European snow storm....

On Monday, I left Walluf for the Fichtelgebirg (the Fichtel Mountain range) - a nature park  – in Bavaria. The park is a well-kept secret among Germans.  In winter, it is great for cross-country skiing and in summer - for hiking, camping and other nature sports.

I had planned to stop at a waschsalon (laundry mat) before I left, but because of the snow, I decided it made more sense to simply get on the road. According to the weather and news reports, it was one of those horrible European snow storms where everything is closed, traffic is backed up for miles and everyone drives at 2 km per hour…if that. As a result a normal 4 hour drive took me 9 hours!!! Now mind you… this is not the type of snow storm that we have in the US - where snow is drifted up to the roof tops. In most cases, here there may be fairly little snow on the ground, but for some reason or other drivers cannot control their cars and trucks… and all are slamming into one another at about 3

kilometers per hour.

At any rate, I finally got here!! (Even though I sat in traffic due to a couple of major truck accidents.) To make a long story short, ‘here’ is not where I thought I was going.

 First of all, I had ‘booked’ based on a really sweet photo of a Bavarian ‘landgastehaus’in the Fichtelgebirge mountains near Bayreuth. Not sure what the owners took a photo of,... but it was not this place. 

 
Second, I had booked based on a great 50% discount on the rate…. only 1 room left. Turns out the price I paid (about 27€ per night w/ breakfast) is the normal rate… AND I was not the last to book – I was the first and only one to book!! I am entirely alone here.
 
Third… this place is REALLY, REALLY in the middle of nowhere!!! ('Remote location' does not begin to describe it! Remote would be two villages before you get to this palce. Ok, ok… it is called a ‘land’ guest house. But I did not interpret it so literally.)

At any rate, the place is clean and ‘adequate’, so I will stay. The owners are friendly, they have satellite TV and MOST IMPORTANTLY they have WLAN!!

But it is worth it!!!The snow covering the landscape is really beautiful. Driving thru the ever-green tree-lined country roads is so beautiful, the snow covered-boughs look like a drawing on a Christmas  card.