Day 5 Hiking, Siebenhutte and Hidden Waterfalls.

Our last day of hiking with our HF group started with a tour of a very modern co-op cheese factory. The tasting was the best part of course. We each bought some to try later. 

Brushing the wheels of cheese with a salt wash.

Lots of cheese to sample.  It was emphasized that all this cheese is made from the milk of very happy cows who only eat the fresh green grass of the local meadows!  

We headed off to the village of Krueth where our bus dropped the "easy" hikers off with our guide Rob. We walked out of town and followed along the river path and then 

 started climbing up gradually to Wolf's Gorge and on to a hidden waterfall. Today's hike 11km and 240m of ascent. 

We walked by some really interesting structures. The covered pedestrian bridge above.

A former monestery, then a Health spa and now a conference centre called Wildbad Krueth. Many famous folks came here including the last czar and czarina of Russia. The blue and white pole is a maypole painted in Bavarian colors. Each town seems to have one or two.

A very pleasant coffee stop. 

Cows in the meadow with shepherd's summer cabin.

Lunch was at Siebenhutte (7 huts)

Soups were their specialty with a slice of dark brown bread. Wendy had potato and I had bacon.

The hiking got a lot more "interesting" after lunch. After some good up we came to a very stoney creek and followed it up  one side then crossing over to the other on the stones. Back and forth like this up the gorge to the end of the canyon. We felt like we were leaping from rock to rock trying to keep our feet dry. It was a gorgeous day, warm and sunny, a real treat. When we got to the end there was the waterfall, very narrow but falling from a great distance. 

Wendy.

We headed back down to the trout farm we had passed earlier. Rob (our leader) thought we should stop for a coffee break since we would not be able get to the bus stop in time for the 4:00 bus. Hot chocolate is our new 4:00 pm drink of choice. It is soooo good in Germany. Especially with a piece of yummy chocolate cake! 

We walked the 25 minutes out to the bus stop for the 5pm bus. We were lucky to get on where we did because at the next stop there must have been 40 people waiting for our bus and the driver got everyone in. Packed to the gills but it had taken so long to load everyone we missed our connection for the bus to our 'home' in Bad Wiessee. Rob suggested just walking to the hotel, only another 3 miles he said. When he saw our faces - all 6 of us, he went and found a taxi van and we arrived back at the hotel just before 6. Hate the rush at the end of the day to have our showers and get organized in time for group meeting at 6:45 and dinner at 7 but it had been a fun day and our knees did behave even with all the leaping from rock to rock crossing the creek. 

This finishes up our week with HF. Lots of fun with this group. We were quite humbled by two gals, both widows from the same village north of Manchester. Margaret is 84 and Audrey 78. They both belong to 2 hiking groups and hike at least twice a week, half days and full day hikes. They did mostly the hard hikes all week. I love their spirit. Nothing stops them. Inspirational.