EeeeeeAaaaaaaaw!

I am coming to realize that I have a lot of similarities with a pack mule.  I am slow.  I am larger than the other creatures around me.  I can be tricked into following people for the promise of food.  I'm hairy with exceptionally large feet.  Flies circle around me, especially when I haven't been hosed off in a few days.  And left to my own devices I would rather roam the earth unencumbered, but I can carry lots of things...for others.  

Today we visited the Königsee.  For those who have been following along, you know that "see" is another word for lake.  For those of you who haven't been paying attention, your scores will reflect your lack of effort on the final exam.  

The Königsee was a play place for King Ludwig while he was spending the people's money on himself.   While slipping further and further into insanity, he managed to save a quaint little chapel that was destined to be torn down.  It's a pretty little church that needs to be accessed by boat.  Electric boat.  Slow, nearly silent, calm, electric boat.  We pack animals like things calm.  The noisiest part of the whole trip was when the quasi-tour guide (he spoke about five minutes of the half hour trip and then we were on our own) told us about the special echo properties of the lake.  The captain turned off the motor (silent electric motors can be so distracting) and the guide got out his flugelhorn.     He then played a piece of music in short bursts, pausing while the echo sounded back at us.   It was very cool.  Then he played Johnny Be Good and the echo had a guitar solo?  it was a very special echo.  

Then, since he was speaking German, I didn't catch everything...so Sylvia told us to wait on the boat as about half the people got off at the church stop.  There is another lake called the Öbersee (literally the over see...or lake that is above the other one) that we were going to see first... Then, we would take a trip back to the church to check it out and catch the next boat back to the parking lot.

This is different than when Sylvia and I visited the Königsee when we came here just after we were married.  The way to the church was a quiet little boat (check) that took us out on the water to the church (check) We wandered around for a few minutes (check), it was by small and there wasn't at our (check) and then we boarded the boat to go back to her uncle's house.  There wasn't anything about another lake back then.  Last time we were nearly alone on the boat and there were no people in the town on the way to the boats...wildly different from the mass of people today.  In talking with Monika, Jürgen's wife and our companion along with Dieter for the day (I hope you are taking notes...this will be on the test), we determined that the reason my experience was so different last time was, time of day and weather conditions.  They almost didn't want to take us out since it was storming in the area.  So today I got to do something new.  Off to the Öbersee!!

I noticed that most people who got off the boat at the "over" lake looked much more fit than me, had better shoes than me, and were a little more accustomed to the warmer weather than me.  It might have been that it was hot...it also could have been that I was carrying the family backpack.  Not too much in it...camera, extra lens, drinks, Kleenex, gum...not a problem for a beast of burden.  I broke down and bought a straw hat for a few euros since it was really a warm day and all tanning ability has been bred out of my people...besides it looked really cute when I put it on and cut holes for my pointy ears to stick through.  (A trick I learned from Hee Haw). 

There were arrow shaped signs everywhere telling us where to go.  This way to the lake...10 minutes.  This way to the WC (bathroom)...5 minutes.  This way to the öberalm (best I can tell its like a restaurant that sells milk, buttermilk,  bread, and butter...all of which used to be in a cow until very recently (fresh and non processed)...11 minutes.  That way to the Fischbückalm...45 minutes uphill, in the heat, on jagged rocks, while cows wander amongst you.  And a happy little sign that said,  "Bier Garden!  Right here! Just follow your nose to the delicious smelling sausages!  Come on in! And by the way Jeff...isn't that backpack heavy!?"  Of course it was written in German so I can't be sure that's what it said, but I think I am close.   Monika said, "On the boat he said it would take an hour and a half...lets go to the fish alm."  My reply,   "Didn't anyone else see that last little sign?"  

So off we went to the fish alm.  Of course I was teasing about the treacherous rocks and uphill climb.  It was a beautiful shady stroll through some wonderful scenery.  There were some stairs(?) that were dents in rocks with guide wires to hold onto but it was a small portion of the trip.  We stopped and ate sandwiches Monika had brought (and carried), had some of the drink I was carrying, and took many pictures.  The deal is, when I want to take a picture I just have Jake grab the camera.  Saves time and I don't wrench my back twisting out of the backpack every few minutes...I also don't have the camera bouncing around my neck while we walk.  It's a good system...I thought.  

We got to the fish alm, we drank fresh milk, we ate fresh butter, everyone else tried fresh buttermilk (even pack mules have their limits), and the kids went down the the water.  Kristiana waded while Jake skipped stones.  I stayed up near the alm to hear a farmer use actual German swear words as a cow wandered through the crowd of people who were milling around drinking milk...and beer.  (For the record, I don't think the cows are actually part of the beer making process).  The cow left me alone...we beasts of burden stick together.  Then we decided to walk back.  Jake broke his skipping record of about twenty as it made little ripples out into the still water and then he came up to go.  He told us that there was a stone skipping scout down there by the water's edge and he may be looking into a college scholarship...we'll see.  

Then Jake did something that will change the course of our trip.  He said, "Just one more."...and reached into Sylvia's purse.  He pulled out a flat stone.  This, of course, led to, "Is that why my purse is so heavy!?!? " as she pulled out a handful of equally flat and equally heavy stones.  That got me to thinking...so I dug my hand into the multiple pockets of the backpack.  That's right...rocks!  Our 'grab the camera' system was working so well because Bozo the Wunderkind was depositing rocks into the pockets while he was taking out the camera.  So I would like to introduce Jacob by his new name...from now, until I forget about hauling rocks around in the backpack on the hottest day we've spent in Europe (aka...never),  Jacob the New Beast of Burden!  

The walk back took almost no time at all...and I wasn't huffing and puffing like a wolf in a children's book!