Hochzeit Reisen.

Martin and I still plan on taking a proper honeymoon…you know the one, a three week vacation to someplace warm, relaxing, stress free and possibly with drinks with umbrellas in them.  However, since we were already in Europe, we decided to spend a few nights after the Germany wedding in the Italian Alps.  To avoid confusion, this was not the honeymoon…while beautiful and relaxing, it goes against all things “honeymoon-ish”... it was cooler weather, we went hiking each day for five hours, there were no umbrella drinks, and for better or worse, we had a packed agenda… At best, we will call this our Hochzeit Reisen (or German Honeymoon).

We left the Dortmund area on Monday morning and began our journey south towards the South Tyrol region of Italy.  We stopped in Nuermburg Monday afternoon to wander through the old historical town and spent the night in Eichstatt to avoid spending all day in the car. 

After another five hours of driving the following day, we arrived at our destination, Hotel Asterbel in Braies, Tuesday afternoon for our three night stay.  The hotel was perfect, tucked under the impressive Dolomites, with full amenities including spa and sauna, amazing meals and great views, and within walking distance to Lago Braies (or Prages Wildersee if you are German), the main attraction of the region, in my eyes at least.

We woke up early Wednesday morning for breakfast and then a mid-day stroll to the Lake…the trip was allegedly 2 hours, but true to form, Martin magically made it into five.  It was beautiful though: crystal blue green waters, an easy walk around the lake and then lunch on the patio of the famous Lago Braies Hotel.

We got back to our hotel for an afternoon coffee and apple strudel on the deck, then an late day sauna before heading to dinner and then straight to bed for a good night sleep before the big hike the next day.  While Martin always complains about me overplanning, he took the cake on this one.

The next day was similar, although this time the alleged and mentally prepared for five hour hike somehow diminished to four, even factoring our lunch stop on the Alpian Hut deck and the huge delay caused by me having a minor panic attack…again, while most honeymoons are relaxing, I spent a solid 15 minutes fearing for my life…about three hours into the hike we encountered sheer cliffs, an 18 inch path and bolted in cables along the rock wall providing the only thing to prevent failing me from.     

 Here is me trying to look casual and like I am having fun. 

And here is the a shot looking back at the path…

We also had to scale up the side of a ravine, sans trail, but I guess that should be no surprise given our past hiking experiences…Another beautiful day of scenery and serious physical exertion from hiking.

Our starting point...see those mountains, yeah, we had to go over them

We went over these too, without a trail

Our view from the top...before the panic attack

Heading back down

That evening was spent again at the sauna and then enjoying our much needed five course meal.

Exhausted from the hiking and yet surprisingly relaxed, we began the drive back to Frankfurt the following day, stopping in Wertheim for the night once again to break things up.  Our last dinner in Germany was fantastic and we headed to the airport with smiles on our faces and the re-assurance that we would be back in just a few months for Christmas.