My primary reason for going to Munich was to hike in the Alps. Since I was traveling alone, I hired a guide, which turned out to be invaluable since it's so hard to get by without knowing German in Bavaria.
This hike was one of the highlights of my trip. Chris Gretz, my guide, made it such and easy and enjoyable experience that it deserves its very own blog entry.
The hike was on Sunday, and I had been in the country since Friday and had found it challenging navigating the city not knowing German. It had actually been a rather stressful trip for this reason among others. I was looking forward to my hike on Sunday because someone else would be responsible for the navigating and planning. As I was leaving the neighborhood of my host's house to meet my guide, I saw this rainbow, which I took as a sign that it would be a good day.
Chris met me at the metro stop near my host's house. He made me feel comfortable right away. We took the metro, then a bus, then a beautiful hour-long train ride through the countryside to Riederstein. Coming from Dubai, the green open spaces, lakes, rivers, and trees were breath-taking. I don't think I would have been able to figure out all of those connections without knowing German, so I was already feeling very grateful for hiring a guide.
On the train he told me that he had packed a picnic lunch for us. He also explained that he loved cracking open a beer when he got to the peak, so he brought one for each of us. Since beer was my #2 reason for coming to Munich, this was fabulous news.
He knew the mountain and the hike well. I didn't know what to expect. I was hoping it would be a good climb, but when Chris emailed me about it beforehand, he said it was an easy hike. When I hear "easy hike" I picture basically open fields. However, that misconception was banished as soon as we approached the mountain. He warned me that we the first ten minutes would be steep hiking, and he was right. The climbing started immediately.
At the half-way point we stopped at a lovely little restaurant. Chris partook in his tradition of ordering a mug of buttermilk so thick there were actually chunks of butter floating in it. He kindly offered me a sip, but I didn't think my dairy-sensitive stomach could handle it, so I declined.
Me in front of the Bavarian flag:
As we were sitting at the restaurant, he told me about a church that was built on top of a rock above where we were sitting. I couldn't really picture it, but when we left the restaurant, he pointed it out. The church is so precariously sitting atop a jutting, oblong rock that it looks unnatural and almost magical. It took my breath away. It was beautiful and unexpected. As we headed toward the peak of Riederstein mountain, that church was our next destination.
The climb was steady and challenging with good breaks of flattish trails.
We reached the church. Come to think of it I don't even remember what the church looked like up close, but I do remember what the view from the church looked like. It was stunning.
We left the church and hiked on through the beautiful forest.
The views started making appearances as we climbed higher:
Our next stop was the peak. Naturally, the hike became steeper and more narrow. Often the path would diverge into two; one would be steep, and the other would be flat. As soon as I thought, phew, a break (!), he would lead me toward the steeper of the two. At one point we came to a path that was virtually 90 degrees. There was another choice that was less steep; when I asked if we could take that one, he said it was no problem and that they both lead to the same place.
He frequently encouraged me to walk first so that I could set the pace. This was especially helpful since I was wearing running shoes, and they were quite slick on the rock and uneven surfaces. There were moments that were really challenging to me. It was constant climbing for a while, and there were times when I wanted to sit down and give up. However, I knew that a view and a beer awaited me at the top, so I stayed focused and headed upward as quickly as possible.
This is me trying to wipe the sweat out of my eyes near the top:
Just before the last leg I asked Chris the altitude - I don't know why I didn't ask how high we were going before the hike! He told me it was 1448 metres. When I told him that I didn't know what that meant in feet and would have to convert it later, he pulled out his phone and converted it for me. It was 4,750 feet. The highest I had hiked before that was 3,500 feet in Colorado. He congratulated me on the new height.
We noticed as we got closer to the peak that clouds were moving in around it. The weather started cooling a bit, but we didn't noticed at first because were sweating from the climb. When we finally reached the top, the temperature started dropping rapidly, and clouds were forming around us. We got there just in time to see a view of lakes and towns down below in the valleys. It was an amazing view. We just got about two minutes of it though, and then we were enclosed in a white room.
We sat on a log and watched the temperature drop to 11 degrees Celsius while we ate. It got quite cold, and Chris jokingly said that when the temperature stopped dropping, we would leave. I told him that would depend on how low it got! Fortunately, it only dropped to 11, which he kindly converted to Farenheit for me, which was about 52 degrees. That made me feel warmer because, as I told him, 50 degrees is running shorts weather for me.
Also, I didn't notice the cold much because Chris pulled out a fantastic assortment of food, so I was well-distracted. There were Bavarian pretzels, cheese and cheese spread for the pretzels, Bavarian sausages, cherries, strawberries, and tomatoes. There were also the beers. I drank an Oktoberfest beer that was delicious. For dessert Chris pulled out organic creamy milk chocolate that we snacked on on the way down.
We finished our lunch, and the temperature stayed at 11, so we hiked back down. I was glad he had brought walking sticks for me to use. They helped because there were times that it was quite steep both up and down the mountain. On the way down we took a different route, so we saw some new things.
When we got to the train station, we had to wait a half an hour for the train to leave, which was just enough time for Chris to buy us a couple of beers for the train ride back. That was a really nice touch. In Dubai and even in the US you can't drink out of open bottles in public, so it felt a little rebellious, but it made the train ride go by faster and was a nice end to an exhausting day of steady hiking.
I think everyone who likes hiking should fly to Munich just to hike with Chris. It's not often in life when someone else takes care of all of the details. It was so luxurious, too, with the thoughtful touches like beers and chocolate. The easy conversation made it feel like spending a day with an old friend. This is perfect for a woman traveling alone (especially if you don't speak German), but Chris also offers this tour in small groups for anyone who wants an expert mountain guide in the Bavarian Alps. You can email him here if you're interested: mail@ui-muenchen.com or find him on tripadvisor: http://bit.ly/12xTaiE
This hike was one of the highlights of my trip. Chris Gretz, my guide, made it such and easy and enjoyable experience that it deserves its very own blog entry.
The hike was on Sunday, and I had been in the country since Friday and had found it challenging navigating the city not knowing German. It had actually been a rather stressful trip for this reason among others. I was looking forward to my hike on Sunday because someone else would be responsible for the navigating and planning. As I was leaving the neighborhood of my host's house to meet my guide, I saw this rainbow, which I took as a sign that it would be a good day.
Chris met me at the metro stop near my host's house. He made me feel comfortable right away. We took the metro, then a bus, then a beautiful hour-long train ride through the countryside to Riederstein. Coming from Dubai, the green open spaces, lakes, rivers, and trees were breath-taking. I don't think I would have been able to figure out all of those connections without knowing German, so I was already feeling very grateful for hiring a guide.
On the train he told me that he had packed a picnic lunch for us. He also explained that he loved cracking open a beer when he got to the peak, so he brought one for each of us. Since beer was my #2 reason for coming to Munich, this was fabulous news.
At the half-way point we stopped at a lovely little restaurant. Chris partook in his tradition of ordering a mug of buttermilk so thick there were actually chunks of butter floating in it. He kindly offered me a sip, but I didn't think my dairy-sensitive stomach could handle it, so I declined.
Me in front of the Bavarian flag:
As we were sitting at the restaurant, he told me about a church that was built on top of a rock above where we were sitting. I couldn't really picture it, but when we left the restaurant, he pointed it out. The church is so precariously sitting atop a jutting, oblong rock that it looks unnatural and almost magical. It took my breath away. It was beautiful and unexpected. As we headed toward the peak of Riederstein mountain, that church was our next destination.
The climb was steady and challenging with good breaks of flattish trails.
We reached the church. Come to think of it I don't even remember what the church looked like up close, but I do remember what the view from the church looked like. It was stunning.
We left the church and hiked on through the beautiful forest.
The views started making appearances as we climbed higher:
Our next stop was the peak. Naturally, the hike became steeper and more narrow. Often the path would diverge into two; one would be steep, and the other would be flat. As soon as I thought, phew, a break (!), he would lead me toward the steeper of the two. At one point we came to a path that was virtually 90 degrees. There was another choice that was less steep; when I asked if we could take that one, he said it was no problem and that they both lead to the same place.
He frequently encouraged me to walk first so that I could set the pace. This was especially helpful since I was wearing running shoes, and they were quite slick on the rock and uneven surfaces. There were moments that were really challenging to me. It was constant climbing for a while, and there were times when I wanted to sit down and give up. However, I knew that a view and a beer awaited me at the top, so I stayed focused and headed upward as quickly as possible.
This is me trying to wipe the sweat out of my eyes near the top:
Just before the last leg I asked Chris the altitude - I don't know why I didn't ask how high we were going before the hike! He told me it was 1448 metres. When I told him that I didn't know what that meant in feet and would have to convert it later, he pulled out his phone and converted it for me. It was 4,750 feet. The highest I had hiked before that was 3,500 feet in Colorado. He congratulated me on the new height.
We noticed as we got closer to the peak that clouds were moving in around it. The weather started cooling a bit, but we didn't noticed at first because were sweating from the climb. When we finally reached the top, the temperature started dropping rapidly, and clouds were forming around us. We got there just in time to see a view of lakes and towns down below in the valleys. It was an amazing view. We just got about two minutes of it though, and then we were enclosed in a white room.
We sat on a log and watched the temperature drop to 11 degrees Celsius while we ate. It got quite cold, and Chris jokingly said that when the temperature stopped dropping, we would leave. I told him that would depend on how low it got! Fortunately, it only dropped to 11, which he kindly converted to Farenheit for me, which was about 52 degrees. That made me feel warmer because, as I told him, 50 degrees is running shorts weather for me.
Also, I didn't notice the cold much because Chris pulled out a fantastic assortment of food, so I was well-distracted. There were Bavarian pretzels, cheese and cheese spread for the pretzels, Bavarian sausages, cherries, strawberries, and tomatoes. There were also the beers. I drank an Oktoberfest beer that was delicious. For dessert Chris pulled out organic creamy milk chocolate that we snacked on on the way down.
We finished our lunch, and the temperature stayed at 11, so we hiked back down. I was glad he had brought walking sticks for me to use. They helped because there were times that it was quite steep both up and down the mountain. On the way down we took a different route, so we saw some new things.
(When I showed Griffin this picture, he asked me what the snail was thinking.)
When we got to the train station, we had to wait a half an hour for the train to leave, which was just enough time for Chris to buy us a couple of beers for the train ride back. That was a really nice touch. In Dubai and even in the US you can't drink out of open bottles in public, so it felt a little rebellious, but it made the train ride go by faster and was a nice end to an exhausting day of steady hiking.
I think everyone who likes hiking should fly to Munich just to hike with Chris. It's not often in life when someone else takes care of all of the details. It was so luxurious, too, with the thoughtful touches like beers and chocolate. The easy conversation made it feel like spending a day with an old friend. This is perfect for a woman traveling alone (especially if you don't speak German), but Chris also offers this tour in small groups for anyone who wants an expert mountain guide in the Bavarian Alps. You can email him here if you're interested: mail@ui-muenchen.com or find him on tripadvisor: http://bit.ly/12xTaiE
2 comments:
Wow that is awesome! Great pictures and story! Makes me want to go :)
Wow! The experience of a lifetime. I'm so glad you got to go.
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