Home Again

Our trip to Germany was as close to ideal as any vacation gets. We had good weather, a lot of physical activity, and good food, three among many successful ingredients in a worthwhile trip. We learned more about our German friends and participated in more activities because of our familiarity from our visit last year. We were surrounded by beauty—manicured lawns and houses with balconies full of petunias and geraniums of every color in window boxes hanging over the edges. We hated to leave at the end of the two weeks and that’s a good way to leave a trip—wanting to come back.

No matter how superior vacations are, they have to come to an end, and yesterday was the day we flew back home. When we arrived back in Pikeville at 11:30 p.m. (5:30 a.m. German time the next day) after getting up at 5 a.m. German time (1 a.m. EST), driving over an hour to the Munich airport, sitting on the plane for 10 hours, enduring a three hour layover in Atlanta, arriving in Tri-Cities an hour later than we had planned, driving home two hours with so little sleep, we unloaded the suitcases, took out what we needed to get ready for bed, and hit the pillows and crawled into our clean, soft sheets with barely enough breath to day good night. I do not remember anything but the feeling of relief to close my eyes and sleep in my own bed!

The trip went easy, and Brian met us at the airport, helped us with our luggage, and then we ate in Kingsport (he was visiting Lahla who lives in Johnson City about 20 minutes away). We ate at Sitar, an Indian restaurant, and were able to visit with him for almost three hours. He leaves Tuesday for three weeks of climbing in Peru, so we were glad to see him and be able to give him our good wishes for a safe trip in person.

Today we woke up early and I spent the morning unpacking and putting things away. We each did a swim, and Mark spent some time in the garden, showing me what I needed to do to take care of plants while he attends the Hoffman Institute. We will spend the week taking care of unfinished business and projects put off until we returned. We truly did vacate on our vacation, and now we are refreshed to begin anew.

Garmisch, Goodbye

Friday, June 30, was our last full day in Germany, and what a great day it was. We decided to re-visit one of our favorite hikes at Kramerplateau. Lazy day, we hiked 50 minutes and then stopped for coffee at the Almhutte where we had parked. Then we went the other direction for another 50 minutes, ate lunch at a shelter where we had eaten on our first day of hiking, and returned to the 12’ by 30’ wading pool provided at the end of the trail. Two women sitting there showed us what we were supposed to do—take huge steps through the cold, cold water and walk around three times. Then we walked in the grass surrounding the pool three times to dry our feet off. If we wanted to, we could go through the same process again. Then the woman took our photo together!

Friday was also the day that Germany beat Argentina in the World Cup Competition, an unexpected victory. As you can imagine, the town went wild! Cars, trucks, buses, and motorcycles honked their horns, young folks hung out car windows with the German flags flapping in the wind, and the cheering did not stop.

Our last meal was pork. We went to a new place across from our favorite Chinese restaurant, one recommended to us as having good Bavarian food. Mark ordered a pork knuckle, the biggest piece of meat he had ever been served with yeast dumplings and red cabbage. I ordered the Farmer’s Pan, a hot iron skillet with three kinds of pork, fried egg, and fried potatoes. I would not ordinarily order such a rich, fried meal, but I couldn’t resist.

As the sun set against the mountains, we noticed the pink Alpine glow; later as we walked to our hotel, we looked up and saw the new moon and stars. Because the rain storms generally held off until the late afternoon and evening during our prior days, it was the clearest night of our two week trip.

We are in Atlanta now, waiting for our flight to Tri-Cities where we will meet Brian before he heads to Peru for three weeks. Then we will drive two hours home to Pikeville and sleep in our own bed tonight.

Reflecting on this trip, we think it was the best hiking and outdoor vacation we have had. There’s something to say for being physically challenged and exhilarated, a sense of accomplishment. I did no training for this trip other than walking at home three times a week, and I used muscles I never knew I had. Bio-freeze, hot baths, and stretches helped me get ready for the next day of hiking.

Below is the mountain range hugging the valley.




The haystacks are formed on wooden pitches.

The mighty Zugspitze mountain.

photos

This photo is taken on one of the beautiful hikes we took--of me ahead of Mark, a rarity. This scene is taken at Eibsee Lake and shows you the massive mountains, the famous Zugspitze to the right, Alpspitze on the left.
Here I am looking out at Eibsee Lake, at one of the seven islands that dot its surface. We had just finished lunch.
Mark loves to include people in his photos, so he snapped this elderly couple at Riessersee Lake. We saw many elderly people walking daily.
Wood piles are everywhere, and I thought this was interesting because they also act as a kind of garage for the owners of the house (to the right and not pictured).

Mark snapped this photo last Friday at the celebration of St. John's Eve. These employess of the hotel played for us as we sat around the pool enjoying grilled fish and cold salads and dessert (and lots of beer).

We will be posting more photos, probably after we return on July 1.

Hiking Adventures

Tourist Traps are not always bad as we learned on Wednesday when we hiked to the world famous 700 meters long Partnachklamm Gorge “with walls that rise 80 meters (260 feet) high." Mark tells me that it was established to attract tourists over 100 years ago. Last year we had happened upon the Hammersbach Gorge, and I thought that was wonderful. But I would use the word, “stupendous” and the books say, “magnificent” for this gorge, especially after the incredible rains from the last few days. The pathway through the gorge lines one side and allows views of the massive amounts of water that pass by. Water is falling everywhere, so I was happy to have my rain jacket with me, and I would say that the rapids defy whitewater rafting categories. The velocity of the water is hard to measure, and photos do not do it justice. It reminded me of a Joan Chittister (Benedictine nun who writes extensively for her order and for the National Catholic Reporter) column which called for us to learn to cry for the number of men, women, and children who have died in Iraq and in other unjust wars—she believes we have hardened ourselves to the carnage, and perhaps that is why it continues. When I glanced at the gorge, I thought of the number of tears that the gorge could contain and wondered if that would be enough?

After the gorge, we completed the hike up the mountain to a hut where we rested for the walk down the hill—the whole trip was about three hours including stops. We lunched on sausage and turkey salad in the 1936 Olympic Stadium where we looked out at the ski jumps before we headed to Partenkirchen where Mark and I visited the Chocolaterie Café and another place which sold Belgian chocolates; of course we stopped in a few bakeries as well. For supper we were back at the Husar for a fried veal and cheese frittata on noodles—but the prize was Mark’s potato pancakes with cream fraiche and salmon on top. He also finished his meal with strawberries in Sabayon. We finally got to meet the chef of the family, the host’s wife, Verena, and heard a little more about their restaurant.

Today we got up and were ready to leave earlier than usual, so we went over to what appears to me as the largest and greenest mountain in the region (so many of the others have rock promontories), the Wank Mountain. Last year it was the site of our longest and most difficult walk down the mountain that took a little over three hours (the mountain rises 1774 meters) in the hot sun. It was after that hike that we decided to go on multiple length hikes so that we were both challenged.

Like last year, we took the gondola to the top, but this year Mark found some moderate pathways on the mountain top which we hiked. The vistas were incredible—we saw the road to Munich, the mountains which surround Garmisch, and the mountains of Austria. The clouds moved in then so we lost our views, and it was ironic that at breakfast I had noted the sunny weather forecast, the first since we have been here. Perhaps the hotel had clicked on weather.com which has been for the most part dead wrong with forecasts.

The path circled around the mountain, and we ended up at the café for a cherry kuchen which we split. Then we decided to go down to the mountain, and Mark continued hiking more and then biking home (which ended up in the rain). I had come in the car, so I went to Partenkirchen for lunch which were strips of turkey, peaches, green and red peppers, and cucumbers on a bed of fresh lettuce and a slice of rye bread. My next stop was a lingerie and houseware’s store where I purchased three cotton kitchen towels and a camisole for ten euros.

Tomorrow is our last full day here, so we are working on our last hike—should we repeat one we liked earlier or choose a totally different one?

A Day without Exercise is like . . . Heaven?

Tuesday, I woke up on the wrong side of the bed and decided that this would be a good day to do no exercise, in fact, to be a car tourist. Mark agreed to the touring, but only after he did a three hour bicycling tour to the nearby town of Mittenwald.

Around lunch time, Mark took me to a place he had visited and hiked the day before in the town of Farchant not far from Garmisch, where there is an outdoor forestry tour, a set of stations which illustrate the kinds of trees that inhabit the local forests, the age of trees, items that are made out of trees (like wooden sculptures), and so on. We sat on a bench not too far from our car to eat the lunch he had made for himself at breakfast and which he shared. We had purchased strawberries and had other fresh fruit to supplement the dinner.

Our goal was to visit Ettal and Oberammergau. Our first stop after lunch was the same store we had visited last year in the rain, on our way to the Benedictine monastery which dates to 1330. Edward looks to be in his early 30s, has a round face with round glasses, and crafts all of the objects in his store which are works of art and inexpensive, and many of you received wooden souvenirs for Christmas last year. He had his workshop open today and showed us the chestnut which he had gathered for future projects.

Next we went down the road to the Monastery and then the rain came. It seems that we will only have wet memories of Ettal because when we are here, it rains. We ran into a café to sit out the rain which only got worse. To help us tolerate the inconvenience, we ordered a cherry cake and coffee and tea, read the latest Herald Tribune, and called Laura for her 29th birthday and caught up on her news (they celebrated with 30 guests and lots of food on Saturday).

When the rain let up, we visited the old monastery (which still has monks who run a private high school and make fruit wines and liqueurs) and then drove a few kilometers further to Oberammergau where we visited the church and drove around town.

Came back later and went to eat at 7:30! So the day without exercise was a huge success—just didn’t eat any dessert last night!

Food in Garmisch

If you know us, you know that wherever we visit, we plan the day around meals and snacks. In previous blogs, I have described our breakfasts and lunches, but I have not mentioned suppers. We eat at 7:30 p.m. every night which gives us time to get done all the other activities we have planned with time (for me at least) to rest and recoup for the evening ahead.

Like everywhere in the world, Garmisch offers a variety of cuisine. We went one night for Chinese food at Jade, Italian food at the nearby pizza place, German food on most menus. We have seen Indian and Thai eateries as well as McDonald’s and Pizza Hut (they advertise that one euro will buy you an order of fries). We try not to visit fast food places since we can get those at home though it is interesting to see what shows up on the menus.

Our favorite restaurant from last year, the Husar, did not fail us again this year. We had six humongous pieces of fresh white asparagus, Mark’s meal served with salmon and mine with Weiner Schnitzel. The last time we had this asparagus, we had seen it growing in the fields on our first bicycle trip to France (B.L.B—before Laura and Brian) and ate it in local restaurants. Mark’s appetizer was the most interesting dish: cooked, thinly sliced eggplant, carrots, zucchini, were arranged on a plate with baby tomatoes and mozzarella cheese in the middle and sprinkled with olive oil. The vegetables had probably been marinated, and the taste was exquisite.

Last night we went to the only five star hotel restaurant in town for dinner where they were featuring a whole menu based on Chanterelle mushrooms from starters to entrees to desserts. I ordered pan fried Chanterelles with lettuce (excellent), and Mark had Chanterelle crepes with cheese sauce for his entrée. I had sliced leg of lamb with fried polenta (we call it mush back in Kentucky), ratatouille, and sliced onions. For dessert, Mark had the most beautifully arranged strawberry dessert (Strawberries Walterspeil), a crust of macaroons, a ball of ice cream surrounded by cream with strawberries arranged in a pyramid fashion on top of the cream.

For snacks, we have mixed nuts and dried fruit, bakery cookies, and some fresh fruit with cold drinks from the minibar in the room. Last year on our trip, we made a habit of having dessert at 4 p.m., eating later in the day, and not ordering dessert with the evening meal. We tried it this year on the first day and decided that it added too many calories to the day.

We will continue to search for the best entrée, best dessert, and will go back to some of the places with just good basis food. Like restaurants everywhere, some places try too hard, put on airs, charge too much money, and disappoint by trying to be all things to all people. Simple food wins, generally.

Hiking in the Alps

Pounding,
Pounding,
Pounding.
Hiking boots in rhythmic steps,
Like soldiers in formation
Hut, two, three, four,
Hut, two, three, four.
Falderee, Faldera, a knapsack on my (Mark’s) back.

I hear the noise of my boots,
A Cat clearing a path
Birds singing
The whirr of bicycle wheels
As bikers pass.
Nordic walkers’ poles
Clicking stones on the pathway up the mountain,
Cowbells on field cows
Chairlift overhead
The train whistle as it carries folks up to the Zugspitze.

I see massive mountains
Deep green with pines and spruces
(I thought they were firs
—you would think I would know by now.)
Craggy rocks reaching skyward
(Where are the rock climbers?)
Paragliders’ multicolored sails in the air.

I touch the backpack to reach for my lunch,
To retrieve my bottle of water.
Mark is so gracious to carry it
So that my burden is lightened.

I taste water which quenches my thirst,
Unpack the lunch we prepared at breakfast,
Oatmeal rolls with sliced salami,
Turkey, cucumbers, cheese spread.
Strawberries and nectarines
From the Friday market.

I eat this manna from heaven to satisfy the hunger I have worked up.
Rejuvenated by the calories,
I begin the
Pounding,
Pounding,
Pounding again.

Today, June 24, 2006, I did not hike. The sore muscles could, I fear, take no more pounding.

St. John's Eve

St. John’s Eve

Germany joins with several other countries in celebrating the Summer Solstice, June 23. According to the International Herald Tribune, the pagan holiday became Christian when the Church decided to replace the pagan emphasis by designating June 24, the feast of St. John the Baptist (the precursor of Jesus Christ who came during the Winter Solstice), so the eve of the feastday was celebrated with fires. People celebrate the sun being at the highest point and take us back to ancient rituals. It’s cloudy out, but I see four fires on the mountain already, and they look like huge candles from here. I believe if it were clearer, we would see more on the other mountains. The hotel celebrated with an outdoor grill and buffet, and we were seated with other guests, very nice, but only one of them spoke a little English. We really do need to get some German lessons!

Today we hiked for four hours, a hike of 1650 meters. We began our trip at 10:30 a.m. in the Kreuzeck gondola which took us to the top of the mountain. Mark planned the hike so that it wouldn’t be too steep, so we hiked down the gravel road through fields and valleys where flowers greeted us at every turn. At 12:30, we stopped for lunch at a picnic table near one of the many huts we ran into along the way. After another two hours, we stopped at another hut to have something to drink, then back to the room. An excellent hike!!

We began the day at the Friday market where we bought the juiciest nectarines I have tasted in a long while, a pint of strawberries to take for our lunch, and two desserts, a walnut and hazelnut torte for our midafternoon snack on our room balcony. An interesting coincidence occurred at the market: I observed three Native American Indians playing the woodpipes and selling CDs. Two years ago at Hillbilly Days in Pikeville, a similar group of Native Americans were playing the woodpipes and selling CDs. The music is soothing, and I have one of their CDs.

Later I negotiated getting my glasses adjusted, buying two hard cases for those reading glasses and for my sunglasses which so easily get smashed. Then I went to the drugstore for some items, and I ended up at the shoe store where yesterday I purchases hiking socks; I bought Mark a pair for his hiking boots. He was at the city pool doing his swim.

Today is day 6 of the trip, and everything is going so well, we cannot believe it.