We got kicked out of our apartment in Freiburg on Aug 28th and the USAF said we weren’t allowed to leave Germany until Sept 1st. So…with a few days on our hands, we returned to Joe’s favorite German town for the 4th time: Oberammergau! (I love Oberammergau too, but as you know, I am a commitment-phobe when it comes to such things. Click here for a refresher.)
Despite all of our visits here, we have never been able to climb the Kofel, Oberammergau’s signature peak. We made it the mission of our last hurrah in Germany.
The Kofel
The three of us set out with fresh legs and optimistic attitudes…until we reached our first obstacle: cows. It’s Bavaria. I guess one has to be prepared for some self-righteous bovine. It comes with the territory. This one wasn’t super happy about Joe and Liv being in her pasture and gave them a short run for their money.
The arrow is the goal!
Climbing the Kofel isn’t particularly challenging, but what everyone failed to mention to us was the nearly-sheer rock cliff close to the top. Oh yeah…one tiny detail!
Here was the last “easy” view. We are about to climb the vertical on the left.
Just a few more steps to the summit!
After climbing hand over hand along the metal pitons and ropes, passing the poor dog back and forth, we finally made it to the top! You can see this cross from the ground, but the life-sized Jesus isn’t visible. There is something quite eerie about him.
We were actually not the only idiots who brought our dog up here. One guy had his large Hund over his shoulders. Crazy Germans!
The views over Oberammergau and the Ammer Valley were well worth the climb!
What a great way to end our Olmsted Adventure! Now…just to get down.
The way down!