DAY 2: Am I on the set of The Sound of Music?

Day two of our vacation we went hiking, or “wandern,” as the German’s say. On the drive over I got to see how Southern Germany looked. Bavaria is what most American’s think of when they imagine Germany. Dirndls and Lederhosen, and rolling green hills. Well, at least the rolling green hills part is true! Southern Germany is insanely beautiful. We arrived at the part and started our hike soon after. I was a bit surprised at the incline of our hike, because pretty much everywhere I had been so far in Germany had been completely flat! The first section of our hike was the steepest, the only comparison I have to it is Waipio Valley in Hawaii; and the thing is darn steep. We arrived at a lookout area after about an hour of straight up hill hiking. We sat down on the benches, soaking up the sun and enjoying “Apfelshorle,” a popular drink in Germany made from sparkling water and apple juice. I thought it was so cool how the have these cute little restaurants in the middle of the mountains. Movie scene perfect. We went to another one about an hour later where we had a cheese platter, sausages, “Kaiserschmarren,” a delicious German creation of flour, milk, sugar and eggs served with marmalade. I felt like I was on the set of The Sound of Music as I sat and breathed in the crisp mountain air. The views were spectacular. The next section of our hike, the beginning of the decline, got a little dirty. There was so much mud we could hardly step! It was pretty funny at the end, looking at all of our shoes. We finally reached the car, after about 6 hours of hiking, and I think we were all completely exhausted. We never did find out how far we went though! Major Bummer! A good night’s sleep definitely followed this breath-taking day.