Trying to Escape the Heat

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It has been awhile since we sent an update. Last message was from Freiburg, one of our favorite spots. Liked it so well we stayed an extra day - 5 total. Bike about 33 km around the valley the last day and went to an organ concert that evening in the cathedral. Very pretty cathedral with pinkish/mauve sandstone walls. Different from the others we had seen.

We left Freiburg and headed east across southern Germany to Fussen and Lake Foggensee - a beautiful lake with rolling hills to the north and steep mountains to the south. Spent one day bicycling by the lake and I also swam in the lake. Spent the second day taking the cable car up the mountain, doing some hiking and watching the hang gliders. City and country really merge in Germany. No zoning laws. Our camp in Fussen was in a little village Brunen right on the lake. Brunen consists of about 8 buildings all of which are either guest houses, restaurants or dairy barns. We rode by the dairy barns as we left the campground on our bikes. In the evening we had a mixed scent of grilling meat on the barbecues and eau de bovine. Quite a combination. The grazing land was right on the other side of the fence from our RV.

Still very hot in the day, but cool in the evening which helped. Moved further east in southern Germany to Berchtagaden and Lake Konigsee - a large lake in the foot of a long canyon surrounded by tree covered mountains. Beautiful area, but still in the high 90´s during the day. Thankfully, cool at night. We hiked along the lake one day and took the boat to the end of the lake and back. Wonderful trip. Planned to take a major hike the next day, but after 45 min. of steep uphill in the heat with no sign of the trail starting point, we gave up and took an easier walk along the lake. Spent 3 days there total. Would have like to stay longer, but time is running out and we did want to see some of northern Germany.

Left Berchtegaden and headed for Dresden. This was our longest travel day, over 500 km, but we made it. Spent one day in Dresden which is an interesting and somewhat sad city to view. As you probably know, most of the city was bombed during WWII. Whereas many places we have been have been restored following the war they didn´t have the level of damage that Dresden did so they still look like old cities in the historic area. Dresden was so heavily damaged that one some key buildings have survived and been restored. The remainder of the city has been rebuilt as a new city so the landscape is an interesting mixture of the old and the new. To me it almost emphasizes the level of destruction done there.

After leaving Dresden we headed to Berlin. We will only have a day and a half here - not enough, but want to get to the Baltic before we need to head south to Munich to fly home. Did a little looking yesterday on our own and then today took a historical walking tour of the city. Many reminders of the 2 Berlins - east and west. Some buildings specifically not restored as a reminder of the war damage. Many historic buildings only recently restored because they were in the east sector which didnät spent much time on restoration. Excellent tour that gave good perspective on the city and events that have shaped it. Need to return to go through many museums, etc. Have much to share with all of you when we return.

Tomorrow we head to the Baltic at Lubeck and then over to Bremer and Bremerhaven before heading back to Munich.

Final message on the heat - it has been over 90 degrees and close to 100 degrees every day since mid- June. Moving north has helped with the nights, but day temps have still been very high. This is one of the hottest summers on record and has not made staying in an RV with no fan or air conditioning the best. We have bought 2 different fans, but neither would work in the RV so have given up. I think I will kiss our air conditioner when we get home. Still would not change this trip. We have seen so much country and gotten a perspective on Europe and the specific countries we would not have gotten if we weren´t driving and staying where we have. It has been a great experience. Still looking forward to air conditioning. David and Barb

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