Miscellaneous

So, what have we been up to since Switzerland? Not just a whole lot. The summer holds infinite possibilities right here in our own backyard and we have taken full advantage of the many festivals, the warm weather and spending time with friends.

We did take a short trip to Garmisch over Labor Day weekend. It seems that Fall is fast approaching (or already here...sigh) so we wanted to get back to the mountains while the weather was still warm. We took a train to the top of the Zugspitz (tallest in Germany, not to be confused with the Jungfrau, tallest in Europe).

Had we gotten an earlier start, we would have made the 8 hour hike back to the bottom. When we went to buy our one-way train ticket, the nice lady behind the counter was kind enough to subtley inform us that we were out of our minds getting started after noon. So, we opted for the round trip ticket and figured we would burn those calories some other time.

We met the nicest couple at dinner and ended up hanging out with them most of the morning at the Zugspitz since they were headed there also. We spent the afternoon riding our bikes around lake Eibsee.

We enjoyed some traditional Bavarian fare - schweinehaxn Munchen style and the biggest kartoffel knoedel (potato dumpling) either of us has ever seen. Only in Germany will you be served a giant potato dumpling with a little potato salad on the side. That's my kinda meal.

We took a little video of the evening's entertainment. I'm not sure how to turn the video upright, but you get the idea....






On the drive home we stopped at Linderhof, another of Mad King Ludwig's palaces. It was worth the stop - an interesting palace with beautiful gardens.

We had a good time and enjoyed the obnoxiousness of European Queuing at the Venus Grotto. I've never seen so many grown men and women with a complete and total inability to stand in line in a civilized manner. It's fascinating really.

In other news, we had a wonderful blackberry crop this year. I don't know if we just weren't paying attention last year or if this was a new arrival, but the trail near our house was full of blackberries. We picked about 2 lbs. worth and made cobbler. Actually, Steve made cobbler, one of his many gifts. I scooped ice cream, one of my many gifts.