Bayern hike photo dump 1: Steinebach to Paterzell

I set off at 7:30am on Friday morning, 4/22, planning to meet Stefan at the Herrsching ferry dock for a 9:30am ride to Dießen.

Bright eyed and bushy tailed in Steinabach

Morning sky between Auing and Hechendorf

Soccer rivalries play out on pedestrian signs in Hechendorf

Look! It's Stefan's orthopedist on a billboard at the Herrsching train station!

An hour and a bit later, Stefan took the S-Bahn to Herrsching. I caught up with him in the Kurpark, where he was experimenting with walking on just one crutch, despite having told me he'd be really reeeeeally careful during the week I'd be gone.

We arrived at the dock in excellent time, but the ferry was nowhere in sight. Turns out that I had failed to read the schedule fine print: the boats had been back in operation since April 15, but the early ferry wouldn't run again until the end of the month. Shucks.

This gave us over two hours to hang out in Herrsching before the next ferry. We dropped by a grocery store, a pharmacy,...

Covid has had a lasting impact at the pharmacy.

...and a café, before heading back to the dock.

Two ducks determine a line; three non-colinear ducks determine
a plane. After taking a dozen duck photographs, I understood
the significance of "getting all one's ducks in a row."

The Marienmünster in Dießen

By the time we arrived in Dießen, we were ready for lunch. Gentle reader, I won't bore you with a photo of the first--and so far only--Kaesespaetzle I've eaten this year, so instead, here's a photo of Stefan enjoying the thought of eating Spaetzle:

After lunch, Stefan headed back to the ferry dock, and I headed up to the Marienmünster, which, surprisingly, I've apparently only blogged about once before. 

The faithful may or may not be helped by touching Saint Mechtilde's stone pillow.

Several hours later than originally planned, I finally made it past Dießen and into the countryside.

Just outside of Raisting were U-pick tulips:

St. Remigius in Raisting:

In Raisting, as is the case all over Bayern, storks bring babies:

The shutters on this house are real; the rest of the window decor is trompe d'oeil:

More countryside. Germans take tree-trimming very seriously, whether roadside, in fields, or in the woods.

Stillern is a teeny tiny town that--judging from the sign below--is 573 meters above sea level. I hadn't planned my trip to follow any single trail, but much of the day I followed the King Ludwig trail. 

The day's hike ended by going through the Eibenwald, Germany's largest yew forest, and one of its oldest nature preserves (1939). The preserve has over 2,000 yew trees, many of which are several hundred years old. They were unexpectedly amazing.

Many of the trees were hollow inside.

Lesser celandine is invasive in NC, but native in Germany, where it clearly thrives.

My destination for the evening: the Hotel Landgasthof "Zum Eibenwald" in Paterzell.

The window view, a premonition of things to come.
Can you see the Alps? Me neither.

Ta da! 19.4 miles (not counting the ferry ride).