Tuesday 4/26
Once again, the forecast said rain--and this time it looked likely. I was glad to have hiked up to the ruins the day before, and I skedaddled out of Zell after a quick breakfast.
My route passed through Kappel, which, like Zell, also had a church with one shingled wall:
From Kappel, I headed up into the woods, past an engineered waterfall.
Apparently a sufficient number of clueless tourists hike through the hills above Kappel that it was necessary to post some bilingual guidelines for how to behave around grazing animals. Auf Deutsch for the German speakers, obviously, and in English for everyone else.
The woods were brilliantly green with moss.
I thought this tree looked particularly amorous.
As with the other highly curated trails, this one made life easier for both hikers and native plants.
I was not expecting another steep-sloped up and down hike. Photos don't do justice to the angles...
Apparently the steepness made for excellent ski jumping back in the day.
 |
| Hans Riefler was a co-founder and long-standing chair of the Nesselwang ski club. |
No ski jump here anymore, but perhaps folks still ski down.
The trail continued, with lots of assistance:
After I'd had just about all the up-and-down-and-up-and-down I could handle, the trail led down into Nesselwang (which I kept mistakenly calling Nassenwang, because it was a damp day). Nesselwang was clearly a ski town, as evidenced by this ski lift that goes up into the clouds somewhere:
My original route didn't go through town, but a church-truffle beckoned from afar. Despite the looming clouds, I made the detour.
Most towns have memorials to their war-dead. Nesselwang lost a large number.
My favorite part of the church was the front door.
Check out those wee cherub feet dangling over Jesus and Satan:
The interior plasterwork was impressive: the roses surrounding the ceiling paintings were all 3D.
The clock says "time is short"--a lesson that may or may not seem plausible during long sermons. The marbled columns on either side of the clock are painted wood, a materials practice in all of the churches I passed through on this trip, since paint is less expensive than real marble.
A bench across from the church:
As I headed out of Nesselwang, it finally started to rain. Like, really rain. First hail, then wind-in-your-face pelting rain, then a little snow and sleet, because why not.
My planned route was to follow the edge of the Gruentensee, yet another reservoir. Instead, just as I was heading away from the freeway toward the lake, a clap of thunder convinced me to backtrack to the nearest eave in Reichenbach, where I waited until the threat of lightning had passed. I then stuck to the path alongside the freeway for the last 3.5 miles into Wertach.
The sign on the locked hotel door said it was a Ruhetag and that they'd open at 5pm, but I phoned and told them I was outside and soaking wet, and they kindly let me in early.
An hour later, after I washed my soaked clothes in the sink and took a hot shower, the sun came out. So I went for another walk.
The day's hike taught me that neither my doubly waterproofed boots were not waterproof. Nor was my waterproof rain jacket. Stefan had lent me his waterproof pants, which were actually waterproof.
Because churches are often on hills, they make good initial destinations. See how bright and blue the sky is?
I continued uphill, seeking some mountain views...
...and then the sky rapidly clouded over again...
...so I turned around, headed back past the dandelion-fueled cows...
...past the church (compare the sky to the church photo above taken 45 minutes earlier)...
...and got back to the hotel just before the skies opened up again. This was excellent timing, because I had no rain gear with me, and no dry clothes left other than the ones I was wearing.
My favorite window in my hotel room was a skylight in the bathroom--a built-in weather report.
Ta da! I was glad this was a short day--12.3 miles (plus 4.2 more after the sun came out).
