Southern Bavaria Travelogue-Germany, France, Austria (Part 2)
2017.8.14
Ribeauville > Colmar
We settled in a beautiful wine district near Colmar, a little town composed of around 20 households in the country side surrounded by valleys of grape farms producing the best of Alsatian wine. Took a 1.5 hour walk with Mom and Dad early in the morning, breathing in the chilly morning air and surrounded by the peaceful little houses and panoramic valleys of green grape farms. With no one in sight, it felt great to observe and imagine the livelihoods of farmers in the district, making their homemade bread, buying cheese and sausages from nearby villages, making wine for a living, polishing their beautiful little mansion, and sitting by their little house enjoying the country side view I guess.
Allowing space for impromptu adventures in trips can be exciting and well worth it, as we visited Ribeauville in the day, another picturesque wine village with a castle roaming in the hills overlooking the city. After exploring the whole town district, which was led by a main road composing of less than 100 households I guess, a path that led to the castle appeared with the ruins of ancient brick town walls in the distance. Dad and I wanted to take the adventure, while Mom and Danny weren’t so eager. I think trips together are about constant communication, respecting different needs and interests, and allocating time that best suits the whole family, and it is a constant learning process. Compromises are made, and plans are set according to the everyone’s preferances. I guess it’s been a long time that we spent a whole 24 hour 14 day week with the family for a very long time, and I cherish spending time with the family, also grateful that Dad took up the planning suff, and initiating some of the hardest work of the trip, deciding to rent a car and drive most of the trip, booking the various hotels, and setting up the rough plan.
I’m very glad that it’s a family tradition to come out every summer to enjoy overseas vacations, and in the future I might spend huge portions of time taking up my first job, doing internships and stuff, so I should cherish this summer. Anyway, hiked up the hill overlooking red brick-walled houses that became small models under our feet, and the ruins of the castle became more vivid and lively with its silhouette nearing us. Propping our legs against the ruins of the castle and breathing in the scenery below us was a magical experience, it’s like re-living the lives of Renaissance royals and guards that surveilles the whole city with the strategic peak view.

2017.8.15
Alpirsbach > Losburg: Hiking in the black forest

Breakfast in Germany is different and the same every day, and it’s one of the most enjoyable parts of the day as well! There’s a wide selection of freshly baked bread, with French flour so it’s mostly hard and crunchy in the outside and soft and chewy in the inside, some covered with grains, nuts, and sesame and others a thin layer of salt. These simple baked goods are heavenly if you’re a fan of European bread, and Mom and I love to talk about the differences of each kind we munch on. Most of the bakeries make decent hard dough bread in Germany, with gastronomic novelties for us and served in decent prices. Besides the bread a huge selection of homemade jam, yoghurt, ham, bacon, sausages, a huge variety of cheese, and fruits are displayed, and you can be overwhelmed by the selection at first glance. I guess it’s quality over quantity, and after getting my head clear over the fact that huge amounts of meat and cheese is consumed in typical Bavarian meals, I consume less of them in breakfast, as fruits and veggies are rare and precious in German meals.
Had a long hike in the black forest today, although it was just 10 kilometers it seemed extremely long, as the scenery was tumbling valleys of green carpets dotted with pines. The weather was just right, around 27 degrees of clear weather with huge fluffy clouds on top, yet paths without the shades of the pines were cruel, with the sun casted right at us. The trail led from one Black forest town to another, from Alpirsbach to Losburg, and plenty of the hikers along the way greeted us happily with matching beaming smiles. Old couples cruised by on their bikes, and I think biking around the area is one of the best ways to explore the black forest, as it fastens the tempo of scenic boredom for kids if they are not a big fan of hiking. For me, as I love venturing into nature, a 5 hour walk in mild weather is still very acceptable. After finishing the trail, we had quite a hard time locating where the Losburg bus stop was, and “explored” the township trying to find our way. For me, going around the town and visiting the residential area in good pace is a nice way to explore, yet I guess Dad thought it was time consuming to not find the train station. This is when emotional intelligence comes into play, as after a long walk most would desire the return journey as soon as possible, so when things don’t go as planned (such as not being able to find the train station), thinking the other way and keeping your temper is of vital importance.
Very glad that we got a break from the gastronomic boredom of German bread, cheese, and meat from the last few days. Found a cozy Italian restaurant on Trip Advisor, and we were not let down at all. It served one of the tastiest gnocchi and Italian dumplings I’ve ever tasted, and everyone was satisfied by the meal. Quite a few meals this trip was proposed by me, and most of the times we were happy with our choice. Being able to help out a bit on trip planning-as Dad has to take care of driving, looking at routes, and paying (hmm, most important part); I’m glad that I could lend a hand in planning the restaurants and communicating with my functional English and smile haha.

2017.8.15
Schonwald (Black forest hiking)>Triberg (black forest cake)
Dad tells us that not picking the tourist hotspot towns along the alpine road has its perks-it’s not as crowded, and the fares for the accommodations are not as expensive. We stayed in Schonwald instead of Triberg, a nice Black forest little town with nice hikes around the Schonwald region. The information centers are a must visit to provide you sufficient guidance of biking and hiking trails, and we got our 11.6K hikng route at the center and started the hike of the day.
The hike from Heilklima to Steig is extremely pleasant, starting from the town center into the black forest, starting with a panorama of nicely grazed plains with little wooden Bavarian households dotting on top, and carpets of black forest pines looming in the distance. It was the best weather for a black forest hike, with temperature around 27 degrees, the sun shining brightly above us, yet gusts of chilly air swept through the forest and cleared my mind and heart. Everyone enjoyed this hike more than the last one, as it truly was a forest trek, with half of the route buried deep inside the forest in pine needle covered walks and huge pines looming around us. The black forest hike surely would be placed under my hiking trips in the Alps of Switzerland and the Lake district of England, but I think it offers something completely different. As there are nearly no slopes and offers the panorama of country side Germany with wild forests, the different scenery enlightens another part of the mind, craving for a completely green escape in the woods.

The fundamental difference in our Germany trip and our last Swiss trip is transportation, as we rented a car this time and the navigation of routes and restaurants were more independent, but more tiring as well. Dad is the one burdened with huge responsibility, of catching up with the plans and rushing past the country roads in unfamiliar exotic territory. Now that I think about it, whenever we turn to my trip plan or planned restaurants, I feel a bit tight as I’m afraid that things will go wrong, and hope that all turns out as planned. And that is just a tiny portion of responsibility of Dad’s so I think I should be extremely grateful of what Dad’s given to us, and cherish the experience.
2017.8.16~17
新天鵝堡(Schloss Neuschwanstein)、舊天鵝堡(Schloss Hohenschwangau), Hiking at Mittenwald

Cruising along the alphine road, countless picturesque little hiking town invites you to get off the car, and wander along it’s easy to medimu hiking paths that leads to the panorama above. At the mountain station you find the information center, where we pick up a map, choose our hiking trail, and venture into the forest. The alpine road is a picture book, with impressive mountain views surrounded by carpets of green and pines dotted on top, towering stone mountains, cozy mountain huts, and colorful mountain pastures. The tracks are well maintained, with clear directions that leads from one panorama spot to another lake, and its easy to spend a day relaxing in nature. I guess hiking in the beautiful Bavarian landscapes would be the deepest memory for me this time, as we spent many days active, hiking and venturing to different destination points.
In these two days, we took walks to the Schloss Neuschwanstein and hiked in the Mittenwald region, and I love walking in the mountain tracks. Covered with little stones and soil, it might be a bit difficult for sneakers to grab the ground, so I guess a pair of hiking boots would be ideal. Our tours have a light to medium difficulty and last between around 2 hours or so, and I’m glad I got to be moving around and stopping at different natural or historic sights.

