As we departed the hotel for our first proper day of walking, it started raining, but by mid-morning the rain had stopped and the skies had cleared. We followed a track along one of the rivers feeding into Tegernsee lake and walked along a steep incline (used as a ski road during the winter months) and through a spruce forest rising 570m (1900 feet) in total. We picked and ate wild blueberries en route. I do most of my walking on flat terrain at home and am not used to such sharp inclines. I could feel the mornings’ exertions in my legs by the time we stopped for a well-earned lunch break at a mountain-top restaurant, where we enjoyed great views of the lake and surrounding areas.
Our descent took us through more forests via the lakeside and past some old farm buildings. We stopped at a graveyard and it was interesting to see how the Germans remember their dead. There were many young victims of the Second World War buried there.
By the time we returned to the hotel mid-afternoon, we had walked 9 miles and I went for a swim in the hotel pool to ease my sore and tired body. These days, swimming is another activity I relish doing, having been physically unable to do so for many years due to the HS.
