Once again its a long weekend, this time round its Finxter or something, 40 days after easter and the students here enjoy yet another 2 weeks long break. Great for students but not for me. Every holiday here will cost me 50 bucks and since my touchdown, there have been at least 5 holidays. So much so that i stop counting. But that is at least an entire week of lessons. =( Anyway, spent 2 days 1 night over in Tegernsee, with the first day covering the lake, and the second day covering the mountains. The wetter.com forecasted horrible weather on Saturday, so did all the radio channels which went Gewitter und Windig (Storm and strong wind). However on Saturday itself, sky was clear and blue while the sun was high up lighting up the beautiful Munich. Packed a set of sleeping clothes, 2 jackets, my toiletries and of course my camera and tripod. Set off by noon and reached Tegernsee in just slightly over an hour. By the time we arrived, the sky was no longer bright blue and sunny, instead it was covered by storm clouds and got blasted by the wind the moment i stepped out of the vehicle. Did a little shopping with my Guest family for the day's dinner before heading to Macdonalds for a burger. My second time. I must admit the burger did give a nostalgic feeling, wonder how it will feel eating KFC...Anyway, spent the first day wandering along the coast. Walked quite a distance down the coast before the scenery became repetitive. Headed back through another way, past a couple of ice cream shops. Was very tempted to buy one, but wearing berms in such windy weather and eating ice cream at the same time will prolly freeze up my balls. So opted to walk on instead. Just as i turned around, caught sight of this really fat guy, who bought a cone with at least 3 scoops on it. He was so huge that he looked like he had difficulty getting into the driver seat of his BMW 7 series. IMAGINE THAT. In fact i wasn;t the only who noticed. A couple of pedestrains waiting at a bus stop where the BMW was parked next to were staring with amazement as well. After dinner, Lucas and friends decided to go for a short drive up the forest, and since there was still another seat in the Mini, i tagged along. Got a few cow shots that turned out pretty nice. Wasn't expecting it to turn out nice as i didn't bring my tripod and it was pretty dark already. My 400D does surprise me at times. After we got back, i headed to the coast again. The lights on the other side of the lake is too pretty to resist. Grabbed my tripod and headed quickly to the coast before everything turn too dark. I think thats the prettiest photo of the day. Listened to some music before i fell asleep, thus i was partially awake till 3 am before the battery ran out. Woke up at 630 the next morning, and it was already bright and sunny, missed the sun rising part. Damn. Took another couple of photos before heading back for more sleep. Woke up once more at 11 am. Ate my breakfast before heading out to the mountains. After the short mini trip the previous day, i thought the mountains would look really great in the day. So trekked back again, only this time on foot. Make a few turns before the route looked too desserted, thus headed back towards a stream. From which i spent the next 2 and a half hours trekking upwards. The intial part was alright, a little gradient and i thought it was no kick, till i reached the sign post which says "Auealm 1h 15 mins". So i thought 1 h 15 mins is probably for exaggerated since there were so many people from different ages. 1 hour into the hike before i came to the next sign that says "Auealm 45 mins". Then path got even steeper. It is amazing how some cyclist manage to continue cycling up that never ending slope, as the slope continues at that gradient into the forest after every bend, and it just went on and on for the next hour before i finally see light. Light from an open space. The view in place was stunning. It looked exactly like the picture from Ricola advertisments. Blue skies, green fields dotted with flowers, and of course the triangular outline of the Alps' peaks. As i got higher, the wind got stronger and the air gets even cooler. In fact i was so high up that there was some remnants of snow (Got pictures to proof) and my bottle was depressurised. Unfortunately had to turn back before i could reach the peak (Fockenstein) as i had promised my Gast family that i will be back before 6. Its only about 20 mins away, but what goes up must come down. Didn't want them to get worried unnecessarily. It was already 3.30 and i had to start heading down. Way down was as bad as way up, granted that it was faster, but after 3 hours of trekking uphill, my skinny legs were not cooperative anymore. Because of the steep gradient, i had to descend with caution, if not a slip and down i will roll into the watery grave next to the slippery gravel path. No kidding. My converse shoes are also not the most appropriate footwear for the occasion, thus my soles were numb and my calves were sore. Thank god my knees held on. 2 hours later, i finally saw the glimmer of light reflecting off what looked like cars. I can't tell you how relieved i was. Hungry and exhausted, i expended the last drop of energy in me crossing the final stretch of road that led back to the holiday home. Sitting there on the table were Applecakes baked by my landlandy. Ate at least 4 pieces of cake and half a loaf of bread before my hunger dissipated. Oh did i mention that i exhausted my memory card again.. meaning 350 photos. I had to delete some to make space for more. So heres some for your pleasure....
