On strenuous hikes and gracious rewards

Resting afer a strenuous hike. Walchensee, Bavaria. (All photos: A. Furchert)

Grace can be the experience of a second wind,
when even though what you want is clarity and resolution,
what you get is stamina and poignancy
and the strength to hang on.”

— Anne Lamott

Dear fellow pilgrim,

We send you greetings into your summer where ever you may spend it. Last week we were taking a sabbatical from our sabbatical year in Berlin — traveling to Bavaria, doing what we needed most - taking time off and breathing in beauty.

Thus, we revisited places we love dearly. Bavarian monasteries, shimmering lakes, and the “Blue Land” (as the artists around the foothills of the German Alps have named the country which stretches from the Benediktbeuern Monastery in the east to Ettal Abbey in the south.

After taking in the beauty of our surroundings, biking the “blue land” along creeks and rivers or just sitting in awe, we planned for our last day a hike onto a mountain top. Of course, it should be an easy hike, s…