The gorge is finally open again!
Sorry; I didn't mean to get THAT
excited. I'm sure you're not even aware of what gorge I am speaking.
And that's okay; I don't even know if I've mentioned the gorge and
why I'm happy it's open again. But it is, and I am.
So here's the story.
As you may know, Loraine and I are
doing a few unusual things on our upcoming trip to Germany. One of
the things we were planning on doing was spending an entire day
hiking up a mountain to a lodge that belonged to King Ludwig II.
It's only accessible by foot, and since hiking is one of the German
national pastimes we figured it'd be a good way to live like a
German, if only for a day.
Germany (all of Europe, actually) has
been hit hard by climate change. Aside from record setting heat this
summer, the country also suffered torrential flooding this spring. A
good deal of the damage caused by the floods occurred in the town of
Garmish-Partenkirchen, a beautiful little place set in the Alps that
is the starting point for our planned hike. In fact, one of the
floods washed out a gorge that begins the hike up to the lodge,
leaving people like us wondering if we'd have to change our plans.
Well, thankfully, we won't.
Showing an attitude typical of Germans,
the people of Ga-Pa got to work, cleared out all the debris washed
away in the flood, and rebuilt the foot bridges and walkways that
were destroyed just a few months ago. Now, Germans of all stripes
(and Americans who want to be German for a day) can once again hit
the trails and spend a day hiking up & down a mountain.
Cool!
Now that the gorge is open again, the
only thing we have to worry about is that the weather will cooperate
that day. We have a bit of history with the gorge; three years ago,
when we were in Ga-Pa with our parents we had hoped to explore it a
little, but the fact that it was rainy and in the 40s the day we were
there meant those plans were put by the wayside. So we're thinking
that Mother Nature owes us, and because of that it'll be sunny and
warm the entire day we've planned our hike.
But even if it isn't, we're prepared.
We each picked up these rain- and wind-proof jackets from Getz's, and
our hiking boots are waterproof, as well, so even if it is rainy
we're going up the hill. If it's rainy and in the 40s the day we're
there; well, that might be another story. But it's been the hottest
summer in recorded history in Europe. It won't be in the 40s there
in just a few weeks, right?
Right????
So we're both happy the Ga-Pa city
council was able to repair the gorge infrastructure so quickly. Now,
as long as Mother Nature cooperates, we're all set.
And speaking of Mother Nature, it looks
like she's giving us a great one here this weekend. Get out and
enjoy it; after all, it's be rainy and in the 40s here before you
know it!
No comments:
Post a Comment