Die Stepbergalm

After 1 1/2 days of rain and only 2 days left in Germany, we set out early on this misty morning with our friend Sylvia, to hike up into the mountains again.

Raindrops still graced the delicate flowers and pinetrees beside the trail. We felt so blessed to be able to witness such wonders.

Beautiful waterfalls are a common sight on many of these alpine trails and Bob can never resist tasting the cold, fresh water!

The anthills here are quite large and can get up to over 3 feet high. These ants are busily scurring around trying to repair Bob's footprint indentation on their "roof."

Our first view of the meadow surrounding Die Stepbergalm was as beautiful as Bob had described from his first trip (7-15 post). The clanging cow and sheep bells just added more charm to this scenic view.

Inside the Alm we warmed ourselves beside the wood stove and with some freshly brewed hot coffee.

In the meantime, Bob had ordered the alm's famous Kaiserschmarrn (a large, fried, thick "pancake" with applesauce) and watched the owner, Hermann Ostler, make it from beginning to end.

The Ostlers' daughters, Katherina and Martina played cards with a friend visiting for the week-end while Bob stamped his travel journal with the Alm's unique stamp.

We headed down the mountain again, stopping often to take in the beautiful views and chat with other hikers going both directions.

This time we were amazed at how little and young some of the hikers were--from 3 to 8 years, learning at a very early age from their parents how to love these mountains.