Off the trail

We are heading home and maybe it is the thought of airplane food, but our final reflective thoughts wander to food we have had over the last few days.

The most important lesson Jared took away from the trip is that beer, bread and chocolate are necessities of life. If not for our rations, we may not have made it to our first hostel given the train delays. Later, these foundations of good health kept us in good spirits on the long train rides between Munich and Gimmewald. Finally, we made sure to grab a loaf for our ride home... Just in case.

The second most important lesson Jared learned was the expert skill of wandering. Not only does it lead to new favorite spots, new adventures and new friends, but it also leads to the best food. We found that the further away from other tourists, the better the food. In Switzerland, we were half way up Mt Shilthorn, and the best food was a 1.5 hour walk further up hill. We were welcomed with a warm cheese kitchen, homemade dumpling soup, a loving dog named Joey and a family still celebrating their recent perfect score on their cheese competition. In Germany, while driving along, we took frequent turns off the "highway" (racetrack) to see the countryside. While out there, we stopped for food twice. It was by far the best food we had. The locals each had some homemade special and we both lost all self control. Jason's diet didn't stand a chance and Jared's appetite grew as large as him. To give you an image of what we mean, here is Jared finishing off a homemade, homegrown strudel and locking in the memory. To give a little context, he already finished up a schnitzel, and a plum cake. He wanted the strudel to be the last taste he had. Look at that face:

Cooking with petrol

Well, after a few hiccups in getting situated, we now have this traveling thing down to a science. You might say we are now "cooking with (diesel) petrol!"

We finished up rainy Switzerland a day early on an epic day of canyoning. With big jumps, repelling down waterfalls and lots of floating through the Sax canyon, we left Interlaken on a great note!

Then, we traveled back to Munich, which involved flawless transfers between six trains and trams. We spent some time in Bern and had a breakfast of beer, vegetables, sausage, kraut and coffee, with a beautiful view of old town Bern and next to some bear pits (seriously). Then, we checked out the Einstein museum and a beach volleyball tournament in the city. (Again, seriously). That was not enough though, we saw a parade and a greeting for Angela Merkel (Chancellor of Germany). We could not make this up! She waved to the crowd and the crowd waved back without cheering - cheering must not be considered austere enough.

We settled into our final German digs, a comfortable hotel. No more hostels.

The next day, we visited a moving museum for concentration camps. It is at the site of Dachau, the first camp of its kind. Both of us were quite touched and shocked by the horrors that occurred. Though it reflects activities from so long ago, humanity seems to be making the same mistakes in other regions over and over again. Shocking! We were marginally uplifted to hear there was a nearby uprising against Dachau and Hitler at the local university. A couple students published brochures stating their disagreement. Unfortunately, two days later, they were sentenced to death and executed. The University keeps their brochures enshrined in gold plates at their main building.

The next day, we rented a car (BMW 2 series convertible) and head off to see some castles. As a perk, we enjoyed a little drive down the autobahn. We knew we had started on the autobahn as soon as we saw an Audi R8 blow by us with a huge roar, making us look like we were standing still. Welcome to Germany, Jared and Jason! As a metaphor for how the drive went, let's just blur the details - it was a good time and we are safe.

The castles were a monument to the childhood tales of a Bavarian King. He was repeatedly called an "enigmatic" character and eventually pronounced officially unfit to rule. We think he was just misunderstood. He was a significant patron of arts and science, following in his father's footsteps. His primary focus was on medieval literature. His aesthetic style followed King Louis the IX. All these details led to a castle filled with scenes from legends and tales from his childhood in extremely intricate and beautiful detail. It's existence suggested he had a lot of free time. We thought the castle was more pretty than defensible, but that could have been the timing of the build at the end of the 19th century - not many feudal wars were still expected by then.

The museum experience helped enlighten us about Munich and the Bavarian culture. We were fascinated by the strategy to make Munich a cultural and scientific hub. This was a version of power and influence in the area. To solidify this strategy, "October fest" was created to bring the various houses closer together. We agree with the strategy - fight for the best beer, not the most land and we will all prosper together (albeit drunk)!

One more detail about the autobahn, Jared looked good in the ride:

Hikology

The syllabus for the Switzerland school of hiking:

Hiking 101: we had already taken this class

- Plan your trip using a local map (we can read one now)

- Ask for tips on places to go

- Take note of other people's thoughts on the weather

- Plan backup options in case the weather gets bad

- Plan for good, hot soup and cold beer for when the trail is over

- Pack a great jacket just in case 

- Remember to pick something up to leave in the lockbox on top of the mountain (Jared's choice was eyeliner that he claims he "found")

- Heard cows and sheep off your path using clapping and loud noises

Hiking 201: we skipped this class 

- Wake up early enough to miss weather 

- When you don't wake up early, don't bite off too much trail

- Goats do not herd as easily as other livestock - they attack 

- When the third person you pass reminds you to get off the mountain before the rain starts, consider it good advice

- When the fifth person gives you good advice, follow it

- Always remember the name of the backup option in case the weather gets bad 

- Ravines you crossed when the weather was good fill up when the weather gets bad

Hiking 301: we had to take this class because we skipped 201

- Nearby wood makes a great bridge 

- Ideal climbing approach in bad weather uses all four limbs

- Water in your shoes can feel warm after your feet go numb

- Hand driers and room heaters at tourist joints along the way can dry clothes too

- Dumpling soup warms the soul

- The dog that spent the morning herding the cows to be milked is also wet and cold, and should absolutely eat with the tourists

We found this hiking curriculum wonderfully effective. If you do decide to take the course, we highly recommend professor Shilthorn (our mountain)

-Jared & Jason

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Breakfast in Bern

Totally normal breakfast, right?