This weekend was sadly the last weekend here in Germany. My
trip/internship came and went much faster then I ever thought
possible! I have met lots of people, tried new things and seen lots of
interesting placed that is for sure. At the same time I have not done
enough so that means I will have to come back for sure. Several times
at least.

This past weekend I had home base in Oberstdorf, Germany which is
right on the Austrian border. We finally had some nice weather so I
was finally able to get to go hiking in the Alps like I have wanted to
for several weeks. The weekend started off on Friday leavinf work
early after I had a meeting with Dr. Kukral. The train left at 2 and
we were in Sontofen just after 5. There were no hotels or hostels with
room when we made our bookings so we stayed in the next town over
Santofen. The hotel was 2 km from the station so we headed there,
dropped our things off and relaxed a bit before venturing off to find
some dinner. We went back into town and were wandering around we ended
up finding a great place to eat. I cannot remember the name but it was
a traditional Bavarian place with the waiters and waitresses dressed
in traditional clothing and all. After supper we took a different path
back along a beautiful lake and across a river where people were
rafting anf then called it a night.

Saturday we were up early and left just before 8. The origional plan
was to stop at the bakery near the station to grab breakfast but there
was a line up out the door. We only had 10 minutes before our train so
we decided to wait until we got to Oberstdorf to find a bakery. We
took a train then a bus to get to Oberstdorf as part of the tracks are
closed for repairs. Once there we found a bakery and headed off to the
mountain I had found on the online map to hike. We followed the signs
to the bottom where the cable cars run from. There are three levels
that the cabel cars go to so we went for the top one. The view was
amazing all the way up! Once we were where the cable cars ended we
just had to walk/climb a little longer to reach the very top. From the
top you are suppose to be able to see 400 mountain peaks but I did not
count so I am not sure of this. We walked some of the trails that go
through the peaks before we started our treck down. It took us just
over 6 hours to do as we took a few detours to climb different peaks
for views and to explore. At the top when we started it was cold
enough for jackets and pants but when we reached the bottom hours
later is was very very hot. The hike was gorgeous and I still cannot
get over how far we could see and the different valleys that we were
able to go through. After we reached the bottom we were beat so we
headed back to the train station to go home. We then showered and
headed back the restaurnt of the night before. The second night was
just as good as the first so it was well worth the longer than needed
walk after such a long day. On the way back we stopped to soak our
feet in the lake. The water was pretty cold as it runs from the Alps
but it was welcome. After that we were back and asleep by 9!

Sunday was another beautiful day in the Alps. Our train was not until
2 so we were able to sleep in a bit and get breakfast from the first
bakery as we could wait in line today. I now know why the line was so
long as it was delicious. We had 4 hours after this to kill so we
decided to climb a smaller mountain to a dam. We were a bit slower
this day as we were a bit burnt and sore from the day before. However
we were able to make it to the top and see the dam? a very tiny one at
that. It was a lot hotter than Saturday so I am glad that this
mountain was more covered in trees. We made it back down with an hour
and a bit to spare so we stopped at the lake once more to relax. I
forgot my swim suite but still went in the water up to my shorts as it
was too hot not too. We caught our train home and arrived with no
problems which was a great way to end the weekend. Other than the rain
that welcomed us home in HDH.