Tuesday (6 May) was as cold as Monday had been, and it was still windy under a grey sky, but dry.
We had a massage booked mid morning and went to the spa afterwards, spending a leisurely few hours between saunas and snoozing or reading in the generous resting rooms. Surprisingly few other hotel guests were in the spa, which left us free range of the entire place.
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| View from our room on Tuesday morning |
It was around 4:00 pm when we set off towards the Adlerhorst (Eagle‘s Nest), a mountain hut serving food and drinks, just above the tiny settlement of Haller, where our hotel is. We knew the hut was closed that day, but we didn‘t need any food or drink from them anyway - we wanted the view and the walk.
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| Chapel across the road from us; so far I have only found it locked. |
A short distance from the hut we really had good views of the lake. How much more brilliant must the colours be when the sun shines on the water!
O.K. spotted a chamois only a few paces off the path between the trees, looking at us. For a moment, we looked back, and it stood quite still. Then it slowly moved deeper into the woods, but it didn‘t appear to be scared or bothered by our presence.
We walked on with glimpses of the lake far below to our left. The path took us to the outskirts of the village of Haldensee (the same name as the lake, and our hotel) and then on another woodland path at almost street level back to Haller, a circuit of about 7.5 km.
It was time to change for dinner, which was again very good.
Well, looks like you're getting plenty of fresh air, anyway! ;-)
ReplyDeleteWe are, Monica! 😊
DeleteHope the sun comes out soon for you! The clouds aren't slowing you down, though. ;)
ReplyDeleteThere were glimpses of sun on Wednesday morning, and for the weekend the forecast is mostly sunny and warmer. No, a few clouds and a bit of rain don‘t bother us much 😊
DeleteI frequently learn something from your posts - this time about chamois. Didn't realize they were so small! The mountain goats in the Rocky Mountains out west of here are much much bigger (and really rather frightening). Thank you for sharing your trip and now I am wondering if there are chamois I could visit at one of our local zoos?
ReplyDeleteCheers, Ceci
Hello Ceci, did you look the chamois up on wikipedia? I didn‘t say anything about their size in my post, and obviously I only have other local animals for comparison; I would say an adult chamois is smaller than an adult deer, but much sturdier and broader.
DeleteYes, I have now looked up chamois several places, and also the mountain goats and big horned sheep I was comparing them to. As it turns out, big horned sheep, which I thought were members of the goat family, are in fact sheep, just considerably taller, smoother coated and more muscular than domestic sheep. They are bigger than our white tailed deer but not as big as elk or moose. Mountain goats, which are really goats and more closely related to chamois, are also bigger than deer (and chamois) but not as big as elk or moose. As well as a trip to see chamois in a zoo, if I can find one, I am thinking of going back to the Rockys to see mountain goats and big horned sheep again.
DeleteMore than you wanted to know I'm sure, but you did get me started on this enthusiasm.
Ceci
Always good to learn something new, or to extend one‘s knowledge on something familiar!
DeleteYou are clearly having a lovely holiday in spite of the weather! There is an English saying, there is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing. Not too sure that I agree!
ReplyDeleteWe know that saying in Germany, too. I agree up to a point - when there is non-stop freezing rain and howling wind, even with the best equipment I‘d rather stay in and read. But when it‘s just a sprinkle here and there while I‘m out, that‘s ok.
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