We woke up fairly early, packed up and went downstairs to breakfast: meats, cheese, breads, and coffee. Before our main hike, we took a short walk through an alpine flower garden. It was quite impressive, with what seemed like every flower in the Alps, each individually labeled. We had to drag Dorinna out of there.
Blumengarten (photo credit: Daniel Hernández)
The hike started with a long and seemingly never-ending climb to a tall alpine pass called the Öfapaß. The entire hike was above tree line, so the views were continuous. And what views- cliffs and jagged peaks were in every direction.
On the trail (photo credit: Dieter Glauß)
Looking down at our Hut (photo credit: Daniel Hernández)
Mountains (photo credit: Dieter Glauß)
Michaela at the top of the pass (photo credit: Daniel Hernández)
At the top of the pass we took a short break before dropping down to another valley- the Schweizertor. This valley was a simply outstanding notch with sheer cliffs on both sides.
View down to the Schweizertor (photo credit: Dieter Glauß)
The notch led to Switzerland. I wanted to visit a new country, and it was a short flat walk, so we did. We only took a few steps across the border, but shot a lot of pictures and watched some rock climbers on the Swiss side. It was nice to visit the homeland of the Ruhs, if only for 10 minutes.
Me at the Swiss border (photo credit: Dieter Glauß)
Wall of the Schweizertor (photo credit: Daniel Hernández)
Customs house at the Swiss-Austrian border (photo credit: Dieter Glauß)
We packed into the tram like sardines with several dozen other people, all of whom desperately needed showers (including us). The tram plummeted straight down the cliff side, giving us nice views and getting us down mercifully quickly.
Tram descent (photo credit: Dieter Glauß)
We waited a few minutes before the absolute chaos that was the bus leaving. We managed to jam-pack in for the scenic ride down to the town of Bludenz. Once we got there, Dieter and Daniel went to fetch the cars- 2 more bus rides as one of the trains had been washed out from the recent floods. The rest of us sat down in a quiet shaded café and had ice cream and a “new” white wine. Dorinna bought some shoes and I bought her a wildflower book. By then the cars had returned, and we said our goodbyes to Dieter and Michaela, as they headed home.
I woke up in the village of Vandans. We drove to a tram station, and rode a gondola high up into the mountains. Our hike (german link- has a map of our route) to the Lindauer hut (german link) was a mix of ups and downs. (A hiking club from Lindau maintains the hut). Beautiful scenery- all but a few hundred yards was above tree line. We passed a farm on the way, and lots of cows, their bells jangling in the fading light of late afternoon. When we arrived, the hut seemed fairly chaotic. It felt a lot like a hut in the White Mountains, but of course there wasn’t a word of English to be heard. Having German hosts was very advantageous, though, and Dieter sorted everything out within a few minutes. The hut was quite a bit civilized by our standards- our private room had electric lights, and there was hot water and flush toilets.
We washed up, put on warmer, drier clothes, and met outside for dinner. Dorinna had a cheese plate with cheese made at the farm we had passed on the hike there. I went for the pork with creamy mushroom gravy and curry rice. Three cold Weiss beers helped wash it down. We had a lot of fun making fun of the ridiculous contents of our German-English phrasebook.
My earlier nap made it hard to fall asleep, which was just as well, as the shock of the smoke alarm an hour later was less of a jolt. It was a false alarm, of course, but quite loud. I kind of stood in the hallway like an idiot watching a German frantically trying to muffle the sound before I could finally dredge up enough German words to ask if I could help. He immediately switched to perfect English, and we kept the alarm covered until it was shut off a few minutes later.
The day started with a delightful breakfast on the deck overlooking the town. Michaela and Dieter outdid themselves with an incredible spread of breads, jams, muesli, and yogurt. Germans do NOT skimp on breakfast.
We piled back into the car and drove to Lindau. Lindau is a great little german town on an island in the Bodensee. We walked along the lake and enjoyed hazy views to Austria and Switzerland. The lake was very nice, but had lots of debris floating in it- stuff that washed downstream from the Alps during recent floods. Reaching the harbor, we climbed to the top of the lighthouse for great views of the “skyline”.
(photo credit: Dieter Glauß)
We enjoyed coffee at a small café and met Daniel and Theresia soon after.
(photo credit: Michaela Glauß)
The town was a lot of fun. We window-shopped, admired the exterior of the town hall, and visited a nice little church.
For lunch, I had a salad with Bodensee fish fillets and an apple soda. Afterwards, we piled back into the cars and headed to Austria. I think I missed some nice scenary, as I fell asleep in the back seat almost immediately after the border.
This is München’s most famous art gallery. Compared to the museums in Italy, it was surprisingly affordable- only €5, including the audio guide. We only saw about half the museum before running out of time. Lots of “Maria mit Kind” paintings, unlike Italy, which was mostly filled with “Maria con bambino”.
After leaving the museum, we walked back to our hotel, picked up our bags, and walked to the train station. We arrived in plenty of time for our train, so we browsed the food counters for lunch. I had the bratwurst standby, while Dorinna opted for a spinach and cheese strudel. For desert we split 2 pastries. I made a poor-choice, and got some fruitcake-like substance rather than chocolate.
We had reserved seats on the train, and the trip passed quickly and comfortably. We traveled to the town of Ulm, where our friend Dieter met us at the train station. After dropping our stuff in his car, we made a beeline for the Münster, the tallest church in the world. We thought about climbing the 768 steps, but settled for exploring the cavernous interior. The church is all cold stone and vaulted gothic ceilings. Very nice, but also very cold and creepy.
Afterwards we walked around the town. We had ice cream, saw some of the old neighborhoods, and walked on a short trail along the Donau (Danube). Our favorite part of the walk, however, was walking alongside a small stream. This brook ran right through the center of the town, with houses perched on all sides, and small bridges criss-crossing it everywhere. Dorinna says that Ulm is one of her favorite cities in Europe.
Leaving Ulm, we drove to the nearby town of Laupheim to pick up Dieter’s wife Michaela. We visited her parents and brother, an American friend, and their daughter Isabel. I tried speaking some German but my vocabulary is still very limited. I managed to ask Isabel the name of her toy stuffed animal dog. By contrast, Michaela’s brother spoke impeccable unaccented English.
After the visit, we packed ourselves into Dieter’s two door car and drove to Langenargen , a small town on the shore of the Bodensee (Lake Constance). We stayed the night in a summer cottage belonging to Michaela’s parents. We went for dinner, sitting outside on the lakeshore. I had fillets of fish from the Bodensee in garlic butter, with potatoes and salad. Lots of wine, including a champagne and fruit juice aperitif, insured a wonderful (and late) evening.
