Höllentalklamm

Emily, Jake and Gino might recognize where we went hiking today - they've all been there already. I sort have have a soft spot in my heart for this beautiful location which is in Garmisch-Partenkirchen - a little over an hour away from us if traffic is flowing normally (which it was not and we spent an extra 45 minutes on the way there and an extra hour on the way back sitting in traffic, but c'est la vie). And at some point during the outing I was wondering if Hans and Dorothee have ever been to the hike at some point in all their exploring, which is outrageously gorgeous, even when you've been there and hiked it a half dozen times. (Which we have - because we often take our visitors there, if you haven't figured it out. Mom, Dad - forget it - not possible in winter.)

I'm happy to simply arrive (it's usually a Sunday when we go - inevitably because in Germany, the stores are open on Saturday and you usually have some last minute grocery shopping or errand running to do, so therefore Saturday is the day to do it - yeah, Sunday...NOTHING EXCEPT GAS STATIONS ARE OPEN - and museums and restaurants - but forget about shopping and rather go hiking. It really takes some getting used to and after living in Singapore, the no-shopping-Sundays are a major source of culture shock. Along with the fact that I realize I have not eaten sushi now for TWO MONTHS) anyway, long aside over - because on Sunday, especially, you can see all the locals walking around after church in their tracht (the word for local German formal wear, which yes - please Google "Lederhosen" and "Dirndl" if you don't know what old fashioned - but still fashionable here in Bavaria - German formal wear looks like.) But in its old fashioned way, it is still quite beautiful and great for people watching and lots of fun during Oktoberfest (Walt, Chris - you coming?). It gets boring just to look at the tourie hikers in their hiking pants with their sticks. Tracht is much more interesting.

I'll keep it brief now. We spent two hours going up the mountain, at which point I gratefully dug into some pea soup with sausages at the local mountain hut. Unfortunately (fortunately?) it began to POUR and we froze to death for a good 15 minutes because the seats inside were all taken and the ones outside were only half-way under a huge umbrella. After a quick purchase of a plastic bag in the shape of a poncho, we headed back down the mountain and back to the car. Honestly, I was tired. I need to get used to this hiking stuff again. I must be a bit wimpy after only 1.5 hours (max) yoga classes for the last two years.

As usual, the Klamm did not disappoint. Totally gorgeous views and though on one hand I wanted to take pictures of everything (with my phone), on the other one really has to balance that with simply enjoying the view and not worrying about what photos will look best on the blog. :-) Enjoy and come visit - we'll take you to the Höllentalklamm (literally, "Hell valley gorge.")