Germany II: In Which We Encounter A Lake

It’s our first morning in Berchtesgaden! We’re at the self proclaimed “Four Seasons” “Hotel Vier Jahreszeitan.” We made our way through the narrow hallways, down spiral stairs, around the corner, past the virgin Mary, down couple of marble stairs, more narrow hallways and finally… a door with light squeezing through it, the exit!

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Germany awaits, my love!
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The first breath of Alpine air bites.

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We descended hundreds of mountainside, rickety, wooden stairs to the train station below and took the first bus to Lake Konigsee.
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The fog was still thick like a quilt on the lake at eleven a.m. This photo was taken a little while later.
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We purchased tickets & squeezed on the first boat out. The mountains have the lake penned in on all sides with their craggy, white peaks and sheer cliffs, which are mirrored on the water. We took tons of pictures and still couldn’t capture the majesty.
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By noon, the fog has lifted.

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Our tour guide had the crowd laughing hysterically and even though we couldn’t understand what he was saying, we found ourselves laughing, too.
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The boat stopped a little ways out and our guide pulled out a Flugelhorn. He played an entire song, stopping after each measure so we could hear the echo bounce off the cliff of Echowand. It was one of the most beautiful sounds I’ve ever heard.
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We disembarked at the far end of the lake. Over 800 years ago, an avalanche brought down enough debris to split the lake in two. The larger, lower lake is Konigsee while the upper lake is Obersee – or simply “upper lake.” I fell in love with these little boat houses -- I think we saw only two. The roof on the shady side is all covered in fuzzy green moss.
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We hiked about 15 minutes and reached the upper lake, then hiked about another 45 minutes to the opposite end of that lake, where we rested for awhile.
The fog had completely dissipated, sun was high and warm – vunderbar! I prefer “magnifico” to “vunderbar,” but T says I have to go to Italy to use “magnifico.”

Those who know me well, or even just know me a smidgen, know I love benches. Love to sit on them and read or write. When we travel, I find benches. Always. This is, by far, my most favorite bench in the world.

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PS: Note to mom: Konigsee boasts that “it is the cleanest lake in Germany.” You would like it here!

I will end today with just one more photo:

-- Auf Wiedersehen!