"What are men to rocks and mountains?"

I have always loved that line from one of my favorite books, Pride and Prejudice, but being here really makes me wonder! Just kidding, men.

It is amazing, though, looking out my window at the mountains! It doesn't take much of a hill to excite a mid-western girl like me, but this area is just beautiful.

The weather kept me inside most of my first day: it was raining off and on, and rather chilly. But I certainly needed a low-key day, and certainly enjoyed the time to catch up on my pictures and my blog.

On Tuesday I set off for a hike. I asked the woman at reception to recommend a hike, maybe an 1.5-2 hours or so. Six hours later, I returned. But the majority of my delay was intentional, I promise. I did head the wrong direction when I left the hostel, but that only set me back about twenty minutes. I also had difficulty finding the trail, but about an hour after my initial departure, I was on my way.

This particular trail was only about a 45 minute walk, and when I reached the end I hadn't even sat down to eat my picnic lunch yet, so I kept walking through the village and found the beginning of a national park on the other side. I walked a bit into the park and found a tree stump next to a stream: perfect spot for a picnic.

Energized after lunch, I ambled along another 2 hours. And then I reached the end of the national park, and was about to turn around, but then I decided to head towards Talschluss, unsure of the trail and the endpoint.



I still am not sure what I was supposed to find, other than beautiful glimpses, at the end of a challenging climb up part of the mountain!

Most of my walk was on a fairly level path through the woods, and I loved finally feeling like I was hiking in the mountains! That night my back was telling me something different, but it was well worth the sore muscles!

And the perfect ending to a lovely day? Watching Spain beat Germany to make it to the championship game of the World Cup on Sunday! I will be back in Spain just in time for the game (I hope!) and cannot wait to witness the madness!