Roni
ventured out this chilly morning to find breakfast breads (the usual bretzel
& buns) – so cold she had to wear shoes AND long sleeves, unheard of!
After a
leisurely brekkie and some internet research of today’s route we headed out,
only to turn around a ways down the road when we realised our passports were
not with us. Heading to Austria today so thought they may come in handy. Our
route back to the flat was rather circuitous but fortunately led us past the
fresh fish shop (in someone’s garage!) so we bought fish and dropped it home in
preparation for tonight’s dinner.
On the road
again, past many apple trees, lots of firewood and the town of Lindau until we
needed to stop and clarify our directions with someone... That someone turned
out to look a lot like Kevin Costner and Maren had in depth conversation with
him (receiving the same directions x2 in the end!) as we took photos.
Success =
into Austria and toward the Pfänder. We parked before catching the gondola up
the hill – Bray’s first gondola ride and what a stunning view to accompany it!
At the top
there were many more photos to be taken and much appreciation of the Bodensee
and the Austrian alps before we wandered off in search of a likely place in the
sun with a view to eat our pre-prepared picnic lunch. Tasty filled buns,
leftover pizza from last night, some lollies and fruit consumed before we
galloped off-road down the other side of the hill to explore.
On our way
we met a wayward ‘rat-dog’ (chihuahua) who seemed to be sans owner. We patted
it and continued down the hill...as we reached the path we saw the dog get a
fright from a blackberry prickle and take off up the hill. Some people came up
the hill saying the owner was at the bottom and could we catch the dog. Bray
and Roni took off in hot pursuit. All the way back up the hill...darn dog! The
rhinestone studded harness was too tight on the animal to grab it successfully
so we ended up corralling it safely near a fence as the owner finally made it
to the top of the hill. We left her calling it as it took off down the other
side of the hill...oy vey.
Back down the
hall we went to where Simon and Maren were waiting in gales of laughter. There was a tempting steep-ish hill nearby so
Simon & Roni had a rolling race down it, Roni won! Then Bray was persuaded
to try it too...ended with a mighty head crack but laughter all round. We
continued on through the trees, seeing great views, exploring off the beaten
track, playing discus with a discarded round of pine tree and generally having
a good time.
Eventually
we headed back toward the gondola station. Simon and Roni had seen a ‘champions
league’ hill that dwarfed our previous effort so clambered up a couple of
likely slopes before settling on a good one that even had a small jump-lump.
Another good rolling race down before Bray found an animal park – goats, boars,
alpine ibex, other horned sheep and deer with an impressive stag. We chatted to them all and ooh-ed and aah-ed
over their coolness before catching the gondola down. The earlier mist had
totally cleared and the view from the top and on the way down was phenomenal.
On the road
again back to Friedrichshafen where we had fish for dinner with Maren’s
delicious potatoes and Brayden’s first salad dressing from scratch for the
salad to complete the meal. More Breaking
Bad after this until we hit the hay – earlier than yesterday as we head to
Pfaffenhofen in the morning.
