The Berchtesgadener Land was inviting the sun to melt away the last remnants of winter. The Jenner ski lifts were still operating, the almost empty parking lot told its story, the snow must be barely fun to ski on.

The docks were still lifeless and the boat tours inoperative, quite a few Sunday hikers were sunbathing in front of the hotels at the southern tip of the Königssee. Ice skates would have been more appropriate to reach the well known Malerwinkel, but the dangerous hike was rewarded with the natural modern art ice sculpture, the ice had been broken into nearly perfect geometric shapes.

The Königssee and the majestically surrounding mountain ranges have nurtured many tales of gruesome stories. Bordered to the west by the infamous Watzman (der Berg ruft) the northern tip of this alpine lake is barely visible, giving you the impression that the earth and sky must meet at its end.

The steep mountain sides cut off the sun's rays early, we decided to move on and take HWY 305, the scenic also known as Alpenstraße route toward Traunstein over Inzell. We were lucky, our first oppurnity to sit outside on a terasse and have some late lunch in the sun, overseeing the Reiter Alpe and the Watzman within Ramsau. An unusually friendly waitress served delicious food at the Gasthaus Hindenburglinde, a landmark of a lime-tree. We learned that this Sunday was her last day for the winter season, certainly a good reason for joy.

As we finished our coffee the sun disappeared behind the mountain tops, could anyone be more spoiled in late March ? There were still some rough times ahead, but hey, we had our first fill of fresh air and warming sun rays !