After breakfast we drove back into Germany to Lake Konigssee for a boat ride in an electric boat to a small settlement at St. Bartholoma. The lake itself is very clear and there is not much shore because it meets up with a mountain wall. Along the way the scenery is so beautiful that I can not begin to describe it! We saw a waterfall seeming to come from nowhere except a rock. We saw a mountain called Schlafende Hexe which means sleeping witch. We could picture a witch, lying on ther back, looking at the sky. We could see at the top of another mountain the infamous Eagle's Nest. This was Hitler's diplomatic house and a present for his birthday, and is now a restaurant which is open to the public. In one special place there is a wall that the sound bounces off and produces an echo several times over. They used to demonstrate it by fireing a weapon but now the captain of the boat plays a short tune on his trumpet. It echoed as promised and was quite magical!
After reaching St. Bartholoma we left the boats and began to explore the area. There is a restaurant and biergarten, a church, a fish smoking house, some hikers huts, and a few other small buildings. There were alot of hikers here. In this area many people are hikers and it seems to be the national pastime! We saw lots of backpackers and rather envied the seemingly care-free lifestyle!
The lake was large and cold but it wasn't long before Sandy and I wanted to test the waters. We knew that it would be very cold but took off shoes anyway and waded in walking on the gravel bottom. It wasn't too bad once our feet got used to the shock of it! A log seemed to have been placed there specifically for photo ops and our new friends, John and Marilyn snapped away.
We strolled along the shore simply enjoying the scenery. There was a barn with wood stored in it. On the roof were heavy stones layed neatly in rows. They are for breaking up the snow and preventing too much of a build up. We stopped by the chapel which was constructed in the 17th century. The chapel was beautifully decorated even on the ceiling. The grass was a beautiful and lush green color and would have been perfect for picnicing but our little Germany family had plans to eat in the biergarten and so we gathered for lunch. I had a vegetable medley in spicy tomatoe sauce with parmesan cheese and potatoes and Sandy had a beautiful salad. All of the salads we have eaten here have been presented beautifully with quite an artistic flair and using many different varieties of lettuces.
After lunch we all had some time to stroll the grounds some more and visit the WC. The restrooms here are usually indicated with a blue sign that has a large WC meaning water closet. We soon had to leave this place and boarded the boat again and headed back to our original dock. Once back on shore we had some shopping time and then met at the gondola ticket area.
We could see the gondolas and lift on Mount Jenner. They rose half way up the mountain and then veered over a bit to complete the assent to the top. Clamboring aboard I was excited because I love mountains and was eager to start. Up, up we went and part way up the mountain we saw a lake and started hearing bells. What kind of bells you may ask? Why, cow bells silly! A herd of beautiful dairy cows were grazing the slopes. Every time they moved their head it would ding-a-ling and there were alot of cows, producing alot of ding-a-lings. It was truly a magical moment to see and hear. I so wished I had been able to record it!
Up we continued till we could see snow! It had snowed up there a few weeks ago and some of it was still there in patches. After a 30 minute ride we were out of the cars and heading for the look out points to see what we could see! And the views were awesome! From the 6,150 ft peak you can view over 100 German and Austrian peaks!
But were we satisfied yet? No, there was a walking trail to the very top and off we went! I gotta admit that I was huffing and puffing most of the way, but gee, it was a tough climb! The upper section even had a cable to hold onto and pull yourself up with. We were sweating and had removed our jackets in bright sunshine but were smiling broadly at the top! We were pretty happy with ourselves but then soon realized we had to go back down that steep rocky slope! But the going down actually wasn't bad and we were soon rewarding ourselves with ice cream snacks.
Back to the gondolas we went and down the mountain to our vans. On the way down we were entertained by at least four gliders. They go up on the lift and ride the air currents back down. It was a colorful sight of orange, red, and yellow against the blue skies. We were soon back in Austria in our hotel and began to journal. We spent a couple of hours doing that and catching up on Facebook and decided to go downstairs for some supper. Happily several from our group were dining also and we all sat together around the tables sharing stories and a few political opinions. Another day is closing out and we must prepare for leaving Salzburg tomorrow and going to Munich and other adventures! But I do wonder how we can top this OMG day! Love to you all. Deb
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