Schloss Mittersill Retreat

 Like promised, here are some of the photos of the church retreat from last weekend. We stayed at Schloss Mittersill, a beautiful castle in the Austrian Alps. The views were incredible, the activities were a blast, and I met so many amazing people. The second day we took a hike up the mountain to the Krimml Waterfalls, the fifth highest waterfalls in the world. We took a break at a little mountain hut before descending, where I tried Germknoedel, an Austrian specialty, for the first time. It's basically a sweet dumpling filled with plum jam and covered in a mixture of poppy seeds and vanilla sauce. On the drive back to Munich we stopped at Hintersee, a beautiful lake in a valley surrounded by mountains. How peaceful would it be to live here?

A Day in the Alps

 A few weeks ago, a few German friends and I decided to go hiking in the Alps for a day. We got up early, drove out to the mountains and began the trek to the first Alm (a mountain hut that serves Bavarian food and beverages) but were dissapointed to see that they were closed for the week. Instead we hiked on to the second Alm, pictured above (which hadn't yet opened for the year). Still, the view from the Tegernseer Huette was absolutely beautiful, and the the fact that it wasn't open just meant that we had the mountain almost to ourselves.
The path up the steepest I've ever hiked. We ignored the signs the read "Dangerous Path" and continued up the cliffs, holding on to steel cables wherever there the a chance. Surprisingly we made it up to the Rossstein Gipfel, the very peak of the mountain where we had a chance to sign the Gipfelbuch, a type of Summit book that most people sign after reaching the top of the mountain. The weather was beautiful, the view was incredible, and it was well worth the nine hours of hiking. I can't wait to return when the Almen are open!
On a different note, the reason it's been so long between posts is that every time I try to upload pictures, they either appear with an x in the place of the photo, or they're distorted beyond recognition. I have to delete the selections and re-upload each photo individually, which is so time consuming! Does anyone know how to fix this?

Büyükada

 On our third day in Istanbul, Andrea and I decided to take a trip out to Bueyuekada, the biggest of the Princes Islands. It was a rainy boat ride out from Istanbul, but the weather cleared up as soon as we got there. The feel of the island couldn't be more different than that of Istanbul.. there was no motorized traffic and the island had such a peaceful feel. Most of the streets were deserted and we were told this was because many of the wealthier people living in Istanbul have summer vacation homes on Bueyuekada that are still empty at this time of year.
Along our hike through the woods, we discovered a stray dog that followed us around the island for four hours.. so we named her Shadow. The island is such a great mix of little shops along the shore, beautiful mansions and gardens lining the streets, and stretches of lonely flower fields and forests. These are the last photos I'll post of Turkey, but if any of you are in Istanbul for week, this island is definitely worth seeing!

Frühlingserwachen

 These are a few shots I've taken in Munich over the past couple of weeks. It's so hard to believe how fast spring came! Last night I laid out at the River and grilled and drank with friends until late into the night (April swimming and bonfires are unheard of in Minnesota.) Tomorrow I'm off to hike in the alps for the day and enjoy this beautiful weather. What have you all been up to this spring?