Cable car and chair lift rides

Yesterday it stopped raining. Today the sun came out and we were able to ride to the top of a couple of mountains in the Bavarian Alps.

This is the view from the verandah outside our window at the guest house.

 For the first time, we get to see the Alps in the distance.

We head for Schwangau near the Austrian border

We ride the cable car to the top of Mount Tegelberg.

 On the way up we get a great View of the Schloss Neuschwanstein. 

After 17 years construction it was never completed. 

Its cost nearly bankrupted the State of Bavaria.

From the top of Mount Tegelberg we get a great

view of the land and lakes to the north.

To the south we get a great view of the Austrian Alps.

We were here last year with Bonnie and Dennis

and everything was completely under snow.

This wooden shed was covered in snow and they had to

 use a snow plow to clear a path to the restaurant behind.

It's now nearly July and there is still snow on some of the peaks.

This, as far as we can tell, is the same place

that we took the picture used in this blog's heading.

 It's the same mountain in the background for sure.

Geologists have discovered ancient sea creatures in the rocks at this level.

Where we are standing was once an ancient sea bed.

We then head back nearly to Bad Tölz

and ride the chair lift near our guest house.

At the top of Mount Heiglkopf there is a large wooden cross

that can be seen from Wackersberg to Bad Tölz

For six months a year, this place is under snow.

During the summer months cattle move in to graze.

It's a favourite place for hang gliding

From the top of the mountain we can see Barbara Ostheimer's

 guest house where we are staying

Her guest house is at the bottom left of the picture

 and the village of Bad Tölz is in the distance.

Back at the bottom of the hill, prepartions are

under way for tonight's World Cup soccer game.