On Saturday our group took a short wander down from the summit of the Nebelhorn, accessible via cable car from Oberstdorf town (we're still in the Allgau region of Bavaria, by the way).
It'll take you about 15-20 minutes and three separate cars to reach the top, some 2,224m up. The small party at the bottom of the pic are celebrating the cable car reopening - it had been closed for maintenance for a few months.
The Nebelhorn stayed true to its name (Nebel = fog), leaving us with a non-existent view of the 400 or so peaks visible from the top (they count them all, even the little ones).
We walked from the summit to the Nebelhorn Höfatsblick station at 1932m, using trails that become popular ski runs in the winter months.
At high altitude and with visibility low there was initially little to look at, but as we descended the mud gave way to grass, and white, blue and yellow alpine flowers began to appear between the rocks.
Reaching our destination somewhat chillier and damper than we set out (the fog was wet enough to leave tiny ice crystals on the seams of my jacket) we indulged in one of those stout Alpine lunches beloved of skiers: pretzels, sausages, mustard and beer.
You're looking at weisswurst, a white sausage made with veal, pork, herbs and spices, then boiled. You fish it out of a water bath, skin it and eat it with a great sweet mustard, a pretzel, and of course a beer (also weiss). It's all a bit of a ritual, and the better for it.
So in spite of the weather, this was a great excursion - a bit of discomfort, but only enough to inspire camaraderie.
Fog and rain are in any case kinds of adveristy with which hikers are perfectly comfortable (indeed, intimate), and hikers are your key market here. It is great, great walking country.
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