Millingen: Klein aber Fein

Hey guys!
It's been over a month now since I've come back,and it's Germany that's now beginning to take semblance of a dream from long ago. Perhaps that's why I've been reminiscing a lot- maybe a bit too much.
This is a good post for reminiscing though, my [rather broad] topic being the setting for the second half of my exchange year, in the village of Millingen.
I moved there in February, even before our Mid-Year Seminar in Weimar. However, this switch wasn't due to any problems with my previous host family. There's simply a time and a place for everything, and February came with a change of scenery blown in on the wind.
It was a pretty drastic change of scenery, to say the least. 

From Wikipedia

Though still within the bounds of Nordrhein-Westfalen (North-Rhine Westfalia), I moved from the city of Recklinghausen in the Ruhrgebiet (Ruhr-valley), to the village of Millingen in the Niederrhein(Lower Rhein Region). From a large city in an area saturated with history and industrial landmarks and even larger cities like Essen and Oberhausen and Cologne, to a little tiny village with 3,000 residents on a good day, and not even significant enough to warrant its own Wikipedia page.
<EDIT!> I stand corrected! A good friend of mine, Max, was kind enough to point out that Millingen does in fact have it's own page- but only on the German Wiki. Here's the LINK ! :)

Photo from Ausburger Allgemeine

Wikipedia generously describes the Niederrhein's landscape as "mostly flat green grass land with wide views of the horizon." 

It's just flat-out flat.

Taken while on the train, in the spring.

 And while there are admittedly trees, they're about as densely packed as one sad-looking sprout per square acre- if that.
There were more sheep than people.
And more cows than sheep.
And at first my doubts about little ol' Millingen were more numerous than the number of cows there, but honestly?
I came to absolutely love it.

Millingen was one of eight small villages that pertained to the central city of Rees. The others (Haldern, Bienen, etc.) were just as small, if not smaller, and what German schools lack in school spirit, these villages more than made up for with pride for their individual communities- even with friendly [?] rivalries with one another, which was seen mainly through support for each village's soccer team.

Photo from WSV.de

The geography of the place was something I especially adored, once I got used to the landscape. I was living way northwest, right where the Rhine river flowed from Germany into the Netherlands. That gave Rees it's official name, 'Rees am Rhein'- Rees on the Rhine.
The Netherlands was also right there, the border being only a five minute bike ride away. I ended up border hopping regularly [with there being no internal border controls within the European Union, aha], whether to go grocery shopping, take afternoon tea, or bike to Millingen's Dutch counterpart, Millingen aan de Rijn [oh, so that Millingen gets a Wiki page?] to get the best soft-serve ice cream in the world.

Photo by Annemarie Dr.Mrosk

The geography also resulted in some interesting traits. Kopfweiden, for example, are a sort of tree indigenous to the region- so indigenous, that I couldn't find any English articles on them!

Vincent van Gogh- Kopfweiden, 1884

Many fabulous artists have seen fit to include these unique trees in their work, from Van Gogh(1853-1890), a post-Impressionist, to August Macke(1887-1914), a German Expressionist, to more recently, Host Janssen(1929-1995), a prominent German artist- to name only a few!

August Macke- Kopfweiden, 1903

These funny guys are essentially willows, with thick bases and tops that are regularly cared for, their branches being cut every 3-10 years. Going on bike ride through the area, it wasn't uncommon to see rows of them lining bike paths crossing through the many fields. 

Horst Janssen- Landschaft mit Kopfweide, 1971

Now the central city was Rees- city, in the loose sense of the word. It's about 20 km east of Cleves, which I unfortunately didn't get a chance to see, and is the oldest city in the lower Rhine area, being founded in 1228.

Photo by Kurt Brun

It's a gorgeous town, really, and about a twenty minute drive from Millingen. Not much by way of shopping- the nearest H&M was about a half hour away- but there were a couple of delicious ice cream shops, banks, drug stores, grocery stores, and the normal run of small-town joints.

Photo by Hannes1000

Considering the geography, it was also beautifully situated, with the town pretty much built on the river. Apartments and vacation homes, as well as a fair amount of hotels lined the promenade, catering to steady tourism from the Netherlands. The brick walkway was just a short walk from the school, and we'd often go there to eat our lunch or get ice cream during our break.
 As for the school- it was huge, seeing as the campus contained all three types of schools- Hauptschule, Realschule, and Gymnasium.

The Germany system's elementary school is only 4 years. From there, students go to a Hauptschule [Secondary General School] or a Realschule [Intermediate school], both of which lead to vocational tracks and go through 10th grade, or at the highest level, a Gymnasium [Advanced Secondary Education], which is a university track and goes through 12th-13th grade.
Each school had a separate building, and I went to the Gymnasium, however, the size of the campus  definitely lent it an American-high school feel.
You can take a look around my school by checking out this online tour of Aspel! :)

The campus with the three schools grouped into one was the new school though- the old one being a gorgeous old church run by nuns. My host family was kind enough to take me there to check it out- it's too bad the school moved, really! Who wouldn't have wanted to go there for school?:)

Photo by Andreas Strobel

I got lucky, being in Millingen- out of Rees's eight communities, it was one of the three with a train station, the others  being Empel and Haldern. It was a bit ironic, seeing as the main city itself didn't contain one, but I wasn't complaining. It was a five-minute walk from my house, and with transportation being provided for from my organization, I was able to hop on the convenient Rhein-Express that passed through, and travel down the Rhine river, arriving at major cities like Cologne- and even my old Recklinghausen!- within a couple of hours, tops.
Convenient as it was, it wasn't always reliable though, with Verspätungen- delays- that at times bordered on ridiculous. I saw everything but the kitchen sink while I was there- delays anywhere from 25 to 50 minutes long, due to a range of electrical difficulties, technical difficulties, chemicals on the tracks[?], bodies on the tracks [oh dear...], doctors attending to the bodies on the tracks- and once even "ausgebrochene Tiere am Gleis."
That translates to "Animals broken loose on the tracks."

Being in a more rural area, I also got to see a bit more of farm life than I had in Recklinghausen. One memorable trip was with a friend of my host mother's, to a barn with upwards of fifty newborn goats, all bleating and climbing over their mothers. We got to hold the babies [as they bleated their lungs out, jeez], and then sample fresh goat cheese and cow milk at the store.

Ma-a-a-a-a-a-aaaah :D

Lotsss of baking happened with my host mom :) :) :)

Architecture and geography and location and transportation aside though:
I really did love Millingen. I never would have thought to choose a village, let alone such a small one, to stay in- I mean, walking to the [only] grocery store guaranteed me running into half the village, and being the only new face there I couldn't blend in- but it was probably the best thing that could have happened to me.
The community is so close-knit, and I had a blast with both my host family and friend group there, that I found a little saying about the village to be charmingly true:
"Millingen, klein aber fein," translating to "Millingen, small but fine."
And small but fine it was! <3

Back to Bavaria

But before Bavaria, how about a taste of pure America?

Plus sized- because hey, it's America!

My goodness, how does Germany get by without Reese's? Or Taco Bell, for that matter. My two long lost loves. <3 [I swear, the day they start importing Reese's and opening Taco Bells, I'm moving there.]
My last post left off in March, during the first week of the two-week Osternferien [Easter Vacation, also meaning Spring Break] where I talked about our day trip to Salzburg, Austria. That took place during the vacation with my host family which, as I mentioned in that post, took place down south, in Bavaria!

It's not a road trip without your stuffed animals.

To get there, we took on a 9-hour road trip, driving through the country and passing through progressively different landscapes. Seeing as I was living in the Lower Rhein area at the time, which I maintain is flatter than Kansas, you can imagine my excitement as mountains started cropping up the further south we went.
As we drove, the architecture began to change too, the buildings taking on a look unique to Bavaria; rectangular with large sloped roofs, stucco walls in white and pastels with decorative wooden beams and  trims, with arched doorways and painted shutters, and signs using lovely old German script.

Picture perfect.

 This style, Bauernhaus, is the predominating style in Bavarian villages and towns, a style one can usually immediately classify as "typical German". Bauernhaus, which can be translated as a "chalet" style, is actually the type of Old World Bavarian architecture is primarily characterized by. It is, in fact, simply the regional- and yet famously distinctive- regional variation of the farmhouse.
Another interesting feature that stands out are the Zwiebeltürme- literally, onion domes- that mark the top of Catholic churches, as in the picture above. Having become popular during the time of the Holy Roman Empire, these Baroque-style domes are easily visible and mark individual villages throughout the Bavarian landscape.
[Here's the corresponding Onion Dome wiki, and for more info and lovely pictures, check out this awesome Portfolio of Old World Bavarian Architecture!]

Right in the Winkl.

Even with the lovely scenery and architecture though, nine hour road trips aren't my thing. But hey! We were almost there, as this helpful sign pointed us in the right direction...

Winter Wonderland.

And then we arrived! Destination? Reit im Winkl, a small village right on the German/Austrian border, with ski resorts and slopes galore, as well as hiking trails, all of which spill over into Austria.

Ach Bayern(:

 The town itself was Bavaria in a nutshell, cozily surrounded by my long-lost friends, mountain ranges. I mean. Never mind that I went right back to square one in terms of language, not understanding anything through the thick Bavarian dialect of the locals- this was Germany in its purest form.
This place had Lederhosen shops.

Zum Alten Forsthaus

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but in Germany [and I think it's safe to say this applies to most of Europe], one stays at a hostel or a vacation home as opposed to booking a hotel room. In fact, in Reit im Winkl- where tourism is a huge part of the town's economy- you won't even find any hotels.
Ferienwohnungen- villa rentals- are scattered around the town instead, such as the one we stayed in: Zum Alten Forsthaus, a cozy apartment-style deal with the nicest owner possible, a soft-spoken man originally from Cologne. We'd run into him and his son working on  a motorcycle or walking dogs in the snow, and we'd often have coffee together. The entire setup is so much more intimate than a hotel stay, and I did enjoy how every such stay in Germany became yet another chance to get to know and talk to different people.

This thing is wicked.

 We ended up doing quite a bit during our week thing, even outside of frequenting Austria. Snowtubing for example was an absolute blast, and I know my younger host brother had the time of his life spinning down the slopes. I even talked my host mother into trying it out, and it made for such good fun.

Dat view

 On another day, my host parents and I went hiking after dropping the little one off at ski school. We took a lift up into the Reit im Winkl slopes- a dizzyingly steep, breathtaking ride over a white frosted forest.

 

The trails were extensive, both for hikers as well as a wealth of cross-country skiiers, and were simply gorgeous. I'm no stranger to snow, but I've never seen anything like that up there. Miles of rolling, untouched white, sparkling underneath a blue sky.

 As we reached the end of the trail, it led us to a snowy ledge, a natural viewing platform where the mountain steeply rolled down and out of sight, leaving us simply with this view.
Pictures will never, ever do it justice.

Middle photo by Ronny S.

Another interesting place I got to see during our trip was the Salt Mine in Berchtesgaden. Donning incredibly fashionable suits, we got to hop on a train and take a trip into the mountain and see the salt mines hidden inside, as well as displays of how the salt is extracted. A particularly poignant part of this tour was crossing a salt lake by boat as a light show took place, which looked like a scene right out of Ferngully- that one where Crysta and Zak dance across a lake to that beautiful rendition of A Dream Worth Keeping by Sheena Easton.

Magic <3

In fact, for old time's sake, here's the song itself: A Dream Worth Keeping- Zak and Crysta

And while we're at it, here's the German version as well: A Dream Worth Keeping (German)

Aaah, the nostalgia. [Ferngully, by the way, is a highly underrated film. Go watch it.]

Chiemgau Chiemsee

We decided to take a boat tour on Bavaria's famed Chiemsee on the last day of our trip. Also called the Bavarian Sea, Chiemsee is a freshwater lake that houses a handful of small islands and two large main ones, to which boat tours regularly take tourists. The times of departure for the individual islands are displayed on boards, as in the top picture up there.
Wait- did you guys catch that? Let's take a closer look at the names of the islands...

Well then!

Herreninsel and Fraueninsel are the names of those two islands- that, quite literally, translates to "Gentleman's Island" and "Lady's Island". I would love to know the history behind the names, and found them to be mildly hilarious.

The fountains were covered for the winter...

In any case, I only ended up going to the Gentleman's Island [oo la la!], that being home to the Herrenchiemsee castle. Built in 1878 by King Ludwig II of Bavaria, the palace "was never completed but was meant to be a replica of the Palace of Versailles, in France"(Wiki). Basically, funds to complete it ran out before construction was over, and only a third of the castle was completed- in which Ludwig II resided in for a grand total of just a few days in September 1885. The palace is now open to tourists- and it is gorgeous.
Well, what's finished of it, at least.
-------------
The food in Bavaria was delicious as well, especially a few of the regional specialties. Although all of the pictures on my blog are taken by me, I unfortunately didn't take any pictures of these dishes myself- no wonder, I was too preoccupied with eating them! Links to the originals, however, are provided in the captions:)
 There are also a wide variety of meats and wursts that I wish I could elaborate on for you guys, but being vegetarian, didn't experience.
Then again, I ate enough as is...

Käsespätzle

One yummy plate is Käsespätzle, the German equivalent of macaroni and cheese. A compact, soft-textured egg noodle, these are mixed with grated cheese- typically Emmenthaler- and onions, served in an iron skillet for an extra authentic touch, with more cheese and bacon (or roasted onions) on top.

Germknödel

One of my favorites was Germknödel. These guys are super fluffy yeast dough dumplings, filled with a spicy plum or sour cherry jam and served with vanilla sauce and poppy seeds sprinkled on top. These remind me actually of Japanese steamed buns, and are just fun to look at and eat!
They're distinguished from their cousins, Dampfnudeln, in that they are steamed or boiled, whereas the other variety is baked in a deep pan.

Kaiserschmarrn

But perhaps the most notable of them- the mother of all Bavarian specialties- is Kaiserschmarrn. "Kaiser" meaning "emperor" and "Schmarrn" meaning "nonsense", this dish of deliciousness is an Austrian dessert,whose popularity spilled over into Bavaria. It's basically a pancake, light and caramelized, that's schredded into pieces, sprinkled with powdered sugar, and served hot with apple or plum sauce, or any fruit compote.
And the thing about this dish, is that it's huge. I mean, I don't understand why America gets a bad rep for big portion sizes- one plate of this is enough to feed a family of five for a week.
It's amazing.

Goodbye!

Reit im Winkl was such an experience in terms of seeing another side of German culture- perhaps the one we as Americans are more prone to envisioning, with Lederhosen and yodelers and Bauerhäuser galore. In addition, it was actually priceless in getting to know my then-relatively-new host family, and just spending time with them.
It was really altogether too short though, and soon we were back in the car on a looong nine hour ride back...
... back to their hometown of Millingen, where my host-family-switch had taken me about a month beforehand, and where I would stay until the end of my exchange in June.
What was it like there?
Well, that warrants a post of its own... ;)

Zuhause Heißt nicht Zu Ende

Hallo an alle- I'm home!

With my last post here having been on March 30th,  I first need to address the question I keep getting;

"Tammy, what happened to your blog?"

Unfortunately, my laptop told me its hard disk was failing during the first week of April, which meant I was sans-laptop for the last three and a half months of my exchange.

I still had internet access, thanks to my host family's tablet. However, it wasn't exactly blogging-friendly, and I couldn't upload and edit my photos on it. Conveying the entirety of my experiences is difficult as is, and I feel like photos are the least I can provide. A blog without photos is like Germany without beer. Or America without McDonalds.

It just aint right.

But! Now that I'm home again, with a newly-working laptop, I have every intention on making up for the last three months, and keeping this blog alive in order to tell the stories I've collected.

Zuhause Heißt nicht Zu Ende: Being home doesn't mean being done.

Just because I'm home doesn't mean I'm done with this blog. Furthermore, just because I'm home doesn't mean that my exchange year is history.

It's still very much a part of my life and thoughts: ultimately, it's a part of me.

Oh, Germany <3

-------------------------------

When it comes down to it though, I am back in America. 

 After being away for eleven months, I'm home, nestled once again in the evergreens and mountain ranges of the Pacific Northwest. It's surprising, the effect the landscape of a place can have on you, but after living in the Niederrhein area [flatter than Kansas. It's possible.] with more cows than people and perhaps a single sad looking tree per square acre... well, I'm happy to have my evergreens again.

The last few weeks of my exchange were the both the best and the hardest though. I was at a point where I felt really well integrated. I felt like a part of my host family, a part of my community, a part of my school, and it was hard to know that my time there was almost at an end. I wanted to do so much, and spend as much time with the people around me, but that was the problem. There was no time.

Going there was easy; I knew I'd come home in a year.

Leaving was hard; I don't know if (when?) I will go back.

Having that in mind was inevitably a downer, and seeing as I wanted to make the most of the time I had with all of the people around me, it was a battle in and of itself to stay upbeat and enjoy that time.

The last few weeks turned into this continuous emotional rollercoaster [that actually applies to the entire year... just more so in those last weeks], and I think that in saying that, I speak for every exchange student out there.

And then there were the goodbyes.   

I don't cry. I never cry.

Heck, I was the only dry-eyed girl in the theater in Dear John.

So I think I made up for all those tears that last week there.

I am so, so lucky to have gotten to know all of the wonderful people I did, and that our lives were able to intersect, if only briefly. 

On top of that, their kindness was beyond anything I could have imagined. Not only did they let me into their lives- and in the case of my host families, into their homes- they even surprised me time and time again... from little things like taking me swimming at the lake, to bringing cake on my last day of school, to a surprise party that left me speechless, to the kids who I only had a few classes with still coming by personally to say goodbye and wish me a safe trip home- having had all of these people in my life, I know one thing at least.

I am one damn lucky American girl.

The goodbyes became gradually more and more final, going from "Seeya soon!", to "Hopefully we'll see each other again before you leave," to "I'm going to miss you. Goodbye," as it got closer to the date of departure.

And then it was June 20th.

I didn't sleep the night before departing, wanting to spend every last minute possible wide awake in Germany. Germany! That translated to hanging out with my closest friends for the last time, packing the last few odds and ends, and going on a last bike ride around my village, Millingen, at 2:00 in the morning.

It was the last time I would be there as neither stranger nor guest.

The village was completely empty; it was mine, and mine alone.

At 3:00 my host mom woke up to drive me to the train station, with my barely-under-the-weight-limit luggage [Have you ever tried packing your life into 23 kg (51 lb.) and a carry-on?]. We made small talk as we waited, with nobody else on the platform and only the stars for company. 

Then the train came.  

That was my last goodbye.

The Frankfurt airport was my destination, along with the other 50-some exchange students from the west coast, also CBYX recipients. They are the other family I was a part of this year. Over the last 11 months, despite being scattered all over Germany, we had a month-long language camp together, one-week seminars in Weimar(mid-year) and in Berlin (at the end), and stayed in constant contact thanks to Facebook, Skype, and the like. We experienced so much together, supporting and being there for one another throughout the year. We came here together, we Germanied together, and we would now leave together, 11 months later, as completely different people.

8 hours later, we were in Washington D.C.

I've been back for three weeks as of yesterday, and although I am happy to see my friends and family again, it's hard. I did leave my friends and family behind, too- the ones of the German variety. Things are different in America. The bread and cheese and candy, the transportation [I'm driving again! Yay!!], the language [German still slips out every now and then], the scenery, the stores, the conversations, the people, the everything. There's new construction in my town, there are new stores and new faces, there are things that I can't remember, there are things that I can't forget, and sometimes it's just all too much.

---

Sometimes, it honestly feels like I'm living in two worlds at once. I'm here, but my thoughts are there. My heart is in both places. 

--- 

So I'll treasure the memories, and grow from the experiences.

Come what may; I'll keep an open mind and heart,  

because one adventure is over, and a new one starts now.

An Austrian Ausflug

It's been over a month since my last post here, and I can't express at all how full the days gone by have been with new experiences, emotions, events, and people. My exchange here has been offering my so much, I'm stuffed to the brim and overflowing with gratefulness. 

Events have come to pass in such a way that I have turned a page and am currently living with another host family. I'm writing a post detailing the move and change of scenery, but want to say in advance that although I miss my old host family and friends dearly, I'm still in good contact and have a great relationship with all of them!:)

Austriaa!

However, this post is here for a different purpose.

In the first week of the two-week Osternferien [literally translating to Easter Vacation, also meaning Spring Break] my host family and I headed down south to the town of Reit im Winkl in Bavaria! Tons of pictures of Bavaria are yet to come, but I'm narrowing this post down further yet. 

Having been right on the border, we ended up crossing into Austrian territory quite often, and then took an entire day as well for a field trip down to Salzburg!

The Salt Fortress

The city is gorgeous. I don't think I'll ever get tired of European architecture, whether it's church towers, or Bavarian houses, or fortresses or intricate sculpture detail on buildings. The love put into the town design gives it both breath and pulse, always leaving more to discover--- traits that Salzburg's well preserved baroque architecture exemplified.
The Salz Burg itself towers over the city, and many buildings are built into the mountain, all fanning out towards the Salzach river. Over that river stretches a 'love-bridge' adorned with locks, like those of that built over the Rhein.

Most found:)

 We started off our day by indulging a hobby of my host family-- Geocaching. This outdoors hobby involves plugging coordinates into a GPS and using that to find a hidden container [Basically, real life I-Spy]. That day, I finally caved and joined in, logging my first cache ever here in Salzburg.

We then involved ourselves with a bit of the city's culture: namely, Mozart. The 18th century composer was both born and resided in the city, in the Geburtshaus and Wohnhaus, translating simply to House of Birth and House of Residence.
After walking through the two houses, we took a break in the Cafe Mozart, where I indulged in one of the classiest tea setups I've come across to date [and trust me, Germany has gotten me absolutely hooked on tea]. While there, we then had to try the traditional Salzburger Knockerl. [Salzburger whaaa?]

“Süß wie die Liebe und zart wie ein Kuss”-Fred Raymond

A sweet soufflé served as a dessert, the Knockerl is a Salzburger specialty. It's basically a mountain of whipped egg whites and sugar and magical powder, plopped into and shaped over a jam base. It's the heaped with powdered sugar and served right out of the oven. Can't say I've ever tasted anything with that particular consistency before- something like a liquid meringue- or with that particular taste- something like the egg portion of tamago nigiri sushi- but it was actually, surprisingly quite good.

Yummmm:)

We rounded off our daily dose of Mozart with a trip to Reber, a famous Mozart-Kugeln company. The candy, made in the 1800s and named after the musician, consists of a pistachio-marzipan center surrounded by chocolate nougat, then another layer of marzipan, and then chocolate once more.
There are a few companies that produce these industrially, with each [of course] claiming to sell the real Mozart bon-bons.
I don't care personally, as long as I get my sugar fix:)

Wien, nicht wein!

Next on our list was stopping by Hotel Sacher, where we crossed another Austrian treat off of our checklist. The Sacher Torte, a certain kind of chocolate sponge cake with apricot jam in the middle, was created by Franz Sacher and is now considered a Viennese specialty. I'm not all for mixing any kind of fruit jam and chocolate, so the unique taste didn't do much for me, but it's quite savoury and delicious for those who like that combination. I found the packaging to be almost more impressive than the cake though, as it was made it more than clear that the torte was, in fact, direct from Hotel Sacher itself. 
[Ach, when will the hype over designer brands die out?]

Not Brezeln-- Brezen!

 Less glamorous but equally delicious were of course the pretzels everywhere. Normal pretzels, giant pretzels, and pretzels bigger than my entire torso were up for grabs in both bakeries and stalls linings the streets of the downtown.
[There was also a pretzel van, and I don't care what anyone says about strangers- I'd hop on in, no questions asked(: ]

Ah, Europe <3

What surprised me, but shouldn't have, was that although Austria is a German-speaking country, Salzburg is quite the international city.  I got a french tour through Wolfgang's Geburtshaus, talked with an Australian college student visiting family in Austria, ran into a photojournalist from Hong Kong doing a tour of Europe for his magazine back home, and heard more languages spoken that day than in the past few months put together. I do miss city life, as opposed to that of a small village, and Salzburg gave me a taste of that once more.

 

However, over the course of the week, our time in Austria wasn't limited to that day. We ended up crossing the border on more hikes than not, navigating the beautiful alpine region. One specific hike led us to this unbelievably gorgeous landscape, one that will stay with me for a long time to come.

The trail took us along the Großache river (79 km), which originates in the  Kitzbühel Alps in Austria, then flows through the Chiemgau Alps in Bavaria.  The river pierces the Alps at a narrow gorge, the Entenloch (Duck Hole), which is where we spent the afternoon.

A suspension bridge built there was once the start of a smuggler’s path that led from the church at the Entenloch to Schleching, Bavaria, thus traversing the border of the two countries. As we stood there, the mountains criss-crossing in front of us, I had no words. The water was that turquoise and clear, the air was that fresh, the walls of the gorge that steep and chiseled, everything still peppered with patches of snow.

There was a church located at the Entenloch as well, the Wallfahrtskirche Maria Klobenstein (Pilgrimage Church of Maria Klobenstein). It consists of two connected chapels, as well as a third smaller one from which holy water from a well dug in 1858 still flows to date. The Klobenstein (Kloben Rock), a cleaved boulder that one can walk through, is there as well. It’s said to possess special abilities, such as enhancing the fertility of girls who walk through, and making unfaithful husbands grow horns- a cute bit of history to go with the scenery.

[I did walk through the boulder.... but I'm not keen on the whole enhanced fertility thing.Being the next Kate Plus Eight? Not on my bucket list...] 

What I also found charming on our hikes were the little Austrian flag trail markers painted on trees as soon as you crossed the border.

Austrian pride!

In all, the little forays into Austrian territory that I experienced were full of little culture surprises and eye-opening views. As I work on a similar post about Bavaria and the culture shock I experienced there, I'll let the pictures here speak for themselves, and round this off with one last shot of Austria.
Drumroll, please.
...

Austrian Ampelmänner!:)

A little tubby, a little deformed, not as cute as their Berlin counterparts [and my obsession], but not without their own charm.

Goodbye then Austria, I hope we meet again:)