Into the German Alps and to Übersee

Packing up and leaving the city of Munich by 10am we headed south into glorious sunshine. Once past the ring-road, the rolling countryside opened out and balconied farmhouses stood in acres of green fields. Onion-domed churches and alpine villages marked the route to the German Alps.

Our first glimpse was of impossibly tall, craggy and snow-covered peaks seemingly squatting right on the road in front of us. We pulled off to enjoy the fresh clean air, a welcome cup of coffee and to prepare Bertha for the altitudes. This meant opening all of her taps and seals to make sure internal pressure was minimised.

Our farm aire at Übersee was a pure delight. Nestling in a plain at the foot of the Alps it is home to a charming dairy-farming family and their many friendly and purring cats.

We were shown around the excellent facilities by Frau Bauernhof and were treated to a tour of the farm – so much more than we deserved, given our poor linguistic skills. My schoolgirl German was once again embarrassingly pushed to its limit.

Despite gathering clouds a bike ride to get the bearings beckoned and we pedalled about for a couple of hours discovering the river winding across the plain, the town and the way to the Bahnhof. Tomorrow, a train to Salzburg beckoned….