Ettal, Sunday 19.01.03

(Click the thumbnails for the big picture.)

We headed off for Ettal which is south of Munich on the way to Garmisch. The plan was fairly simple, nice hike in the Alps, see the scenery and have a picnic lunch. Sandwiches were made, the wine was chilled and GP had a full tank. Tunes on the trip down were provided by Def Leppard, Matchbox 20 and the Leningrad Cowboys. Certainly plenty of variety there. As usual, traffic when you get to the end of the motorway was an absolute nightmare. But when we finally made it to the monastery at Ettal where we parked, the scenery more than made up for any traffic problems.

The place may have been covered with snow, but once you get walking it's far from cold.

Saw this sign saying 2 hours to the top. I saw the same sign about 3 more times, not ver reassuring.

Icicles on the rock face.

Truth is, it was bloody killing me. The ground was covered with snow and ice which made progress very slow. Plus, and most importantly, I'm not the fittest bloke on the planet. Every ten minutes forward (and upward) was followed by about two minutes wheezing, coughing and plenty of foul language. Kathrin was not impressed, but I think she's since forgiven me for the constant moaning.

Takign close-up shots with the new tattoo on display.

"How do you eat yours?" - Kathrin discovers the joys of a Cadburys Cream Egg.

Logs stacked for the winter and the cold dodgey path down to the outside toilet.

Kilian's Hut. Wonder has it anything to do with the pub in Munich? Sadly there was no beer on offer so I guess not.

Yours truly with helpful walking sticks trying to put a brave face on.

Taking a little break before the final push for the top.

The panorama-type shot above was just four pictures which I stuck together. I could have used Panorama Factory or something like that to do a  proper job on it but laziness kicked in and I wasn't arsed.

Anyway, made it to the top, had our munchies, watched a bloke hang-gliding of the top and then got the last cable car back down. Unfortunately you come down on the opposite side of the mountain so we had a 4 kilometer walk to get back to GP. Still, managed the lot without dying which is always a bonus. Certainly next time I'll have a better idea of what to expect and hopefully won't complain so much.