Sunday, April 24, 2011

Blomberg and Zwiesel

So here is the promised recap of my first Alp adventure.

We took off at 8 am!

The trip was about two hours long and we took a more scenic route.
We stopped by a  little church and there I made a furry cat friend.
Some scenic views from the car ride.
It was so beautiful and peaceful to drive on the country roads and the weather was perfect.
At the trailhead.
The hike started out with it seemed like forever hill, but I think it was only 1.2-1.5 miles long.   I was sweating, huffing and puffing,  and we definitely stopped a few times just to catch a breath.
I think this was the only flat portion of the hike on the way up, so pretty.

We got to the top of the first peak–Blomberg.  It was a bit touristy, they even had a restaurant up top with waiters and waitresses wearing traditional Bavarian dress. 

At the top we enjoyed our little brotzeit (German for a little snack with brot(bread)) and a lager beer.

The best part of the hike was the ice-cream I got at the top of the Blomberg mountain.  I never ever had ice-cream on a hiking trip so that was a completely new experience.  What can be better? I don't know.
After another hour of uphill hiking we got to the second peak–Zwiesel.  There we relaxed on the grass and enjoyed the views.
Top of Zwiesel 1348m (4400 feet).
On the way down I got overwhelmed with the beauty of the Alps and started singing and dancing The Sound of Music, as promised ;)

The Sound of Music still shots :)

On the drive home we stopped at Bad Tölz, a small Bavarian town.  There were tons of tourist and we were exhausted so we stayed there just for a little bit to look at the city center.
This whole hike took us about 5 hours to complete.  It was not technical or challenging for anyone that is remotely experienced in hiking.  Unfortunately for me, after sitting on my butt for about three months this was a pretty challenging hike.  My whole body was SO sore, EVERYTHING hurt.  I felt tortured by exercise.  Don't get me wrong, I loved every painful second of it, it was just a little sad to realize just how much fitness I have lost since Christmas.  With all the biking, running and hiking I am doing these days I hope to regain it in the next couple of months.  So far I have been sore every single day I have been here, hahah.  And if the weather is nice tomorrow, there is a big bike ride planed to Dachau with Ludwig and both of his parents.

Today we went to Church (Das Kloster Fürstenfeld/Fürstenfeld Abbey) for Easter and it was my first German Catholic mass.  I understood very little and Ludwig tried to translate a few things during the service.  I was very happy we went.  After church we had Easter lunch with white asparagus soup and roasted chicken.  After, I took a four hour nap because I was still so so tired from all the excersise and traveling we have been doing.  Today is my true day of rest and reflection and I love it.  

Happy Easter!

5 comments:

  1. Oh my GOD! LOVE IT! and you look skinny! and everything is gorgeous, and I also love you and miss you, friend!!!!! I'm so glad you are having such a good time!!!

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  2. I found the 'civilized' hiking with the restaurant/ice cream at the top (or along the way) to be so awesome when we were in Europe…especially since I was carrying at least 30 lbs of kid on my back every time :)

    Fantastic pictures and great descriptions! Enjoy :)

    Happy Easter!

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  3. Ulyana, thanks for the plug on your blog! You are so great :) Cannot wait to see you Christmas time!!!!

    XLMIC, yeah that was the most civilized hiking I have ever done. When I have kids of my own I think I might enjoy it even better since it will be easier to distract them with all the playgrounds and food :)

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  4. Yay for Sound of Music!!! Thanks for not disappointing me ;)

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