Bavarian Beauty – Germany

HINTERSEE:

I spoke more German on Tuesday than I have my whole 9 months in Vienna! Wow! It was great! I’m so happy I finally connected with Germans and Austrians during my trip to Italy. Being at an English speaking school in Vienna and either hiking with classmates, being a hermit, or visiting friends in the Czech Republic hadn’t done much for my language learning. I can honestly say that I know less German now than when I arrived here in September. At that time, I’d been doing daily audio-studies for 6 months. Better late than never! Yay!

Since Regina had a few appointments on Tuesday, I spent the day with her daughter Kira, Kira’s boyfriend Benny and his parents. We drove for about a half hour to Hintersee Lake in Berchtesgaden National Park. Confusingly, there’s also a Hintersee near Salzburg on the Austrian side, but this one was in Germany. We ended up taking 2 cars and I rode with Dagma and Claus – perfect for kicking into German gear. It was great having the back seat to myself as I kept unbuckling to swing from the left to the right window with my camera – in awe at the snow capped mountains and typical Bavarian houses, cows, etc.

The sign at the trail head said 20 minutes to the lake, but I was with fellow nature admirers with and without cameras, so I think it took us a couple of hours. Not sure – I lost track of time. All I know is that I enjoyed every minute and came back with 400 photos…

The colour of the water was the most precious – a mix of white and turquoise that reminded me a bit of the rivers in and around the Rockies.

There were so many flowers, plants, insects, funny moments, touching moments, and German lessons. We were also lucky in terms of weather. The roads were wet when we drove up and it started to downpour almost as soon as we’d gotten back in the car a few hours later.  Here’s the rest of my edited collection of photos – down from 400 to 115.

AINRING:

In the evening after dinner, Regine suggested we take a walk around her house. With “a walk around the block” in mind, I left the camera behind. Oh well. You’ll just have to imagine the sun hitting a snow-capped rocky peak in the distance with forested mountains and fields in front deep in the shadows – all that with shades of pink and purple starting to sweep across the sky. Also imagine being a foot away from a snorting bull and Regine snorting back with only an electric wire in between …. this is where the scardy-cat city girl came in. The wood ticks were almost as scary as the big bull – I was wearing a skirt with sandals… but I just created a energetic field around myself, let go of the fear, and checked myself in front of a mirror when I got home.

Regine’s house is surrounded by a series of marked walking trails through fields, forests, villages, etc. I got a lot of walking in that day too. Wonderful! I was huffing and puffing as we climbed a hill, but the view of Salzburg in the distance with mountains all around was worth it. Plus it was good to spend time more time with her. She simply radiates love.

DRIVE UPHILL:

When we got back home, her son Leon suggested we drive up a nearby hill to where a hotel/restaurant and church are located to get a view of the Salzburg all lit up. The drive up was great – through the bare trunks of trees densely lined up in impressive rows lit up by the car’s high beams.  Once at the top, I found myself more interested in the church than in the city lights. I had brought my tripod, so I played with a few 20-second shots.

We got back home late, but still played a couple of minutes of djembe drums before bedtime.

ABTSDORFER SEE:

The next morning after our shared energizing exercises, breakfast and trampolining, Regine and I went to her favourite neighbouring swimming hole – Abtsdorfersee. We walked around for a bit and dipped our feet in (not quite summer weather yet). She then drove me to Salzburg for my train to Vienna. I’m so glad her son told me about the Westbahn train that only runs between Sazlburg and Vienna. You can buy your ticket online or on the train. It basically runs once an hour and costs only 23.50€ ($34 Cdn) vs. 49€ ($73 Cdn) with the regular train company. It pays to be informed!

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Thanks Regine and family /friends

for a wonderful visit!

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