Mittenwald Cow Parade and Walk around Innsbruck

 

Mittenwald Almabtrieb

We checked out of Guest house barrenwort and I talked briefly with the Young manager. She said that this hotel had burn down at one time and it was rebuilt. I told her how much we enjoyed it. She also told me that the restaurant next door was built in 1632. At one time it was the tollgate between Germany and Austria. In the restaurant you could still see the arches where vehicles must have gone through. We headed over to Mittenwald where we knew there was another cow parade. The town had a very different vibe to it as we didn’t see any posters and we didn’t see any spectators lining the route. We knew where the route was so we found a parking space and sat in the car it was warm. We did ask A volunteer fireman about the route and he said we were on the right road and then he continued his conversation with his friend drinking his beer. Yep, we’re in Germany. Finally the cows came by. We didn’t see any wearing flowers but they all had on bills and it was still a wonderful sight seeing them parade through the streets. At the beginning of the parade were some Calves and it was funny as the calves decided to head between the parked cars and the little boys had to run after them. The older farmers did not even seem concerned. A second group of cows came by and that seem to be the end because then there was a whole group of people parading down the street out to the festplatz. We were intrigued as we had already driven out to the fence plots and knew there was nothing there. But we were in Germany so what else should we do but follow the crowd. We walked almost a mile out of town and I heard a woman say there was nothing at the end except they were going to put the cows away. But if we were to go back there was a fest tent where people could have drinks. now it all made sense – it was just another occasion for the people to get together and have some beer. In fact as we were leaving town, we could hear the oompah music in the tent.

Our next stop was in a larger city, Innsbruck. We checked into our hotel which is very close to the Altstatt. We had no real plans for the city so we just decided to walk around downtown. We headed over to the All-Star and saw the Gold roof. it was completed in 1500 and it’s decorated with 2657 tiles to commemorate the marriage of Emperor Naximilian I to Bianca Maria Sforza.  Next we climbed the old tower also in the Square. We could see the mountain ranges far off in the distance and then closer up we could see all of Innsbruck city. The views were breathtaking. We were glad that the rain has stopped and the skies are clear. The tower is 51 m high and there are 133 steps. It is unique because there are steps going up and there’s a separate staircase going down. At the very top just before you walk out onto the pier a pet, there’s a glass floor allowing you to look down to the bottom. It is quite impressive. After the tower we walked downtown, over to the river and then over to the half garden. Innsbruck is really a very beautiful city. We had dinner at a pizza restaurant. We shared a small mushroom pizza and a piece of apple strudel. The apple strudel was so good that I’ve decided I will try one at home. Scotty had a heavy fighting and I tried A rather. It was perfect as I was quite hungry. It turns out we had walk 5 miles around town and I was wearing my hiking boots which made my feet even more tired.

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Krun - Cow Festival and Lautersee Hike

 We dragged her selves out of bed this morning and were surprised that we could still walk. It was raining really hard and cold, but we put on a raincoat and warmer clothing and headed over to Krun. We found a Bacari where I got a bienenstich (a favorite of mine) and Scotty got kasekuchen. We didn’t intend to eat sweets for breakfast but hey it was the only place around. The really funny thing was when a man started talking to us and it turns out he has a house in Dover. Apparently he had been stationed at Fort Campbell at one time. As it was raining we parked ourselves under the eaves of a garage where we couldn’t get wet. I actually had fun just standing there and watching the street. The street was lined with people and the umbrellas made beautiful reflections in the street. We also saw an SUV pull up and a new pop and got out and kept going back to the back pulling out instruments. It made me laugh because it reminded me of a clown car as things/people kept coming out. I also thought it would be a great advertisement for the car’s storage. ‘Big enough for all of your instruments and an entire oompah band!’

We also noticed on the balcony, a group of about six men. I would have loved to have heard the conversation before this weekend. Hey the cows are coming to town again. Want to rent a room with the guys? And let’s not forget the beer.

And then it happened, the cows came through the street led by the farmers. I was pretty disappointed as I did not see any flowers. They passed through and we realized another group was going to come in a bit. The second group of cows came and they had flowers! Apparently the first group were the warm-up cows. And then a third group team. It was really fun to watch the parade and of course only the Germans would think of such a tradition. We walked around the village where they were set up with beer, bratwurst and more. I found two pair of beautiful warm colorful socks.

We then headed over to Mittenwald and parked along the street and started our hike to the Lautersee. We had to walk partway through the village until we got to the trail head. It wasn’t very long until we got to the Leinbach Wasserfall. It’s a very tall thin waterfall that comes over the mountain. The path follows the creek up the mountain. The farther we got the better the view over the village of Mittenwald. As we got to the top, the land evened out and we walked through a pasture to the small lake. Along the way we passed a small chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Once again the lake was beautiful, clear, and a turquoise blue. The mountains on one side picked out every once in a while as the clouds would clear. As we got around the lake back to the chapel it started to rain lightly. We hiked back to the car, every once in a while in a light rain. Sadly we both forgot to turn off our trackers but we figure we did about 3 miles. After our hike we had back to the hotel and actually got there at an early hour, 630. we headed over to the restaurant next-door, like ice claw. We had our usual heavy Weitzen. Scotty had Goulash with a dampfnodel. I needed some fresh food so I ordered a salad plate that came with a spinach kasenudeln. Of course the noodle was very filling and I ate one and gave the other to Scotty. Here we sit in our nice apartment cleaning up our suitcases, downloading photos, and most importantly, resting our legs.

Hiking - Geisterklamm and Eibsee

 We started the day with a German breakfast at our guest house. Yum Yum Yum, I definitely ate more than my usual breakfast. Scotty also enjoyed his. We walked towards Latache and started the hike of the keister climb. If I were to recommend one of the gorge walks, I would definitely rate this above the part not climb. This trail was so well designed and around every corner I was explaining oh my God. It was an absolutely gorgeous walk that included mountain views, a gorge with water far below us., Mountain goats, a typical mountain home, Mountain huts, beautifully trade paths, and many stations. The stations talked about The spirits that lived in the gorge as a way to explain the ecosystem/nature of this area. Not only was educational but some of the stations were fun. We hiked 4.5 miles!This was an unexpected and beautiful hike.

We been headed over to Garmisch to walk around town. Even though I said I wasn’t going to bring home souvenirs or do much shopping, here it was the second day in a body hiking vest. It was only €10 and with four pockets it will be a great hiking vest. We bought a Marzipan Ritter sport to split as we weren’t that hungry after our breakfast. We enjoyed reminiscing as we walked through the town. Within headed over to the icy thinking we do just a short walk. Ha ha ha.

We headed over to Eibsee and parked along the road. It was uphill to the hotels and businesses and from there the path goes around the lake. as we got to the opposite side of the lake it started to rain and we started to worry. What was really funny is that all of a sudden there were no people in front of us or behind us it’s as if they melted in the rain. fortunately the path was mostly downhill and we make better time going back. We weren’t that wet so we drove over to the guest house open Dorf. We happen to sit next to a young American couple with three young daughters. We heard a bit about their trip and we shared about ours. The evening entertainment was short but sweet. There was a man playing an accordion and two young boys doing the schuhplatteln dancing. We had our hefeweisens.  I ordered Kasenudeln and theywere absolutely the best I’ve ever had, and a small salad. Scotty ordered Jager schnitzel and fries.

 

 

Arrival

 We got to Munich about 12:00 after flying through Frankfurt. Both airports are huge! But, we managed to get around. Apparently, my rental car price got us a lawnmower! Haha! That explains the cheap price. We upgraded and got a Skoda - such a nice car. It comes with a sunroof and more importantly - a GPS. Today was a learning curve operating the GPS.

 We headed to Partnachklamm Gorge. The weather was a bit overcast and we had a light rain at tines. It wad as beautiful as ever! Now you pay admission price (E6) to go through the turnstile. At the end, we couldn’t go through the turnstile and climb up the mountain. That’s okay- it was our first day and it kept us up! 

We found our gasthaus - Pension Barenwirt. It’s in a small village 25 km from Garmisch. What an absolutely pleasant surprise for our first stay. There is a bedroom, living room, kitchen and bathroom on the 3rd floor. From our balcony, we can see some ruins Across the street. I’ll explore them later. There is a house across the street, a gasthaus (Gasthaus Klammgeist) next  door mountains all around us. It is absolutely gorgeous. 

We went to the gasthouse next door and ordered 2 hefeweizens!! I got a rump steak and Scotty got Wiener schnitzel and we split our dishes. Everything was so so good. We were sitting in a glass like addition and there were other people out there. Unlike the states, the four groups of people talked among ourselves. There Were to German couples on holiday, one from Koln and one from Heidelberg, and two brothers from the states. The brothers had a good story. Apparently there were seven boys and they have a tradition of getting together when one of them turns 80. They are surprising the third brother tomorrow in Munich at Oktoberfest and he is the one that turns 80. They couldn’t coordinated the trip through the man’s children. It was a pleasant dinner and we had fun trying to translate the dishes from German to English for the 2 brothers. A lot of it came back to us, but there were some words that we had to use Google translate. When we asked for the bill I almost got the feeling that the waiter was surprised but it was 730 and we are dead tired. As I’m writing this blog, Scotty is asleep and I will finish this before I go to bed. For our first day, it was wonderful. I just have this feeling like I’m home again. Tschuss!

Flight - St Louis International Airport

 Today’s the day we start our month long adventure. We drove to St. Louis because I was able to find a better fare from that airport to Germany. It was nice because we were able to leave the car at Richie’s house and get an Uber to the airport. In the airport we went to the Schaffly Lounge/Pasta House and had lunch and Scotty had a Schaffly beer. We went to this lounge because it is on my Priority Pass card through my new credit card and I already love having it. Look out world - here we come!

Kayak - Caney Fork

 Today we met with some of the paddling trade group, Laurie, Jack, and their son John, Bernice and Candy. We put in about 1130 just after the damn head released and it turned out to be as expected more of a float than a paddle. it was an overcast day so not too hot and towards the end we almost thought we’d get some rain but never did. we had lunch at the happy Hollow boat launch. Somehow a peanut butter sandwich always taste fantastic on the river to me. But a highlight of the day was when we came up to happy Hollow we noticed a goose that was coming straight towards us. It was flying low to the water which was unusual. The pilot in the group Candy kept yelling pull up pull up, and when the goose got closer to Bernice she actually had to duck, even though it was a goose! 🤣 and somehow Laurie was able to capture a fantastic photo of the Goose with Scotty in the background. This is probably one of my favorite Tennessee rivers.