Wednesday 4/27
Sunshine! My goal for the last day of this hike was to meet Stefan at the Immenstadt train station at 12:55pm.
A German pun that doesn't translate well: "A cow makes (says) moo; many cows make a lot of work (moos)":
More promo material from the local dairy industry:
This sundial explains that it doesn't need winding, runs quite accurately, and is only precise on the hour. (It doesn't mention that it doesn't work when the sun isn't shining, but there are only so many words one can paint on a wall...)
Looking down into the valley; Kempten is on the horizon.
Trails in Germany often run through farm fields:
Acrophobe House of Torture: a Sessellift (chair lift, vs. a gondola lift):
Heading into Rettenberg:
This Rettenberg church listed its WW2 war dead inside, rather than outside with the rest of the war dead.
Getting close to Immenstadt...
Another winning lone-tree-on-a-hill:
This sign is not going anywhere:
Caught in the act of dandelion snarfing:
Cowbell decor. Cowbells aren't tuned to anything, so this probably can't substitute for a marimba or xylophone, even in a pinch.
On the edge of Immenstadt, there be ruins! I only learned this on Tuesday evening, so I altered my route to include them, and I neared them with lots of time before Stefan's train was to arrive. I liked the view from the underpass, which framed medieval stonework with modern:
Can one ever get enough ruins? (Well, OK, the answer is yes; but still...)
Komoot wanted me to cross this bridge to get to the ruins. Unfortunately, the bridge was still mostly blueprints; only a few meters had been built on either side of the river, and I had neither wings nor a hard hat.
I searched Komoot for an alternate way into Immenstadt. The only nearby option was a bow-and-arrow Parcours trail that was in use. Didn't seem like a great idea to tromp through...
I texted Stefan that the bridge was out, and he texted back suggesting I try wading across the river. Not an option.
So I backtracked and found a trail paralleling the freeway, presumably beyond arrow shooting range.
After cutting through a suburb, past some massive power pylons, and around a water retention basin, I was delighted that the next bridge Komoot recommended was fully functional.
Shortly after I crossed the bridge, Stefan's train passed by. We met up in the Altstadt's Marienplatz for lunch. Check out all the palm trees...
After lunch, we visited the truffle on the way to our hotel.
On the side of a building, a mosaic of St. Christopher, patron saint of pedestrians in a world built for cars:
After an hour's pause, we headed out for another walk, to Buehl am Alpsee.
Can you spot the three paragliders?
We decided to see if Stefan's leg was in good enough shape to get him up to the ruins. Nice views on the the way, but too much walking for one day, so we cut the hike short.
Ta da! 13.7 + 4.3 miles
.png)
.png)
Bonus reel: we hiked up to the ruins on Thursday morning before catching the train back to Steinebach. What took me six days to hike took two hours to undo by train. We're hoping to return to Immenstadt in June to hike the rest of the way to the Bodensee.
When we got back to Steinebach, naturally we went for a walk...
No comments:
Post a Comment