Berchtesgaden, Germany

The original plan for this weekend was for me to hang out with my roommate in his hometown in South-West Germany and then go to a Semi-Truck race on the world famous Nurburgring race track. I was supposed to get a ride from one of his friends here in Munich, but then he couldn’t go anymore, so I didn’t have a ride and taking the train would have been pretty expensive, so the plans caved through. Instead I decided to go hiking in the Bavarian Alps in Berchtesgaden National Park. I had this place on my radar ever since I got here and did some last minute planning on Friday with the help of my mentor Jann, who frequently hikes in his free time.

What Berchtesgaden is most famous for is Hitler’s getaway house called the “Eagle’s Nest” that is perched on top of a cliff overlooking Berchtesgaden, lake Königsee, and the Bavarian Alps. From looking at the pictures online, it didn’t look too spectacular so I decided to pass on seeing that, and the horde of tourists, and see some of the more beautiful parts of nature. When I arrived, I took a bus to the waterfront of lake Königsee and took a boat across the lake to Saint Bartholomä church on the foothills of the mountains.

From here, I had a couple of options that I had planned out, but I decided not to attempt either one. The mountain right next to Saint Bartholomä is the second highest mountain in Germany, the Watzmann. My two plans were to either go around it on a 9 hour trek, or to climb to the top. I really wanted to climb to the top and I thought I would have enough time to do it since the trail information said 5 hours, but I asked the boat guide how long it would take and he said that it was 5 hours just to the top, then it would take 5 hours back, for a total of 10 hours. I didn’t have that much time because it was 11am already and the last train out back to Munich left at 8. That gave me less than 9 hours when considering the bus ride back to the central station, so I decided not to do either option, in favor of making it back to Munich and not being stranded in Berchtesgaden overnight. It also would have been pretty dangerous to try climbing the Watzmann since I was just in my tennis shoes and didn’t have hiking boots. In the end, I settled for an alternate route toward an ice cave wedged between Watzmann and a couple other peaks. This turned out to be far from disappointing.

From Saint Bartholomä, I took the trail to the ice cave, which was all uphill. Then the trail suddenly ended and in order to keep going I had to go off the trail (this got me all giddy inside). So I pressed on and suddenly the trees opened up into a clearing. My heart skipped a beat. I was in a valley completely surrounded by mountains jutting upward on all sides except for a small opening where I could see the Alps in the horizon. This valley was strewn with boulders from the mountains and a babbling brook cutting through them. The water was coming from the melting ice cap of Mount Walzmann that was flowing down from the top and into a waterfall. It was breathtaking. I scrambled through the boulders and along the stream until I came to a glacier and a big ice cave at the base of the waterfall.

In order to get closer to the ice cave, I had to cross the brook. Well I was crossing over the rocks and one of them slipped out beneath me and I fell into the water. I was ok because I caught myself with my right arm, but I happened to be carrying my camera in my right hand and it took a full dunk into the water. I dried it off as much as I could and it managed to still turn on and off, but it was malfunctioning. I decided to leave it out in the sun for a bit while I ate my lunch and continued taking in the scenery. I was able to cool off sticking my feet and my head in the water, but not for long because it was ice cold. After lunch my camera dried out and started working again, but the LCD display was heavily disfigured.

After lunch I pressed on through the rock-bottom valley climbing the rocks and doing some screeing on my way to the ice cave. My tennis shoes definitely took quite a beating. Once I got the ice cave, I decided to go inside it even though I knew it was quite dangerous especially on a hot day when the melting ice could easily shift. I went as far as I could before it dropped off and I was pretty spooked because I could hear the ice creaking and echoing down the cave. Later on my way home I picked up an information pamphlet that read “Due to the fact that the ice and snow can collapse without warning at any time, climbing on or walking into the cave is extremely dangerous.” On the internet later, I found out that people die every year getting hit by falling ice. When I read that, I realized that I’m thankful nothing happened to me.

After that I walked back to Saint Bartholomä and stumbled upon an interesting sight. There were men and women in suits, but the men were also wearing capes over top. And a few of the men had helmets on and carrying flags and even swords. I watched for a little bit and realized this was a wedding ceremony. The capes and helmets and swords must be a traditional thing in Berchtesgaden.

I then took the boat back to Schönau at the edge of the lake Königsee and took the bus back to Berchtesgaden where I boarded my train back to Munich. I was tired from hiking and scrambling on rocks and my bed felt very nice. I was very satisfied having experienced the most breathtaking nature I’ve ever seen.

Update on my camera: The next day, I tried out my camera and not only does it work, but the LCD screen is completely back to normal as if nothing happened. I’m amazed after dunking it in the water and dropping it several times that my Nikon Coolpix works just like new. I thought I was going to have to get a new camera, but now I don’t have to because this one is indestructible. Mad props to Nikon. I think I have just become a lifetime customer.

Rendezvous in Paris

This week may have been the most special week of my life.  Janie and I decided to meet up in Paris for a week.  It had been 3 months since the last time we saw each other in person, and we were both really excited.  The best part about it was being with her, regardless of where it was, but of course we were really excited to see Paris too.  It has been her dream for a long time to visit Paris and I’ve always wanted to visit too. 

It started out a little rough because I was supposed to arrive in Paris before she got off the plane and meet her at the airport.  Well my first train had a delay that made me miss my connection to the second train.  So I had to wait for almost 3 hours for the next train.  In the meantime, Janie got to the airport and her phone did not work internationally, so I kept getting voicemail when I tried calling her to tell her what happened.  Then she used a pay phone to call me, but I had fallen asleep on the train and didn’t feel it vibrate in my pocket.  Then she called again from the service desk at the airport and this time I picked up.  This had been already two hours after she landed, so she was very worried about me and I was worried too because her phone wasn’t working.  Eventually I got there after she had waited 3 hours for me in the airport. 

We were both pretty hungry, so the first thing we did was head for linner.  We went to a café and I ordered a duck fillet and Janie got steak.  We were both pretty exhausted from traveling and so we decided just to take a train to the Eiffel Tower and hang around there for the night.  Once the sun had set, the Eiffel tower lit up which was really cool and then at 11pm lights flashed all over it, making it look like it was sparkling.  After the light show, we called it quits for the night and were ready to get some rest.

Les Invaldes

On Thursday, we headed to the Eiffel Tower and we had bought tickets in advance to go up to the top at noon.  We took the elevator up to the second floor and had an amazing view of the Paris.  We got tickets to go all the way to the top, but only I went up because Janie wasn’t liking the heights too much.  Once we got back down,  we got lunch at a café of steak and fries with dessert of Chocolate Mousse included.  It was soooo good.  After that we walked to Les Invaldes, where we went inside the Eglise du Dome, where Napoleon Bonaparte is buried and then went to the Musee de l’Armee, which was filled with army uniforms and weapons.  Around dinner time, we stopped at a crepes stand and got delicious banana-chocolate crepes with coffee.   Then we walked to the Grand Palais and the Petit Palais, which are large, impressive looking buildings that are held for exhibitions.  We sat on the steps of the Petit Palais and wondered why there was a gigantic line outside the Grand Palais across the street and later we found out it was for a sculpture called the Leviathan by sculptor Anish Kapoor.  After that we walked along a bridge over the Seine river and walked along it enjoying the very pretty view of the river and the Eiffel tower on the other side. 

From the Eiffel Tower

Sacre Coeur

Statue of Liberty

Eglise du Dome

Les Invaldes courtyard

Assemblee Nationale

Grand Palais

Petit Palais

The Seine

Statue of Liberty

Friday we decided to start the day visiting the Louvre.  We got there shortly after it opened and didn’t have to stand in line very long.  From the outside, it is an amazing and gigantic building and the glass pyramid was really cool. I had seen pictures of it since I was little and it was surreal to actually be there seeing it with my own eyes, as well as the other things like the Eiffel tower and later when we visited the Notre Dame.  Anyway, we went in and walked down the halls, following the crowds to the most famous pieces, the Mona Lisa and the Venus de Milo.  The room with Mona Lisa was packed with people all taking pictures of the itty bitty Mona Lisa.  It’s really small and actually in my opinion was the dullest painting there.  Though it is of course an icon of the art world and Leonardo da Vinci is a prolific artist, and was definitely cool to see in person.  Walking through the various halls of the Louvre, I was amazed by paintings and equally amazed by the Louvre itself.  The building itself is it’s own work of art, on the outside and the inside.  Before it was a museum, it was the royal palace of the rulers of France, before Versailles became the royal palace.  The area I was most interested in seeing was the Egyptian art.  It ended up being really cool, but we got lost multiple times on the way there.  It is like a maze in there, especially later when we were trying to get out.  We had museum fatigue and were both hungry and we kept seeing signs for the exit, but it seemed like eternity until we finally got out.  It turned out to be the main entrance, so it seems there’s only one entrance and one exit.  Finally we got out and had lunch at a café where we both ordered delicious omelets.  After that we walked through a nearby garden with a fountain in it and then walked to a really neat church called St. Eustache.  Nearby, we saw some people carrying Starbucks drinks and got directions to the Starbucks.  On the way, I think I remember Janie squeaking out of excitement a couple of times haha.  We had caramel frappucccinos and shared a chocolate muffin.  After that we walked to the famous Paris Opera House.  We wanted to go in, but they were closing up, so stopped in a small bakery and picked up a baguette to snack on for the walk to church St. Marie Madeleine.  This was an amazing church that didn’t even look like a church on the outside, but more like a tomb or something.  After that we walked through a very expensive shopping strip on our way to the Egyptian obelisk near the Louvre, called Place de la Concorde.  This is where the famous beheadings happened during the French Revolution.  From there we walked along the famous street Champs-Elysees, seeing lots of shopping and street performers until we got to the gigantic Arc de Triomphe.  We were amazed at the roundabout that goes around the Arc de Triomphe.  It is wide enough to fit about 5 cars side by side, but there are no lanes and the people entering the roundabout have the right of way.  You see cars going in completely different directions and it looks like total chaos, but somehow people manage not to get in accidents.  After that we took a train to the Montmatre area north of central Paris and walked by the famous Moulin Rouge and then headed up to the church Sacre Couer, which is located on top of a gigantic hill and gives a great view of Paris.  We got crepes to eat and ended the day enjoying the sun setting over Paris, definitely tired from so much walking.  As you can tell we accomplished a lot, and I’m still amazed we did it all in one day.

The Louvre

Winged Victory of Samothrace

Mona Lisa

Venus de Milo

Comedie Francaise

Palais Royale

St. Eustache

Opera Garnier (Paris Opera House)

Ste. Marie Madeleine

Egyptian Obelisk

Peugeot Le Mans Car

Arc de Triomphe

On Saturday we set out to explore the Ile de la Cite, the center island containing the Notre Dame where the Seine splits.  The first thing we did was go to La Conciergerie in the Palais de Justice, that used to be a jail and now is a museum.  After that we went inside the incredibly beautiful church St. Chapelle.  The main level is walled in stained glass windows that depict the beginning of creation in the Bible all the way to the end times in Revelation.  After that we headed to the Notre Dame.  I was blown away by it.  Out of everything in Paris, this is what I was most looking forward to.  It just so happened that when we got there, they were doing a ceremony for a new priest.  The organ was blasting haunting melodies and there was a procession of the priests.  It was very very cool.  We wanted to go inside the Notre Dame and go up on top and into the bell tower, but it was closed for the day because of the ceremony, so we ended up doing that later on our last day.  Instead we went down into the Notre Dame crypt where we saw some of the original ancient walls where the city was first civilized.  After that we walked around the island a bit and over some of the bridges taking in the view of the Seine and the island and then heading for the town hall, called the Hotel de Ville.  For the rest of the afternoon, we decided to visit Versailles.  Seeing Versailles from a distance, it looks gigantic.  By the time we got there, we had only about an hour and a half before it closed, but we decided to go inside anyway.  Amazingly we were able to see almost all of the rooms including the Hall of Mirrors where the Treaty of Versailles was signed, ending World War I.  Every room was very ornate and filled with art and the gardens were very pretty.  It was an amazing place to visit, except for the tourists.  It was way overcrowded, to the point it was almost unbearable.  It was a relief to get out for that reason, though it was definitely still worth going inside to see the rooms.  On our train ride back from Versailles, we saw a couple with a Hard Rock Café bag and asked them for directions.  We were both really excited to go and we ended up getting dinner there.  I ordered a big burger there and it was sooooo good.  I hadn’t had a real burger since I left the US and that really hit the spot.  After that we tried walking from there all the way to the Arc de Triomphe because I didn’t think it was that far, but I was totally wrong and it ended up being quite a long walk.  We intended to go up the Arc de Triomphe to get an amazing night view of the city, but we were late.  We ended up doing it on the next night though.

Notre Dame

Conciergerie

St. Chapelle

Palais de Justice

Notre Dame Crypt

Hotel de Ville

Versailles

Hall of Mirrors

On Sunday, first thing we decided to do was go back to Montmatre to the Sacre Couer during the day and spend a little more time there and go into the crypt and up into the dome at the top of the church.  It’s quite a lot of uphill walking to get there, so we worked up an appetite and got some omelets for lunch in the upbeat, artsy Montmatre area.  Then we went to the Sacre Coeur into the crypt and then up to the dome.  This was a pretty grueling climb but it was totally worth it because the view of Paris was incredible.  We walked around the Montmatre area a little more, seeing some street performers and walking into an antique shop and then we headed closer to central Paris to visit a couple of churches.   We visited the church St. Germain des Pres and then the St. Sulpice.  Near the St. Sulpice there was an art show and we walked around that and saw people with wine glasses browsing the art.  After that we walked around the Luxembourg garden and had dinner there in the park.  After that we headed back to the Arc de Triomphe and went up to the top as the sun was going down and we got to see an amazing view of Paris, “The City of Lights”. 

Sacre Coeur

St. Germain des Pres

St. Sulpice

Stuck

Jardin du Luxembourg

On Monday, we headed straight for the Notre Dame early in the morning and went inside it.  It was gigantic inside.  Then when we came out, we wanted to go up to the top, but there was a long line and it didn’t open up for about two more hours.  So we walked around to the back of Notre Dame and sat in the garden there and wrote post cards to our families and friends.  Then we got a to-go lunch of a hot-dog in a bread bun topped with cheese (quite tasty actually) and got in line to go to the top of Notre Dame.  While we were in line, there was a street performer in a scary mask going up behind people and startling them, which was very entertaining.  Then we finally went up to the top of the Notre Dame.  At the top, we had an amazing view of central Paris, that was I think the best view we had the whole time because it was high enough but not too high.  At the top we could also see all the gargoyles in the form of all kinds of different animals.  Then we went up the bell tower and many people were making the hunchback pose.  I loved going inside and up Notre Dame and that was probably my favorite thing that we did.  The church is stunningly beautiful and also hearing the haunting organ music and seeing the gargoyles and the bell tower and the view from the top was the highlight for me.  After that, we took a short walk to the Pantheon, which is a really impressive building that we got a tour of that included going up to the top into the dome and having another great view of Paris.  We also went into the tomb where Votaire, Victor Hugo, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Braille are all buried.  After that we took a train to the east side of Paris to the Castle of Vincennes.  This was my first time ever visiting a castle, and I was extremely excited.  There was what used to be a moat and a drawbridge over it to go inside the castle walls.  Once inside the castle grounds, there was a big church and some other buildings and the keep where the king would have stayed.  It was really cool.  The last thing we did was go back to central Paris and we attempted to take a boat tour along the Seine river for our last night together, but we were about 5 minutes late for the last boat.  So we decided to get some crepes and share a glass of champagne and sit at the water’s edge next to the Eiffel tower. 

Inside Notre Dame

Behind Notre Dame

On top of Notre Dame

Bell tower

Pantheon

Castle Vincennes

Tuesday was parting day.  We got to the airport early in the morning for Janie’s flight back, which ended up being a little complicated when the whole airport shut down because of an unattended bag left somewhere.  When we finally parted, we were both pretty emotional.  I took the train back to Munich later in the day.  This was an amazing and memorable trip for both of us and it was such a refreshing experience to be so far away for 3 months and then be able to see each other again in the beautiful city of Paris.