Janet, The Happy Wanderer: Rivers, forests and the occasional lake.

Well here it is, less than a week since we began walking, following the River Isar from Munich and now we are about to head off along the River Lech to Fussen. Most of the time we have been following Jakobsweg, although we have in the last day or so got tangled up with the Kings way, and tomorrow we begin following the Via Claudia Augusta.

The path has meandered through forests, across fields and along quiet back roads. We have walked past, or to, huge Lakes (known as a See) and passed through some lovely villages.

Waiting for the Ferry to cross Ammerasee Herrsching to Dießen.

Arriving in Dießen. The path goes up the hill (after negotiating roadworks) and off to the left past the church

Looking back on Ammersee

One place where the path didn't go through the forest.

After crossing the Ammersee we noticed a distinctive change in the the use of the landscape. To someone who has yet to see it, I think it has a Tyrolean look about it - lovely fields of wild flowers, barns in the middle of paddocks, wood and hay stored near, or in, them.

Tonight we are in Schongau, an ancient village on top of a hill and surrounded by a wall. This is the town where around 1592 poor women (around 63) were executed for being witches! They blew up the tower where they had been kept in 1704 - I guess they didn't want a reminder of that part of their history.

Just some of the walls around Schongau.......

....and some of the buildings in the town. Our guesthouse is the pale blue one on the left.

One of the numerous churches in Schongau, surrounded by a beautifully kept cemetery.

The main church, just down from our guesthouse.....

.....and just some of the interior.

The Saint on the right is Jakobus Mal, which makes him St James (I think)

It has been surprising how hard it has been to get accommodation, with our first and sometimes second choice being full. Last night we won though as the first pace we tried was closed till next week, the second (at about €115 a night) was full, and the third was a little apartment rented out by a lady for €35 per night!

We left Munich in drizzle, and today the drizzle returned. That might mean that tomorrow when we set off we might be able to see the Alps clearly, which are quite close but shrouded in a haze all the time. Due to the drizzly rain there were a plethora of snails out on the march.