Oberstdorf is a skiing and hiking resort right at the edge of the southern German border. It was all a quick plan to visit this place and do some trekking since we didn’t have much else to do last weekend. But it was well worth it.    [](http://img102.imageshack.us/my.php?image=obd018fg0.jpg)  We left early morning Saturday from Plochingen and reached there just before noon. The weather wasn’t looking great and the good looking girl at the information center was of the opinion that it wasn’t going to be the perfect weather for hiking that weekend. But we decided to take our chances and go for it.

We took a bus to Faistenoy some 10 kms away from the city centre. And just as we began our hike, the skies suddenly started clearing and we had an awesome view of all the mountains there. They were not in all their glory because there wasn’t enough snow obviously but it was still a grand vista. Our first stop was a ski-jumping platform (or whatever they call it) right in the middle of the forest. The whole construction was astonishing. Don’t know how to describe it, but you have to be there to appreciate it.    [](http://img508.imageshack.us/my.php?image=obd048sq7.jpg)  After having a light home made lunch, with energy restored, we went off to a lake called Freibergsee. It was nothing great as such, just a small lake, but we stayed there a while enjoying all the fresh air and clicking away a few snaps. The trek from then on was up a mountain and was really tiring. It took us more than 3 hours and finally we reached our destination Schoenblick. It was a a very scenic route however and we enjoyed it to the max. But tired legs forced us to have some refreshments at a nice little restaurant on top. I was pleading to the guys to take the cable car down, but having a professional mountaineer with us, I didn’t stand a chance!   [](http://img403.imageshack.us/my.php?image=obd090mc2.jpg)  On the way down, we had a chance to ride the Rodelbahn, a kind of a crude roller coaster kind of ride with just one person in a vehicle running on steel tracks, going down hill. It was so fun that we did it twice despite it not being very light on the pockets. By then it was getting late and we had to get to Oberstdorf city fast or risk not having a place to stay. We did manage to reach their by 8 but to our surprise there weren’t any buses left. So took a taxi to a youth hostel nearby and slept peacefully till Sunday morning…

We started early and went to a place called Nebelhorn taking the cable car. It was damn expensive but there was no other option. It wasn’t that brilliant and we got down at a station in between and decided to walk. I was very tired from the last days trek and was complaining initially but as we progressed found it more and more interesting and thrilling. The scenery was just breath taking. We took so many photos and made slow progress to one of the peaks there called Koblat-Gipfelmulde. The way up was awesome and on first glance I was wondering how the hell am I going to reach there. With some encouragement from Nitya (my team lead @ office and the professional mountaineer) I did make it and well.. it was worth the effort. The views from there were spectacular. We sat on top of the rock there and enjoyed our triumphant climb.    [](http://img338.imageshack.us/my.php?image=obd171hm9.jpg)  As we climbed down and reached the base of the cable car station, the weather suddenly started to change. Clouds and mist just covered the area in matter of seconds followed by heavy rain. It was a surreal experience.. 5 minutes ago it was all so sunny! Anyway we reached back in Oberstdorf without getting very wet and after a quick round of Pizzas we made our way back to the bahnhof to catch the train back to Plochingen.

Legs were tired, eyes were drooping, whole body was paining.. but it was all worth it. Another place to be visited atleast once and I hope I will go back in the winter and see Oberstdorf in all its full glory!

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