted from my side to get the not-so-little kids over the fence. Then, I went. We were now safe from the cows, but we had a field full of briars and unkempt pasture, also surrounded by barbed-wire and this time the wires were too high and too close together for us to get through. After walking the fence a bit, we did finally find a place where we could squeeze through the wires, but it was a site right out of Mission Impossible. Of all of us, I think Andrew was the most "disturbed" by the whole event. We did actually cross off Vet, Cow Herder, Cowboy, and Fence Mender of his list of possible professions. Needless to say, our next hike will definitely have to be cow free.
We completed the day, though, with cake for supper and in an ironic accident on Wayne's part, beer for me. My need to not waste money on an extra beer overrode my distaste for the German drink of choice. Wayne was so amused, he had to capture the moment. Thankfully, it was a Radler, which is mixed with lemonade; otherwise, I don't think I could have drunk as much as I did. We were able to also capture with sound a common site here - yes, they do wear lederhosen and yes they do play German oompah music - and not for tourists, but for each other. We hope you enjoy the little movie and the latest round of pictures that are all beautiful and look like all the other beautiful pictures of the countryside. What can I say - it really does ALL look like this!!
Love,
Amie
The Grosser Alpsee - a favorite for locals to sail and swim.
The field the first time we went over it - nice and tame.
Notice the body language for Andrew - particularly with the hands.
There was no way we could have gotten through. Of course, this picture is after we jumped the fences.
This is a rare site indeed.
