Table of Contents
- Brushing by Brannenburg
- The Shoe-Straining Stray
- Kids, Games & Bake'n'Roll
- The Hollering Human Hike
- Parallel Paths
- The Road Ahead
A whole year has passed, and it is time for the Thalhäusl again. Wit that, I realize that at least chronologically speaking, this book is clearly the longest yet. As a matter of fact, I have already written about my trips to the Thalhäusl twice (see Book III ~ Chapter 8 ~ Project Petal Part 1 ~ To The Thalhäusl and Book V ~ Chapter 7 ~ Tangential Thalhäusl Trekking), and both of those times my approach to get there was a different one. Once I came by bike, the second time I hiked from one of the four nearby train stations to the Thalhäusl, and then from there to a second one.
As you might have already guessed from that exposition, my goal for this time around is to connect the other two stations by means of two more hikes. With last year covering the closer two stations, that means this year features the more ambitious two parts of my little "Thalhäusl Cross" project. However, the beginning is very similar to last year and has me...
Brushing by Brannenburg
7-Jun-2023
Since my two cats - Jamie and Toledo - are once again staying at home, I once again asked a friend of the family to take care of them. Naturally, I do put a bit of effort into organizing the cat-sitting as best I can.
By the time I depart, it's already well into the morning, and the day looks clear, not a cloud in the sky. And while this is a welcome change to the recent rainy rides (see Book V ~ Chapter 15 ~ Project Petal Part 9 ~ Augsburg and Around and Book V ~ Chapter 16 - Project Petal Part 10 ~ The Rainy Rosenheim Ride), it's not quite my favorite weather either. Personally, I prefer an overcast sky, or at the very least a good amount of clouds granting the occasional reprieve from Radian's resplendent rays.
Since the embarkation point for my hike today is literally one stop further than Raubling - where I started from last year - my ride there is remarkably similar: First, I take the S2 to the Ostbahnhof...
...and then - after waiting for a bit - I take the train headed for Kufstein from there.
The train passes the same stations as before, only this time, on account of me having completed the Dragon Petal to Rosenheim, they hold a new significance to me. I remember cycling through the centre of Grafing, which as it turns out is still about 2km away from the train line, unlike Ostermünchen, where I was looking for a Geocache on a parking lot right next to the tracks. Rosenheim itself invokes some rainy memories, and with it memories of the Ashley incident as well (see Foxy Falseness). One stop after and I pass Raubling where I got off last year, and another stop and I've reached my embarkation point for today, the town of Brannenburg ("Well Castle").
Ride Duration: 2.25h
Approximate Distance: 81km
Average Speed: 36km/h
Along the way, I naturally take another video. Now, you may have noticed, but I generally try to take these videos facing right. The main reason for that is that since Germany - like most countries - features right-hand driving (and by extension also rail traffic), this way I am facing away from the contraflow of cars (and trains) and get a more unobstructed view. However, since I've already covered this piece of track last year, this time around I'm filming out one of the left windows, thus not only capturing a different angle, but incidentally also the very landscape that I cycled through during the Dragon Petal (see Grey Grafing Grind). Apart from that, the landscape itself is still the same, with first flat farming fields, and then hills and forests on the other side of THE BORDER, followed by the first mountains as we approach the alps. Notably, I am also passing over the construction site of the Rosenheim bypass road that I took note of on my ride to Rosenheim.
(Click here to view the video if the website fails to load it)
One thing that's different from last year is that people no longer need to wear masks on the trains, and maybe as a result of that, there's a couple of more people on board than last year too.
Anyway, at the end of the train ride stands the little rural station of
Brannenburg...
...which should simultaneously serve as the set-out site for...
The Shoe-Straining Stray
7-Jun-2023Distance: 15.5km
Ascents: 610m
Duration: 5.5h
2/4🎁︎
My hiking route from Brannenburg generally takes me west, and a little bit to the north. After leaving Brannenburg, I quickly make my way to the feet of the first mountains, which I should subsequently follow. As such, the vast majority of today's hike takes place within the cool shade of the trees covering the mountain flanks, and I barely enter any towns and villages along the entire way, but for reference, my route takes me south past Großholzhausen ("Great Wood Housing") and Litzldorf ("Lace Village"), and I even briefly brush the outskirts of Bad Feilnbach. Another reason why I try to route as much of my stray through the forest is that June is allergy season for me, and since I'm allergic to grasses and stuff, that means hiking through fields makes me sneeze like crazy. So forests are my preferred terrain in this month.
Of course, the flipside of that is that this hike has a height profile which, while manageable, is still not exactly easy going. Starting at 472m, the terrain is mostly flat at fist. However, it is near Litzldorf that I have to climb a hundred meters up the mountainside in order to continue my way in the cool and pollen-free shade of the trees. And that marks the beginning of a sequence of ups and downs, culminated by the final descent into the valley containing the southern outskirts of Bad Feilnbach, followed by the final ascent to the Thalhäusl, which at 735m is also the highest point of today's hike.
Setting out from the station of Brannenburg, I can already see the forest-covered mountaintops of the closest mountains peeking past the rooftops of the town.
Though I am still in the heart of the town, my route quickly leads me into the green as I follow a little park at the edge of a stream.
My first destination - and one that has me go a little bit out of my way in fact - is the Biberhöhe ("Beaver Height"), a little rise in the middle of town which features an unusual natural stone formation. The promise of a Geocache drew me to this place, and while I should not find the cache, I am still glad it led me here to witness this little hidden curiosity.
After that, it doesn't take me long to leave Brannenburg behind and make my way across the first fields, heading towards the Sulzberg ("Aspic Mountain"), which should eventually be the first in the chain of mountains along the flanks of which I should proceed.
Meanwhile, my starting point is actually already quite a bit up the foothills, and so looking out towards the east, I can see all the way across the river Inn, where the prominent Schloss Neubeuern ("Castle New Farmers") promptly catches my eye.
Passing by some houses near the outskirts, I also come by some very elaborate bird houses, the most impressive of which actually mirror the human house near which they are standing to a good degree.
After that, it's Ponyzeit ("Pony Time")...
...which is almost immediately followed by cattle time. These ones are notably different from the cattle you usually see in these parts, which becomes apparent by their unusual almost goat-like horn shape. I wonder what breed those are.
Following these animalistic encounters, I proceed towards the Sulzberg by means of quiet side roads...
...which soon turn into proper rural gravel roads as I reach the base of the Sulzberg, where the blissfully pollen-free forests begin.
That's the plus side. The minus side is that the shady forest paths on the north side of the mountain are partially pretty muddy, which does come as a little bit of a surprise since the last rainfall in Munich has already been over two weeks ago. But apparently it did rain quite a bit up here, although this is barely 50km south of Munich.
Which is a bit of a problem, but not because of the mud. Rather, sunlight after rain - such as is apparently the case here today - really boost pollen production in plants, which makes open fields extra-toxic for me today. Which is why I'm glad to be in the middle of the forest now, even if the path sometimes ends up looking like this.
Along the way, I come across a hidden old wooden trailer-shack which happens to be the hiding place for a Geocache...
...and then I face the first proper climb of today south of Großholzhausen, though that one should only be a mild foretaste of what is yet to come.
At the top of the first slope, I find myself at the edge of the forest, walking in the shade with a well-grazed and thus pollen-free field to my right...
...a situation that only gets better as I come across a very conveniently placed bench in the shade overlooking that field. Now, the last time around I was daring/foolish enough not to bring any lunch on my stray to the Thalhäusl and arrived positively famished. This time around I was smarter and brought lunch in the form of a sandwich and Müsli bars, and since the time is approaching noon and I don't know if I'll find another so very convenient place along my hike, I figure this is a good enough time and place to sit down and ingest it. After all, even though it feels like not much happened yet on this hike, I have already covered almost half the distance to the Thalhäusl by now. However, I am well aware that it is the second half that has all the ascents, so the hardest part still lies ahead of me.
But for now, here I am seated at this nice and shady spot, enjoying my lunch while taking in the nearby panorama. As a matter of fact, from my vantage point up here I can see all the way across the not visible Inn and over to the valleys on the other side, such as the valley of Rossholzen ("Steed Wooding") and its St. Bartholomäus Kirche ("St. Bartholomew Church"). that would make the mountain behind it the 1136m tall Schwarzenberg, which is not to be confused with the 1187m tall Schwarzenberg on this side of the Inn near the Thalhäusl, which I climbed as part of last year's return hike. They should really add more color to their mountains here.
Moving on after lunch, I quickly come to realize that the easy part of today's hike is now officially over. For one, the forest road starts becoming increasingly rocky, to the point where I seriously wonder what kind of vehicle you would need to use it...
...and then, the gradient passes the "basically okay" point, goes past "a little steep" and finally reaches "are you serious?". This is the harshest climb I have to face today, featuring an average gradient of over 20% as I climb 125m of altitude over the course of only 600m of distance. The extreme gradient becomes most apparent at the switchback curves that define this segment.
Fortunately, the forest is kind enough to provide me with a 100% organic hiking stick, which I should stick to all the way until the Thalhäusl. It should serve me well in some challenges yet to come.
Challenge N°1: At the very top of this harrowing climb, I come across a seriously inappropriately placed barbed wire fence built squat across the road that I need to take, and the only other road takes me yet another 70m further up the mountain, with no guarantee that there won't be another fence up there too.
Fatigued from the ascent as I am, I could not care less about this fence, and so I decisively find a convenient way to climb across it nearby, and make my way down my intended path. This eventually results in me crossing a pasture populated by a bunch of bovines who take little offense at my trespassing. On the lower end of the pasture, I can easily leave since that side does not feature any obstructions beyond a quite traverseable cattle grill.
From this point onwards, I should follow a more official hiking route, namely the Leiblweg ("Body Path"), which is actually named after 19th century realist painter Wilhelm Leibl, who lived in the nearby Bad Aibling for some time. This is also the beginning of a segment that should take me over many little mountain streams, such as the Litzldorfer Bach ("Lace Village Stream") right here.
Most of those little streams have bridges across them, and those that do not are small enough to comfortably step across, to the point where the path just leads squat across them.
After spending a couple of hours in the woods and away from civilization, I now brush by the southernmost outskirts of Litzldorf...
...which briefly puts me in an open area from which I can see the Sterntaler Filze that my hike took me past last year.
Thankfully, that open segment does not last too long, because already I am starting to sneeze again. Thus, I welcome it when the trail leads me back into the forest, even though that means climbing another incline by means of a rocky road.
As a little side curiosity, I come across a somewhat elaborate memorial marking the spot where in 1919 - and thus over a century ago - a tree took vengeance upon a lumberjack by the name of Johann Mayer.
From here o n out, the path becomes somewhat more enjoyable. More or less leveling out, and turning from a rocky road into more of a forest trail, it has a somewhat magical feel to it as it hugs to mountainside.
However, even as I walk this magical trail, another problem emerges: Ironically, it would seem that the rocky trail thus far was not good for my hiking boots, the sole of which is starting to come off on both shoes. That is actually kinda disappointing since I figure that this is exactly the kind of terrain for which I bought these shoes, and I barely wear them except on hikes like this. Old though they may be, the number of days on which I've actually worn and used them does probably not exceed 30, as opposed to my regular, less expensive normal shoes that routinely last for hundreds of days (including Geocaching in rough terrain) before breaking down.
At this point, I am still roughly 6km away from the Thalhäusl, and with no way to repair my boots along the way, I have little choice but to continue along this magic trail, hoping that my boots will last at least until then.
And continue on I do, making my way through the forest and past an enchanting little turnstile...
...which in turn takes me to a pasture on which a little enchanted prince sits squat in my way. However, since I am only looking for a vixen and not a prince, I leave it be and continue on my way.
Beyond that, the path grows progressively more adventurous. Fortunately, this kind of terrain is nothing that a fleet-footed fox such as myself can't handle.
However, turns out it is something that my already damaged boots can't handle, which with a final flop capitulate and choose to leave their earthly soles behind for good.
It is now 14:30 and I am yet a little over 5km away from the Thalhäusl... and that without boots that are in walking order. Fortunately I did not intend to wear those heavy boots the entire time while on the Thalhäusl, and thus have packed my very compact Vibram Toe Shoes.
As you can probably imagine, those are spectacularly unsuitable for a hike across rough terrain like this, but they are all that I have left at this point. At least it's preferable to walking barefoot on this rocky ground, though I loathe to think about how much of this rugged ground these rather light shoes will be able to bear. I hope it's enough to get me to the Thalhäusl at least. As for my now broken boots, I could just leave them by the side of the path... but that would be valicious. So I somehow manage to stuff them into my already full backpack and carry them on my back for the remainder of today's hike.
Thus, I continue along this magical path, now with 85% less foot armor, the lack of which I quickly notice as I learn just how many little bumps the heavier shoes simply absorbed to the point of me not even noticing them. With these ultra-light shoes meanwhile, I have to be far more careful where I step, and every little bump is a lot more painful.
The path meanwhile is as beautiful as ever, proceeding to take me along the very top of a forested ridge, with the mountain falling away on either side.
Eventually, I reach the Malerwinkel ("Painter's Corner"), which ostensibly is also a reference to Wilhelm Leibl. From what I gather, this is the point from where he painted a painting of the nearby Jenbachfälle ("That Stream Falls"). However, by today the trees have grown to the point where you can't see the falls from here anymore. Instead, there's some interesting little stones to be found around.
From there, a crude stairwell leads down into the valley...
...where I then find myself at the shore of the aforementioned Jenbach ("That Stream"), which actually turns out to be the most substantial body of water that I've come across today.
It is here that I briefly pass through the southernmost outskirts of Bad Feilnbach, which actually feature very sophisticated sidewalks, considering that there's less than a dozen houses south of here.
Before long, however, I am back on a sidewalk-less road, beginning the final big ascent for this day. The main problem this time around, however, is that this is the first uphill segment outside of the woods, which means that in addition to sneezing, I also have to deal with the heat, and although today is not particularly hot, being in the direct sun only a few hours after noon in June when Radian is at its strongest makes the climb quite challenging. Naturally, I applied a good amount of sunscreen, but even so, I try my best to stay in what little shade the road has to offer.
Eventually, I leave the road behind in favor of a field path, which regrettably is still sorta sunny and pollen-polluted...
...but fortunately, that path soon leads me to a shady forest trench, allowing me to leave both of those hazards behind.
Only for a while, though, for the next segment takes me across the aptly named Armen Seelenweg ("Poor Souls Path"), which is also the undisputed winner of today's Field Path of the Day. On the plus side, it's now only 1.1km to the Thalhäusl!
Now this is a challenge where aforementioned walking stick really comes in handy! With my boots broken and me walking with my toe shoes, my ankles are critically unprotected, and this path is littered with plenty of plants seeking to take advantage of that. Using my walking stick, I do my best to bend them out of my way, but even so, I should still arrive at the Thalhäusl with a good number of rashes on my ankles.
By the time I leave this pollen-heavy meadow behind, I am almost sneezing my tails off, but eventually, I make it back into the forest, where the Armen Seelenweg continues for a little bit...
...before eventually merging into the road running by the Thalhäusl.
From there, the final push includes a climb of another 50m or so, but after everything else that I've been through today already I take that in stride, and finally arrive at the Thalhäusl around 16:15.
There, my first order of business is to take a good look at my ruined boots, and after a brief moment of consideration I decide that this is where I am going to put them to rest. Meanwhile, my toe shoes, albeit a little bit uncomfortable to hike in, have been holding up remarkably well, and so I am reasonably confident that they will also see me all the way back home.
So much for the way here. After that little ordeal, I think I've now deserved a number of enjoyable days that should be all about...
Kids, Games & Bake'n'Roll
7-Jun-2023
Upon arriving, I only spend a little bit of time putting away my stuff and making my bed in the shared room that I'll be staying in...
...before making my way down to the hall with all the games.
It doesn't take long before I am gleefully greeted by Ferdi and Maxi, the two energetic boys who already were after my tails last year. They're quite happy to see me, and their giddy exuberance fills my heart with joy. Incidentally, the game being played there is called Orihalcum, and is about building ancient Greek cities and temples for the titans.
Since I've arrived relatively late in the day, that one game (and some romping around with the boys) is all it takes to cover the time until dinner that day. Consisting of pasta with tomato sauce and cheese, said dinner is nothing extraordinary, yet after today's hike extremely satisfying. And there's even a little salad side dish.
Following my Flirial nature, I subsequently spend some time in the kitchen, cleaning up the dishes...
...before returning back to the game room, where Ferdi quickly ropes me into playing the game "Challengers!" with me. This turns out to be a remake of the old card game "War", with some added deck building elements and special effects. But the basic mechanism remains the same: All you really do during a game is flip over the top card of your deck and then follow through what the rules tell you to do. How such a lowbrow game came to be not only nominated for but also win the awards of Kennerspiel des Jahres ("Connoisseur's Game of the year") this year is simply beyond me (though I reckon it involves buttloads of cash).
This is - in fact - just a part of a great mourning refrain in the board game geek scene, starting with how the original Spiel des Jahres ("Game of the Year") award degraded from awarding highbrow games to lowbrow games, until the Kennerspiel des Jahres award was introduced to have an award for more challenging games again, and now the same thing is happening to this again.
But anyway, that's it for today. We play a few games of "Challengers!" (which despite my rant is not a bad game, only utterly undeserving of that particular award that belongs to games that have a certain measure of depth and complexity, which this game clearly lacks), and after that it's time for Ferdi to go to bed - a decree that he finds himself much more willing to accept when I state that I'll go to bed at this time as well. And thus ends this first evening at the Thalhäusl.
8-Jun-2023
My first full day here at the Thalhäusl this year begins with a wholesome breakfast consisting of tea, orange juice, as well as a Vollkornsemmel ("Whole Grain Bread Roll") with honey and cream cheese spread. And for the record, the couple who organizes this event actually brings a whole cardboard box of freshly baked goods up here from a baker in the valley every single day. Kudos to them!
Their dog, the dalmatian Dina is also around this time again. Being an old girl by now, she mostly likes to be left alone, but at other times she also pokes her head here and there.
Since I'm one of the first people to be awake, I spend some time cleaning up in the kitchen again - a task at which I am soon joined by Ferdi, who is eager to play a game with me, and thus enthusiastic to help out so I can finish faster and start playing sooner.
The first game on today's play list is Der Fuchs im Wald ("The Fox in the Forest"), a relatively simple trick-taking game that I mostly wanted to try out because of its name. The one special thing about it is that the game actually punishes you for taking too many tricks, so if it looks like you're losing one round you can try to turn it around by feeding your opponents enough tricks to trigger that.
Afterwards, we play a few more round of Challengers together, for one to try out different combinations, and also because Ferdi likes it and I got to pick the first game.
Next up is Coatl, a colorful game about assembling the eponymous feathered snakes of Aztec mythology. This one is not too bad as it rewards planning ahead, but also never puts you in a situation where you've painted yourself into a corner.
By then, it's already in the middle of the day and the game hall is full of people playing this and that, so between games I take a look around to see if there's any games that I'd like to play myself in these next few days.
Lunch isn't really a big thing here in the Thalhäusl, so to charge up in the middle of the day I simply grab some cake and half a Pretzel.
After lunch, we proceed to the first proper fail of this year. A game by the name of Arcadia Quest that looks promising at first, but turns out to be a horribly luck-based drag. In one instance, I ended up trying the exact same thing at least 4 rounds in a row before having any kind of success, which made it extremely boring for me since I had to wait forever while the others decided on their moves while I was pretty much just waiting for the dice to give me a more favorable result. So, unlike Challengers which was nothing special but still enjoyable, Arcadia was a thoroughly unfulfilling experience for me.
My Lil' Everdell turned out to be the complete opposite. Whereas Arcadia Quest was restrictive and frustrating, My Lil' Everdell was very generous and forgiving. As the name suggests, this is pretty much a lite version of the more complex game Everdell, and thus a perfect game for getting less game-savory people hooked on worker placement games. But just because you can't really do anything wrong doesn't make the game boring. Rather, under these circumstances victory goes to the one who can use the abundant resources to make the most victory points.
Next up is Cafe del Gatto, an unusual game about brewing coffee. This is one of those games that's really hard to put in a category. Basically, you try to acquire coffee and cream bricks in order to complete a number of coffee drinks and try to make as many points as possible with that while also ensuring you have enough money to buy ingredients. It is a game that is somehow both simple and complex. Or rather, the moves you can make are simple and limited, but there's still a lot of tactical depth in how exactly you make those moves. And while I don't think I'd personally play it a lot, I can definitely recommend trying it once, because the playing experience is quite unique.
Later that day, we have a BBQ for dinner. Now, I'm not too big a fan of those, but I know that vegetarians are even worse-off than me, so I offered to make a vegetarian side dish for them to enjoy. That would be my latest creation: Kitsune Pan (狐パン "Fox Bread"). Inspired by both Pão de Queijo (see Book III ~ Chapter 2 ~ Brasilian Bolero) and my legendary tri-Tail Pizza, I have whipped up this unique recipe for what is in essence a serving of cheese bread rolls with a selection of assorted spices and seeds. Naturally it goes without saying that Ferdi is there to help me prepare those.
Having only tried out the recipe once in my oven at home, I am actually worried about how they'll turn out here in the industrial-grade oven. But my fears are alleviated as they end up being a bit crunchy on the outside, but soft and fluffy on the inside, just as intended. Most importantly, however, everyone ends up enjoying them, and that's what counts.
Also, they turn out to be a really nice side dish for the BBQ, since they perfectly supplement the meat, and also can be used to dip up leftover sauce on the plate. Actually, I have to stop myself from eating too many of them myself, what with me having baked them primarily for the others and all.
The last game I play on that day is Go Go Gelato. This one is a game that is similarly about logic and skill, and definitely a good children's game. Basically, you have four colored cups and three colored balls, flip over a card showing a target configuration, and then have to move the balls and cups around to achieve that configuration as quickly as possible. The thing making it tricky is that you can't touch the balls, only the cups. Also, the target configurations can be quite unusual at times, involving cups balanced on balls with other cups on top and such.
And that's it for this second day. I played a lot short games today, and all of them together with Ferdi, making this officially Ferdi-day I suppose. Spending all this time with the energetic boy really makes me wish I could finally have kids of my own, but as you may remember, this year has not been kind to me in that regard (see Book V ~ Chapter 14 ~ Broken Promises). But let's not dwell on that for now, but rather continue with the next day here at the Thalhäusl.
9-Jun-2023
The next day begins with my usual combination of orange juice, tea, bread and helping out in the kitchen.
Following that, I spend the time during which I am one of the few people already awake by picking a number of games that I would like to play while here, and then look around for people who would be interested to play one of those as well. As a matter of fact, I should yet end up finding people to play just over half of those games with over the course of my stay.
Endless Winter is the first of those, and also one of the games that caught my eye yesterday. It turns out to be a long worker placement game that takes up all morning, but it is definitely interesting enough to justify the time spent, even if waiting for the others to plan and make their moves can be a bit tedious. Even so, since this game also features a bunch of interesting-sounding expansions, this is something that I can picture myself playing a few more times.
And with that one big game, it's already time for lunch. Today, I grab a scoop of leftover Nudelsalat ("Pasta Salad"), from the BBQ, along with literally the last surviving Kitsune Pan. At this point, though, I feel I have to comment on how the Nudelsalat containing ham actually kinda makes it miss the point of it being a vegetarian alternative to the BBQ.
After lunch, it is time for some shorter game, such as Flamecraft, which wins the award for Cutest Game Ever! In this adorable game you spread little crafting dragons all over a town to help people out, earning points as you do. Much like My Lil' Everdell, this is a resource surplus game where you have too many resources rather than too few, and the trick is making the most profitable moves. It is very beginner-friendly, and thus another great game to get people hooked. And finally, there's a lot of love in the detail of the game. In fact, they put so much love into the game that I completely forgot to take a picture of it, so here's one from the internet.
Another very recommendable game that I was so enamored with that I forgot to take a picture of it is Planet Unknown. Put very plainly, this is planetary Tetris where you try to fill a planet with landscape tiles according to certain criteria. In the basic version, all players get the same planet and play a default faction, while the advanced version includes giving the players different factions with different rules, as well as different planets. Very, very, different planets, in fact, including, but not limited to "My planet is electric", "What? One planet? I have three!", "My planet has a hole", "My planet has many holes" and "My planet is a hole!". Most importantly, however - and that is a very strong point - is that unlike most other games where players take turns one after another, in this game the players take turns simultaneously, thus massively reducing downtime.
Dinner that day is pizza, and it's good. However, pizza here always makes me remember how Φ badmouthed my legendary tri-Tail pizza when I once made it here back in 2019. That still stings even four years later.
For the rest of the night, I should play some more simple games with Ferdi and Maxi, starting with Taco Katze Ziege Käse Pizza ("Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza"), which is a reaction contact card game. The rules are very simple: Every player has a stack of cards that each contain one of those five words (or a special word), and players take turns saying the next word in that five-word order while flipping over the topmost card of their deck and putting it onto the pile in the middle. And if that card contains the same word they just said, then everybody has to slam down on the pile, with the last player to do so having to add the entire pile to their deck. Mistakes are punished with the offender having to take the entire pile too, and the first player who correctly slams down on the pile without any cards remaining in their deck wins. Simple.
Next up is the Bang card game, which is one of those games that is really more fun with more players. When played with at least four players, the players get secret roles of sheriff, deputy sheriff, bandits and outlaws, each with conflicting goals of who needs to kill whom and only the sheriff being known to everyone, making it a tactical game not unlike Werewolves. However, with only three players, the game is played with open roles and every player needs to kill one specific character, which makes the game lose a lot of its depth.
A game that seems shallow on the outside but actually rewards quick analytical thinking is Sbam! Themed around wrestling, this game has players draw and play cards as quickly as they can. The tricky part is that the cards have to be cleverly placed around the wrestling rings in order to score, so you have to balance the benefits of thinking longer about where to put each card with drawing more cards. This is all the more true since carelessly placed cards may actually end up lowering your score in one ring.
Qwinto - the final game for today - is a lot more relaxed by comparison. It is also nothing special, featuring throwing dice and then deciding where to fill in the result on a sheet, like quite a bunch of other games with similar mechanics. On the upside, like many other such games, this one, too, has little downtime since all players may choose to add useful results to their sheet even if others rolled them.
And that's it for the second full day here this year. Today featured fewer games than yesterday, but it also featured two games which are definitely going to end up on my wishlist (Flamecraft and Planet Unknown). And now, without further ado, let us see what the last day here has in store.
10-Jun-2023
This third day naturally begins with breakfast again. This time, however, this is augmented by pancakes made with love by one of the other attendees. However, for some reason that is probably related to brains, I end up putting strawberry yogurt on mine instead of strawberry jam, which turns out to be a somewhat inauspicious combination.
And then, something unprecedented and special happens: As I walk down to the game hall - once again the first person to do so this morning - I find that one of the doors had been left open just a crack, and going in I startle I tiny Kohlmeise (lit. "Kale Tit" = "Great Tit") that had apparently made its way inside during the night. I try to shoo it out, opening the sliding doors wide, but the poor little birdie panics and slams inside the window pane, then retreats into a corner where it sits around dazed, possibly even hurt.
It goes without saying that I want to help the little guy, so I very carefully move stuff out of the way so I can reach it, and then I sing it a song to calm it down. When the bird still sits on the floor after I finish the song, I extend my hands towards it, very slowly and carefully, first one, then the other. At this point, the little guy does not even resist anymore, and with a few light pushes I manage to encourage it to take a hold of my fingers with its little talons. Then, walking slowly, I carry it outside. At this point I am still unsure about whether the little guy is hurt, so I gently make my way up to the main house, but just a little bit before I reach the door, I sense it getting agitated. In response, I tell it that it can fly away now, and a few moments later - almost as if in response - the bird takes off and flies up to a nearby branch. And though I am a bit sad to see it go, I am simultaneously glad that it is also unhurt. This should be one of those special experiences that I am going to carry in my heart forever.
(Click here to view the video if the website fails to load it)
The next game is another one from my to-play list: A village-building game by the name of Hamlet, which is most notable for its highly asymmetric board game tiles, all being more or less irregular cuts from a trigonal grid. With tiles like that, gaps in the emerging game field are the rule, and make for some unusual puzzling. The game is also a bit unusual in that resources produced by one player can be consumed by a different player, with the producing player receiving a reward for it, so it is entirely possible to spend several turns just producing resources that other people end up consuming to build buildings and still end up in a favorable position.
Lunch that day - by the way - consists of leftover pizza from last night.
After lunch, I next play Life is Life with Ferdi and Maxi, a simple card game about swapping out cards from your hand with an open display in the middle in order to gather a majority of same-valued cards. The cutesy-styled theme of shipwrecked animals that are trying not to drown feels kinda put-on.
Next up is the cooperative Back to the Future game. Now, normally I am a fan of cooperative games, but this one doesn't really appeal to me. Okay, so we lost against the game. That's okay, especially for our first attempt. But since the game doesn't feature different scenarios, and different playthroughs are only differentiated through random events and such, I don't think it really offers all that much replay value.
But now for today's main event, which is actually not a game, but the lasagna. Specifically, it is me working together with three other attendees to make a tasty lasagna dinner for everyone, much like last time.
Now, annoyingly I forgot to bring my master plan, so I sort of have to wing it. But on the upside, my three helpers are the same ones as last year, and though it's already a year in the past, we all still sort of know what we're doing. Even so, I end up doing most of the orchestrating, running around and fetching ingredients, while the other three are in charge of cutting ingredients and preparing the sauces.
The only time when I really actively get to do anything other than measuring ingredients into the correct doses is at the very end when things calm down a little and we get to prepare four big trays full of lasagna - two meaty, and two vegetarian. One definite improvement from last year is that I requisitioned extra ingredients for the sauces, because that was the limiting factor last year. So this year, we end up with roughly 50% more lasagna.
Those four (huge) trays actually turn out to be the effective capacity of the oven. Any more than that, and we'd have to make two runs of lasagna, and with each run taking 30 minutes to bake, that would be kinda unfeasible. Also, the pots that we were preparing to make the sauces were pretty much running at capacity too, despite us using the biggest pots in the whole kitchen.
I suppose it speaks in favor of the lasagna that even with those 50% extra the huge trays are wiped clean in no time flat. And me, I can personally attest to both kinds being equally delicious.
Everyone else really relishes the lasagna that we made too, and so I resolve to not forget the master plan next year, when I'll make lasagna for everyone again, possibly even with my three trusty teammates.
We play some more games afterwards. The first one is the second flop of this year, as well as the fourth and last game on my to-play-list that I should be able to cover. Looking at first like a neat little dungeon crawler, Lord of Bones turns out to be not that good of a game. The main problem is that the game does not really reward the player for what should be the main aspect of the game, namely exploring the dungeon. Rather, the winning strategy is to find the nearest crypt and repetitively run into it each turn, which is boring but way more effective than actually exploring the dungeon. One player even drops out along the game, while the rest of us finish it, laughing and crying at how broken this game is.
The last game tonight - and thus the finisher for this year - is Kuzooka. And while that definitely won't become one of my favorites, it definitely is an interesting game with a mechanic that actually works. The theme is animals escaping from a zoo, and the mechanic is that every player holds a number of cards and the players have to work together to come up with a daring escape plan. The tricky part is that since the players each represent a different animal, they can't talk with one another, and their primary means of communicating is the plans they propose, along with the special ability of each animal.
The Hollering Human Hike
11-Jun-2023
The next morning I have my usual breakfast, and then I'm on my way already. This early in the morning, not many people are up to see me off, but little Ferdi is among them.
This stray should be the make-or-break test for my toe shoes, which I hope will serve me well for the duration of this entire hike. If not, I'll have to wing it, and this hike is going to be a long one.
Distance: 19.0km
Ascents: 200m
Duration: 6h
4/6🎁︎
My route today should take me almost exactly north to Bad Aibling, which is about 11km away as the Dragon soars, and 13km by the shortest walkable route. But naturally, I do not take that path, instead opting for a more scenic route around the landscape. My first goal is to climb the Hocheck, which is the counterpart of the Schwarzenberg that I climbed last year, with the Thalhäusl being located in the valley between those two peaks. From there, I head north first to Au ("Ow") and then Dettendorf ("Also Village"). After that, I cross the fields north to Willing ("Wantig"), which is also where I cross my rainy return route from the Dragon Petal (see Mangy Mangfall Malaise). And after that, I arrive at Bad Aibling.
The height profile for this hike is oddly flute-shaped: After an initial short dip into the stream valley near the Thalhäusl, my way goes up all the way to the Hocheck, and then nonstop down for 400m to the greater Mangfall and Inn valley floor. After that, there's almost no inclines whatsoever, and so I encounter all the towns and villages of today's stray at roughly the same level of elevation.
As I just mentioned, the first thing I do on this stray is cross the Osterbach, the little river running by the Thalhäusl, the presence of which fills the nights with the pleasant sounds of running waters and the less pleasant buzz of biting mosquitoes.
The ascent up the flank of the Hocheck begins immediately on the other side of that little river, and a steep way it is. As a matter of fact, this is the very same path that I came down the other way when hiking to the Thalhäusl from Raubling last year.
From back then, you may or may not remember that this little path to the Thalhäusl branched off from a larger, more truck-worthy road, which I soon reach. Back then, I came from the east, and now I continue towards the west, further up the mountain. And this part of the way is actually where I face the steepest ascents, with gradients of well over 10%.
Oh, and did I say something about truck-worthy? Well, scratch that, for here's a part where a section of the slope clearly thought it would be fashionable to drop by its friends in the valley once in a while. The resulting landslide left quite a swathe in the forest. Luckily, there's a walkable path around the gaping hole.
Last year, I arrived at the Thalhäusl with a hiking stick, which I naturally forgot to take with me when I left. This time around, I was sure that I would remember, but naturally didn't. Fortunately, the forest provides once more, and thus I soon find myself wielding the third locally sourced hiking stick, which again should prove to be quite useful along the way.
Eventually, I emerge from the valley's woods, which is where I am first fully exposed to the sky, which today looks just a little bit threatening. However, according to my weather forecast, it should hold up, and potentially even get sunny later on.
This short stretch is pretty much the only flat bit on the ascent up to the Hocheck, and there's even a little low crest that I can use to take a panorama shot of my surroundings. Annoyingly, the low clouds hide the peak of the Schwarzenberg from sight, but the crest of the roughly 300m lower Hocheck on the opposing side is still clearly visible.
There's a number of farmyards on this flat saddle, and as a result, there's also some paved roads around here leading to and fro.
That paved path should not last long, however, and soon enough I am walking good old dirt paths again as I follow the Fussweg nach Hocheck ("Fottpath to High Corner"). Also, pollen season did not magically end these last three days, and although the sun is not out (yet), that means I'm starting to sneeze again right about now, walking through blooming grasslands like this.
Fortunately, the path eventually leads back into a forest, thus alleviating this particular pain a bit.
Less fortuitous, however, is when the path leads through a patch of stinging nettles, and as you may remember, my light toe shoes leave my ankles painfully unprotected. Fortunately, I am able to use my trusty hiking stack to make my way through reasonably unharmed.
Following that patch, I note that the incline gradually tapers off as I approach the crest of the Hocheck.
Unfortunately, the crest of the Hocheck - located at an altitude of 903m - turns out to be a bit anticlimactic as trees almost completely cover it.
There's only a little gap in the trees where I can get a limited-angle panorama of the terrain to the northwest, which is further dampened by the gloomy sky and resulting low visibility. I bet in clear weather the view from up here would be kinda neat.
Not even one hour into my stray, and I have mastered all the ascents that today will feature. From here, it's downhill all the way, under a sky that seems as of yet quite threatening.
Only a short ways down the mountainside, I come across the fabled tree at the Schnitzenbaumer ("Carve Tree-er"). Legend has it that once many pilgrims walked up the way, and some of them, growing weary from the climb, would help themselves to turnips from the nearby fields. One day, how ever, the farmer of Schnitzenbaum, in his fury, hanged a pilgrim who had stolen three turnips on the eponymous tree, and was in turn condemned to atone for his overreaction by erecting a chapel near the tree. Fascinating though that legend might be, it is not actually true. Rather, the chapel is dedicated to the Scottish wandering monk Koloman, patron saint of cattle, those willing to marry, courtyards, and those sentenced to death by hanging. An interesting combination.
The road running down from the Hocheck to this fabled tree is actually something of a local main road, to the point where as much as one another person and one car passes me by. However, before long I turn off that "busy" road and onto a more quiet gravel road weaving between field and forest...
...which thankfully quickly turns into an all-forest road, meaning no more pollen for quite a while.
Eventually, I emerge from the forest near a humble little chapel located in a very prominent position at the flank of the mountain. As far as I know, this one is known as the Rastkapelle ("Resting Chapel"), which is a pretty fitting name considering that this chapel is not only located at the top end of a way of the cross ascending a considerable 160m...
...but there's also a bench here overlooking a wonderful panorama of the Mangfall valley. And by now, the clouds are even starting to break up, making the view all the more breathtaking.
This should be the last panoramic view of the day, as what follows is the steepest part of my descent, with downhill inclines exceeding 16%. First off, I head down along the way of the cross, passing all of its 14 stations as I follow the field path down into the valley.
Eventually, that path leads me straight across a meadow, which thankfully has been either grazed or mown down to near nothing, so the influx of pollen is blissfully low.
Afterwards, the path leads into the forest again, where it descends what little remains of the mountain zigs and zags...
...and the last hurrah is another narrow path where I get pinched between thorny plants on one side and an electric fence on the other. Fortunately, my trusty hiking stick helps me negotiate this final hurdle on my way down into the valley.
When I finally emerge from that path, I can see that I have reached the outskirts of civilization again: A small hamlet by the name of Brettschleipfen ("Board Grinding"), this little hamlet is located only a short ways south of Au.
Confident that I will no longer need it from here on out, I pass on my hiking stick to whoever might make use of it, leaning it against a nearby bench at the very bottom of the slope. Odds are humans are just gonna throw it away, but who knows? Maybe someone will make some use of it yet.
Though the steepest part of the descent is behind me now, I am still roughly a hundred meters above the valley floor, and so the road should yet lead me continuously downhill for another kilometre or so.
And then, I finally arrive at Au, and with it at the foot of the Hocheck. From here on out, the going should be mostly across level ground. Also, the sky is clearing up more and more by the minute.
Within that town, I soon come across a house featuring a feline-friendly feature in the shape of a lovingly crafted cat bridge connecting the balcony with the nearby roof.
It is also here that Radian finally breaks through the clouds, and I behold the first clear shadows of the day.
I also find another Mitfahrbankerl ("Ride-along bench-let") here. Its funny how I come across them all over the place as soon as I step outside of Munich (and particularly towards the south). On the other hand, I still haven't actually ever seen anyone using any of them.
There's also a public playground here styled in the shape of a medieval castle. I bet the kids love it.
For a while, I walk a narrow path between the Aubach ("Ow Stream") and a road...
...and as I leave Au behind me, I pass by a stack of wood that hides a cute little secret.
For a while, I have to walk at the side of a major, though thankfully not very busy road...
...but soon enough an opportunity presents itself to take a smaller side road. And as an added advantage, the grass here is also freshly mown, thus keeping the pollen strain to a minimum.
Looking south from here, I get a great - if somewhat cloudy - view of the mountains that marked my Thalhäusl strays. At the very left, there's the conical Sulzberg that I hiked around four days ago, followed by the Farrenpoint, the flank of which I also skirted (that is where my boots failed me). Next is a valley that would grant a majestic view on the Wendelstein - if it wasn't for all the clouds - and then the next mountain over is the Schwarzenberg that I climbed last year. And in front of that, there's the Hocheck, which I scaled today, the Thalhäusl being well-hidden in the fold between them.
Also, I can even spot the Rastkapelle from here, sitting prominently on a field of yellow in the otherwise green mountainside. I am now roughly 2.5km away from it.
From here, a straight path through the forest takes me both into the shade and out of the sun. It's not exactly a hot day, but even with sunscreen on I prefer to stick to the shade. After all, it's June, and approaching the Night of the Long Shadows too, so Radian's radiation is at it's strongest now.
However, after a 1.5km stretch of shady respite, the path leads me out into the open again. Fortunately, there's still a comfortable amounts of clouds in the sky providing periodic shade.
By now, I am already past the halfway point of today's stray. One major landmark is a river of concrete running parallel to my path, the mighty A8 highway, cutting brutally through the landscape, audible from kilometres away. Fortunately, there's an underpass for me to get to the other side.
Located just on the other side, there's the village of Dettendorf. I pass through the main road of it, yet it's so small and sparsely settled that it somehow feels like I'm only passing through the outskirts.
After that, my path takes me out into the fields again, and apparently it is my lucky day, because these fields, too, are neatly mown.
Looking back once again, I see the same mountains behind me once more, yet a good bit more distant by now. Also, amazingly, I can still see all the way to the Rastkapelle, which by now is roughly 5km away.
Thus far, I'm having a good day. The stray is going well (even though I haven't managed to find any geocaches just yet), and I am still basking in the afterglow of the Thalhäusl. Specifically, all the time I spent with cheerful little Ferdi as well as the popularity that the dishes that I prepared enjoyed make me soar on an emotional high. However, as I walk this little rural dirt road in search of the next cache, I do not yet know that all that joy is about to be destroyed by a valicious human.
I am just making my way over across a field towards a tree where the cache is supposed to be hidden when a man drives by in a massive SUV that barely fits the dirt road, stops, lowers the window and rails at me about how dare I to walk across the field. And that is the beginning of the end. I didn't take a picture of that, so instead, here's an image I had Craiyon generate that pretty accurately reflects that.
I try a number of things. First ignoring him, then explaining to him that I'm just looking for a cache, but he just goes on and on, even threatening to shoot me. Next to him, his wife is sitting, not saying a word as he hypocritically hollers at me about respecting nature, all while sitting in his air conditioned heavy car that probably causes more environmental damage in a day than all my hikes and rides combined. In the end, it is too much for me, and though I'd like to rip out his eyes and shove them down his self-righteous throat so he can watch as I tear out his intestines, in this situation, there's nothing I can do but to give in and walk away, crying.
A maelstrom of hate, rage and sadness consequently tears apart all the positive emotions I gathered up over the last few days, hurling them into the abyss left behind by Ashley's betrayal and tearing that gaping wound upon my soul wide open again. Around the next corner I collapse on the dirt, just sitting there, unable to go on. Up until today, the outdoors was always the place where I went to get away from the humans and their world, and now a painful blow has been dealt against that sanctuary as well. Another scar upon my soul. Another piece that's broken. I realize just how little I've really yet recovered from what this last year did to me. Or maybe, that damage simply pushed me over the top. Right there, right then, I fell it yet again. Something deep inside me is now broken, and I don't know if it'll ever heal.
Eventually, I pick myself up again and force myself to move on. And as I do, I scream out all of my rage and frustration into the empty fields around me, not caring who might hear. In fact, if I were to encounter anyone right now, Dragon only knows what I might do to them.
Somehow, I manage to drag myself all the way to a little model aerodrome in the middle of a field, where I then collapse on a bench in the shade of a little shed.
There, I listlessly consume my lunch for the day, a simple Käsesemmel ("Cheese Bread Roll") along with a Müsli bar. Thinking back on the encounter with the valicious hollering SUV human, I can now think of many, many things I could have said or done, but back then, I was way too caught up in the moment to react appropriately.
After that, I trudge on through the fields, now sunny and with little shade. The day is ruined for me, and I continue on mechanically. It may seem like a little thing, and yet it affected me very strongly, quite possibly because one of my few "safe zones" was attacked.
Having crossed the final stretch of open field of my hike today, I look back and sullenly acknowledge that not only have the clouds cleared up enough that I can now see the Wendelstein in the distance, but that I still can see all the way to the Rastkapelle from here, even though it is by now about 8km away.
I am now at the town border of Willing...
...where the humans are presently in the process of tearing up more nature, turning it into roads for their SUVs.
Soon thereafter, I reach the crossover point of both the Dragon Petal and the Amper. Today, the weather is much nicer, and the Amper flows serenely under a blue sky, yet even so all of this now fails to brighten my mood as my poor little fox heart is locked up in some dark corner of my psyche, wrapped in black.
Making my way through Bad Aibling, I next cross over the Triftbach ("Hits Stream"), which I also encountered during the Dragon Petal. This time, I cross over next to a little reservoir that also contains fish
Having taken note of the train departure times before, I know I still have enough time until the next train departs, so I take a scenic route through the town, collecting a number of Geocaches as I do. In fact, literally all the caches that I find today are either in, or near Bad Aibling.
Eventually, I make my way to the station, where I still have a good 20 minutes before the next train arrives. In these parts, they run on a hourly schedule, which is okay.
And amazingly, one thing that could have gone wrong but did not are my shoes: Unlike my hiking boots, which were specifically made for hiking, my Vibram Toe Shoes did faithfully carry me all the way across any terrain, which makes this officially the point where I can vouch for them. Go get your pair today!
Anyway, for the moment I am sitting here at the station, still devastated about that hollering human's hypocrisy, and awaiting the train that should take me home along...
Parallel Paths
11-Jun-2023
The train arrives soon enough, and once again it is a train of the BRB. This one is a bit of an older model though.
Ride Duration: 1.75h
Approximate Distance: 70km
Average Speed: 40km/h
Just like my train ride there, the route back should be mostly familiar. However, this time around, it is not just one stop further, but I am on a wholly different branch of the network, so I have to change trains once in Holzkirchen. After that, the return ride is the same as last year's, complete with me switching over into the S-Bahn at the Donnersbergerbrücke. The part before that is new, and yet at the same time still familiar. It takes me up the Mangfall valley, and thus parallel to both my original bike ride to the Thalhäusl, as well as my more recent rainy return ride from Rosenheim. It takes me past Feldkirchen, where the dreaded ascent up the hills bordering the knee of the Mangfall is located, and then goes straight past aforementioned knee, following a small side valley known as the Teufelsgraben ("Devil's Trench") up to Kreuzstraße.
In retrospective, I could have saved roughly 30m of altitude by making use of that convenient valley during aforementioned bike ride since it circumvents the crest between Feldkirchen and Kreuzstraße (though instead of roads I'd probably have to deal with paths or even "are you sure this is a path"s along that route).
Anyway, the train to Holzkirchen is reasonably full, but I still manage to get a window seat.
In Holzkirchen, the connecting train is for some strange reason parked at the far end of the platform. Fortunately, there's enough time to walk all the way there to get in. Also, this one is a newer model, akin to the one that I rode home from Fischbachau last year.
Naturally, I also took a video of my ride home, once again facing to the left instead of right in order to catch some new footage on the return ride. First we head up the Mangfalltal, which is relatively densely populated, but still has quite a number of fields and pastures. After that, we make our way up the densely forested Knie followed by the Teufelsgraben - never seeing the Mangfall along the way but catching a glimpse of the hill on the other side of the valley - before reaching Holzkirchen. The area beyond that is speckled with forests, fields and towns, and eventually we cross the Großhesseloher Brücke across the Isar valley. And after that, we're pretty much already in Munich. Along the way, we also pass quite a number of bicyclists - probably on their way from Munich to Rosenheim - and indeed, parts of the parallel paths were also used be me, albeit going the other way.
(Click here to view the video if the website fails to load it)
Unlike the last train, this one is not all that busy, which seems kinda interesting, considering how trains tend to get fuller the closer to a large city you get.
However, as I get out at the Donnersbergerbrücke and cross the overpass to the other side, the reason for this and a previous mystery becomes clear: Whereas the train was only one segment long when I got on, now it is at least four segments long. Apparently the one segment I was in was joined by at least three more coming from Bayrischzell, thus also explaining why the train was standing at the far end of the platform in Holzkirchen. In fact, the train is so long now that it doesn't even fit the already pretty long platform here at the Donnersbergerbrücke, and there was an announcement that the passengers would not be able to get out at the last few doors.
I don't have to wait terribly long for the S-Bahn home to arrive...
...and that train is not terribly full either.
Finally, from the Untermenzing station, it's only a short walk home, during which I try to stick to the shadows, just to be sure.
Upon reaching my home, I am slightly aggravated to see a car blocking the footpath. Granted, I can easily walk around, and it's not a SUV, but that path already had to be re-paved twice, and you can bet your tail on it that it wasn't because of the damage done to it by pedestrians and cyclists.
The Road Ahead
Back at home, I am greeted by Jamie and Toledo with about as much enthusiasm as can be expected of cats...
...and am saddened to find that they managed to pluck a little fox artwork from one of my pinboards and damaged it beyond the point of repair. On the other hand, after the events of earlier today (and the weeks and months leading up to this), I suppose this pretty accurately represents how I'm feeling right now.
Another very fitting representation is to be found on the carpet of the Fushimi Room. I don't even care what it is, grab a paper tissue, scoop it up and throw it away.
Meanwhile, the cat feeding sheet that I prepared is still in a very pristine state. But at least the designated cans for feeding have been used up... along with a number of extra cans. So if anything, my cats didn't have to go hungry.
With that, this trip comes to an end, and another is already in sight. One more Petal Ride awaits this year, and after that... well, I'm not going to give you any big spoilers about that quite yet, but suffice it to say that there's one thing medium, and another thing big coming up. Stick around to find out, here on the Travelling Fox Blog. And until then, be of great cheer!
