After yesterday's heavy post about Dachau, I wanted to write a quick, light-hearted post to balance the vibes. While in Germany, our local hosts brought us to Felsenmeer, a place they had frequently played as children. Below, you'll see some of the beauty of a rock waterfall as well as a bit of the local lore surrounding the place.

A Waterfall of Boulders

This is the sight that greeted me after we walked the steep hill to where the park officially begins. These rocks are huge! And this is only a small part of what stretched before me. The most peculiar thing was the way the rocks seemed to cut a channel through the trees, like water does on its way downhill.

Matthew and I decided to take the road less traveled and chose a small path curving around to the left side of the rocks rather than the more popular trail to the right. The majority of the children just went straight up through the rocks. :-) As you can see in the photo above, once you are outside of the "waterfall," there are very few rocks. They are largely contained to the one area.

The dappled forest floor was a lovely respite from the hot day. As we walked the trail, I stopped frequently to pick wild blackberries growing along the path. They were sweet and juicy, although smaller than I am used to in the States, even for wild berries. About halfway up the mountain we came across a pile of chopped wood. This is a recurring element in German forests, although I have no idea who comes to chop the wood and what they do with it later.

Local legend tells of two giants who both lived nearby. They began to argue over who owned the hillside and naturally, they threw humongous boulders at one another. Eventually one giant was crushed beneath the boulders and we are left to assume that the other giant lived happily ever after, content with his ownership of the hillside and his own private rock waterfall.

As I sat atop this boulder near the crest of the hill, I felt tiny and wished for a moment I were a giant. That way, I could stride across the hilltops and explore them all in only one lifetime. I guess I am already a giant compared to the little insects and the birds around me.

Here at the top of the Sea of Rocks, it is quite gratifying to look out into the distance. Germany stretches before me, inviting and mysterious. Its legends are alive and well as can be seen at places like Felsenmeer. As I begin the long climb back down the mountain, I wonder about the local legends from different cultures.

What legends did you grow up with? Leave them in the comments below.

Thanks for joining me in Felsenmeer. I've got plenty more from Germany to share in future posts (castles and food and more adventures), and we haven't even started on the other countries I was able to visit this trip.

For help planning your next big adventure, find me at http://travellifeservicesllc.com/

Happy Travels!

Jennifer

*As always, the pics are taken by me, and I gave myself permission to use them. The words are all mine too! :-) *