Alexandersmap

    Tag: Königssee

    • Skating vs. Swimming

      I was thinking about Duolingo as I reviewed the years-long streak I’m currently on of using the app every day. It seems I’m on a streak of days going back more than 3 1/2 years. Yet I’m completely lost in a conversation in rapid-fire French or German. All I can do is tell people what my name is and ask where the toilets are. Perhaps that’s enough to find the bathroom, but deep down you know you’re missing all the fun. I felt this most profoundly riding the electric passenger launch on Lake Königssee in Bavaria with the entire boat of passengers laughing at the jokes the guide was telling. I smiled and nodded and recognized that I had a long way to go.

      We skate across the surface on most things, doing just enough: It’s the Cliff Notes version of studying to pass the exam but forgetting the material immediately afterwards. It’s reading the slide deck verbatim instead of reaching out to the audience. It’s buying the expensive hiking boots and only wearing them to shovel snow. It’s using a heart emoji to note someone’s deeply personal post on social media but not immediately calling them to see how they’re really doing. These are examples of checking boxes, not immersion.

      Swimming is immersion. Diving deeply into the subject matter to understand it. Getting pulled by the rip current and finding our way out of it. It’s going to another country where we barely speak the language and figuring things out one phrase at a time. It’s re-reading the book a second and third time to truly understand what we missed the first time. It’s taking a long walk with an old friend to chat about what is going on in their world that has them so withdrawn from ours. This is immersion, not checking boxes.

      We tend to do both if we’re honest about it. We can’t swim through everything. We must skate across some surfaces just to get to the other side. Life is full of things we could immerse ourselves in, but soon we find ourselves drowning in it all. It’s better to skate over the trivial and swim through the essential. The trick is knowing which is which. A long term, healthy marriage involves a great deal of swimming. To skate is to invite trouble. We’ve all encountered plenty of people with troubled marriages. Some things in life simply can’t be skated over. We break the surface willingly or unwillingly and learn to swim lest we drown.

      Skating may feel faster, but we find we reach the other side barely familiar with everything we’ve just crossed. That’s no way to live a lifetime. Swimming isn’t always efficient, but we become more engaged with the world when we get beyond simply treading water. To have a strong marriage, we must navigate deep and sometimes turbulent waters. To engage with an audience we must reach a level of mastery and rapport strong enough to close the gap between the podium and the last row. To reach the summit we’ve got to strap on those boots and start walking uphill. And to learn a language we must immerse ourselves in it enough that eventually we get the jokes.

      An exceptional life requires less skating and more swimming.

    • A Visit to the Pristine Königssee

      I’d had this day circled for months, anticipating a spectacular day on the gorgeous Bavarian lake known as Königssee. I’d gotten a peek at the northernmost tip of the lake high atop Eagle’s Nest the day before, and it seemed finally real. And on a warm summer day when seemingly everyone was swimming in the lake and brilliant blue skies contrasted with the mountains, the experience exceeded expectations.

      The logistics of getting there seemed straightforward—it was a short drive from the hotel and the parking lot was plenty big. But that parking lot proved a stumbling block. Most of the pay machines only accept coins, and the change machines weren’t working. There are some credit card readers which also weren’t functional. Signage said to go to the information center for change, but it didn’t open until 09:00. That left several people scrambling for change. Fortunately an acquaintance happened to park nearby and had the app on his phone to pay. Hurdle cleared.

      Königssee, at almost five miles long, and its beautiful little lake sister Obersee, sit within Berchtesgaden National Park. Like Zion National Park in the United States, the towering rock faces seemed a cathedral surrounding you in a hug. You feel inclined to return that affection. There are plenty of options to feel the spirit of the place walking the paths, hiking, sitting in the biergarten or on Königssee itself. Of course, you may feel inclined to do all of those things.

      The famous electric boats leave from Schönau am Königssee, with stops in St. Bartholomä and Salet. To make the most of your visit to Königssee you really should go to Salet. The longer trip brings you past the beautiful Schrainbach Wasserfall as it plunges into the lake. Salet itself offers dining services, but also access to Lake Obersee and the spectacular Röthbachfall as it plunges over 400 meters down a sheer rock cliff. As a bonus there’s another waterfall to the left that likely feels resentful at its bigger sibling getting all the attention. The hike itself is easy and offers some incredible vistas along the way.

      As an American with the tiniest grasp of the German language I was left in the dark when our boat guide rapidly rattled off historical facts and one-liners that had the passengers in stitches, but managed to pick up just enough to follow along. What transcends language barriers is music, and the highlight of the boat ride was our guide playing his trumpet accompanied by its echo on the mountain walls surrounding us. It was magical. So too is Königssee.

    • A Visit to Eagle’s Nest

      You feel the history of the place well before you walk through the marble tunnel to the polished brass elevator that carries you more than 400 feet to the Eagle’s Nest. You feel it when you see the broken old bricks that were once the steps leading to the door of the most famous villain in modern history. You feel it when see the old guard hut still standing stoically almost 80 years since Nazis stood in it. Eagle’s Nest reputation precedes a visit you make to it.

      The German word for Eagle’s Nest is Kehlsteinhaus. It remains largely the same as it was when Hitler and the worst of humanity plotted invasions and mass extermination of large segments of the population within reach of this mountainous enclave. That it was spared during the bombing raids of 1945 or the subsequent destruction of Hitler’s prized home is a lucky break. For all its dark history, Eagle’s Nest today is a beautiful place to spend a day.

      Despite the complexity of building a mountain road with its network of bridges and tunnels, cutting an entry tunnel and elevator shaft out of rock and dropping a building on top of it all, thousands of skilled laborers got it done in just over a year. For Hitler, a guy afraid if heights, that drive up must have been terrifying. Good. Who wants to think of him enjoying it?

      Walking around the mountaintop on a beautiful day, the world opens up around you. The stunning Berchtesgaden Alps surround you and sparkling Lake Königssee shimmers below. This place is a wonder. But don’t plan to stay for long at the top. People are moved in and out with quick efficiency. It may have started as a Nazi lair designed to awe visitors, but today it’s a major tourist attraction. Still in the business of awe, but very much on a tight schedule.