Blistery Feet and Burning Thighs - A Weekend in the German Alps

Last weekend, I went hiking in the German Alps, very close to the Austrian border. The main reason going there is to see the King's House on the Schachen. Bavarian King Ludwig II was an eccentric figure to say the least, and wishing for some quiet alone time, he order a little house to be built high up in the mountains in the middle of nowhere.

While researching this trip, I learnt there's a hütte (mountain refuge) 1.5 hours from the King's House. Never stayed at a hütte before, and wanted to experience this very European aspect of hiking, I decided I'll spend the night in the mountain.

The weather that weekend was unfortunately far from ideal. It's been hot and sunny for 4 weeks, but the weekend I picked to go hiking was cold and rainy. Fortunately it didn't rain much during my ascent. Also, I was in much worse shape than I thought. During the climb, I had to take frequent breaks and was going really really slowly.

After hiking for more than 8 hours, and ascending more than 1,600m, I finally arrived at the hütte. What a relief! Nudged between 2 peaks on a ridge, the Meilerhütte is right on the border between Germany and Austria. While the building is just inside Germany, one has to go around to Austria to get to the entrance.

I would like to say that I slept like a baby that night. However, it was so cold in the room, that even with 3 blankets, I was tossing and turning a lot. I did eventually managed to get some rest, and felt much better in the morning.

The descent was less exhausting than the ascent, but it was much harder on my knees. I came across a herd of sheep grazing in the mountain, and they followed me for a bit. 6 hours later, I was back in town, exhausted, but exhilarated.

While this was the hardest thing I've done in a while, I enjoyed it tremendously. The view was magnificent, and it reminded me how much I missed mountains. I was so spoiled in Vancouver!

My German Wallet

My wallet is now finally German-ized. Along with my German bank card, German health insurance card, and German rail discount card, I just got my German driving license today!

Holders of Canadian driving licenses can exchange for German ones without having to take any tests. So about 75 euros poorer and 2 weeks later, I got my good-for-life German license, with no expiry date! Decades later, I can look back at this license and see how I looked when I was still in my twenties.

Happy Birthday Canada

I saw this while travelling 2 months ago. I love it! Makes me a little homesick . . .



Happy Canada Day!

Optimism

While at breakfast with the bakers the other morning, the topic inevitably turned to football. I asked how many times had Germany won the World Cup. One of the bakers immediately and enthusiastically said '4 times!' and proceeded to name the years, '1954, 1974, 1990, 2010!'

Fascination with Doors

During my travels in the past few months, I began to develop a fascination with doors, especially the old wooden doors with elaborate hinges and carvings. Many of them are probably older than Canada! Here are some of the prettiest doors I've seen so far.

It's Central Europe, NOT Eastern Europe

I had an amazing time in Prague. Beautiful castle, magnificent churches, well-preserved old town, good public transportation, cheap food and entertainment, it's an ideal place to 'see' Europe on a budget. Although the hordes of tourists everywhere can detract from the experience, it is still a very worthwhile city to visit. For €4, you can have dinner with wine, or see an opera. I did both.





Some interesting observations:

• If you don't want to offend the locals, don't say Czech Republic is in Eastern Europe. It's in Central Europe.
• The age of buses and trams in Prague vary greatly, from spanking new to, hmmm, vintage models. However, they all have GPS and electronic displays that tell you what the next stop is.
• Some of the museums are situated in very beautiful buildings. It is sometimes worth the price of admissions just to admire the interior of these buildings.
• The security guards in most museums in Prague are elderly women. They speak some basic English, and are very kind and sweet. They are also very insistent that you follow the exhibit in the correct order.
• As you leave the museums, the staff will thank you for your visit, and wish you a good day. What a nice touch. I don't think I've ever been in museums where they thank me for my visit.
• In Canada, you can find soft drinks in 2L plastic bottles. In Prague, you can find beers in 2L plastic bottles.

I spent 4 full days in Prague, but can easily spend at least 2 more days in the city. I look forward to visiting Czech again and travelling to some of the other cities and countryside.

Many many more photos here.

'you've seen more of Germany than most Germans!'

For the past 2 months, when I'm not working or sleeping, I've been busy travelling. I have visited many of the popular tourist spots in southern Germany, as well as a bit of Austria. In about 12 hours, I'll be leaving for Prague in the Czech Republics for a few days.

Several people have commented that I've seen more of Germany than most Germans.

Travelling is undeniably my biggest passion, and I am so thankful I have the opportunity to do so much of it this year.

Out and About

In the little bit of free time I have, I try to go out and have some fun. Here are some of the things I've done so far.

Baking Trade Show - Set in the warehouse of a large baking supplies distributor, this is the most enjoyable trade show I've ever been to. Not only was there free food and beer, there's even a clown and musicians to keep you entertained. Of all the people there, the clown chose me to be his partner in his hat juggling act. I think the crowd was doubly entertained by the juggling and by my complete lack of German.







Confirmation - Was invited to a confirmation 2 weekends ago. It started with a church service in the morning, where the teenagers stated their commitment to follow Jesus. It was then followed by a celebration, which was 6 hours of almost-continuous eating and playing games. It was a lot of fun. Notice the brass band playing on the church tower.





Wedding / mini-Mercy Ships reunion - A couple from the ship got married this past weekend in Germany. The ceremony took place in a beautiful church, and was followed by a huge coffee and cake reception. I had the honour of making their wedding cake, and was relieved the cake made the 200km journey intact. There were about 10 Mercy Shippers there, and we had a great time catching up with each other. The wedding was in the wine country part of Germany. The typical landscape includes vineyards, rolling hills, open fields, and the occasional nuclear power plant.

Behind the Scene

Today, I'll take you behind the scene and show you what the bakery looks like.



This is where everything begins, the dough mixer. 4 adults can sit comfortably inside each of the mixing bowls.



The dough is then divided . . .



. . . and shaped. We're making pretzels here.



2 of the bakers hard at work. The trolley in the background is full of rye bread dough proofing, to be baked in about an hour.



Racks and racks of bread rolls. There's always a traffic jam in front of the oven.



There are 3 ovens in the bakery,



and one of them even has an IP address!



Krapfens, or Berliners, which is basically jelly donuts. So yummy, especially when fresh!



Not sure what's going on here. Maybe I won a prize for doing such a good job cleaning up?

What's a typical day like?

In case you're wondering, here's what a typical work day looks like for me:

0130 - rise and shine, or yawn

0200 - start work. The first part of the day is about baking, preparing for baking, the actual baking, and additional steps after baking. For example, pretzels need to be coated with an alkaline solution to give it that dark brown colour, slashed and sprinkled with salt before baking. After baking, danishes and other pastries are coated with a sugar glaze to make them look irresistibly yummy.

0600 - breakfast. While the bakers take a break, the bread is being delivered to the shops and other customers.

0630 - preparation. The second part of the day is about preparing for the next day, and the following week. Some items like bread rolls and pretzels are made daily, while others like danishes and apple strudels are made weekly. Depending on the day of the week, we have a list of items to prepare. One thing is for sure, this being Germany, I get to roll and shape a lot of pretzels! The items for the following day will be put in a special temperature and humidity controlled room, and will be ready for baking the next day.

1130 - lunch. I love having a delicious hot lunch waiting for me when I'm done work. I think the German way of having a big hot lunch and small cold dinner makes much more sense.

1330 - nap :)

1530 - read, email, learn German, walk, etc

1730 - dinner with the family, listening to the conversation, don't have a clue what they're talking about, but it's fun guessing what they're talking about.

1830 - read, email, learn German, etc

1930 - time for bed. The alarm will sound all too soon.

While the work is challenging, I enjoy it tremendously. Each day passes by so quickly. I can't believe this is my 5th week already.

Last weekend, I was invited to a confirmation ceremony (a teenager confirming his commitment to follow Jesus), and made this cake. Well, the pastry chef made the cake, I just wrote on it. The writings' far from perfect, but it's a start.



Thanks for reading. I'll write more about my new life and post some pictures in the hopefully not too distant future.