A Day in the Alps

Just came back from a beautiful day in the German and Austrian Alps.

First we went to an alpine lake called Konigsee in Bergetsgarden, about an hour out of Munich, way high up in the Alps It is a glacial lake, very clear, deep, blue, and calm, surrounded by mountains. We took about a 30 minute boat ride down the lake and stopped at a church that was built in the 1100's. Then we continued on the lake to the end, where there was about a 15 minute talk to a second lake that is smaller, but reflects the mountains around it like a mirror. It was really amazing. We stayed there for maybe an hour, and then took the boat back. It was the smoothest boat ride I've ever been on; it felt more like being on a monorail than a boat - absolutely no rocking back and forth. I wish all boats were like that!

Then we drove further up the mountains to a nearby "Summer Tobaggon" where you get in this small "car" and go down the mountain on a curvy track, where you can control the speed of your decent with a lever in the car. It was really neat, a little scary, but very beuatiful. When you get to the bottom of the mountain, there is this machine that hooks onto the car and takes you back up. A very unique experience.

Then we drove about another hour to Salzburg, in Austria. It is a beautiful little, old town. We walked around for a while and then ate at the oldest restaurant in the world (supposedly), built in 803. They claim that it is referred to in writings of that time, but who really knows. Anyway, it was very good, and certainly memorable......and there were no sausages on the menu!!! Of course, there were dozens of pretzel vendors in town, but they are so good, and one can rationalize that they aren't that bad for you either.

Then we drove back to Munich on the autobahn. We were going about 90, and there were cars zooming past us. They must have been going 120!!!

Tomorrow we are going to go into Munich for Oktoberfest. We've been warned several times to expect large crowds and a lot of drunk people, so I'm not so sure how long we'll stay.

Anyway, time for bed.