Sipplingen - Fall at the lake

It is late October and the temperatures are still above 20 deg - fantastic. Today was not the sunniest day, but good for a nice little hike in Sipplingen almost at the north-western end of the lake. We parked the car in the village and hiked up to the Haldenhof in an hour or so with a stop at some old ruins. Haldenhof is a restaurant (already closed for the season) with a fantastic view of the lake. I will keep that in mind for next summer.

Hiking - Diedamskopf and Falzer Kopf

I am not really back from the trip to the US but with that fabulous weather outside I can simply not stay inside. Great and warm fall weather, more than 20deg Celsius and a very clean air, so perfect to go hiking in the Alps. Some days ago (when I was in the US) it did snow quite a lot, so especially on the north side on the mountains is quite some snow as well as from 2000m upwards.
I did not want to do a long tour today so I chose something easy with a gondola at the beginning. Diedamskopf was my choice. The Gondola took us up to 2000m, from there it was just 10 minutes to the summit. Of course this wasn't it. From the Diedamskopf we hiked to Falzer Kopf which was a little tricky in the snow as we had to go up the North Side and the path wasn't visible. On the way down we had a short stop at Neuhornbachalpe for the first good beer after I returned from the US ;). It was really nice to sit outside in the sun. From there we returned to the middle station of the gondola. Not a long hike but still fantastic with the great views and weather. Hope it stays like this for the next weeks :)

New York - End of the Trip

At the beginning we had a day in New York and also at the end of the trip. This time we stayed at the Roosevelt Hotel directly in the center close to the Grand Central Station. Highlight was the Top of the Rock (Rockefeller Center) with a great view of New York and afterwards a big Burger :). We went twice to the Top Of the Rock, first time in the evening and second time next morning. Also we walked a little bit through the Central Park before heading back to the Hotel and the Airport. Another trip over :(

From Acadia to Boston

After 2 full day at Acadia we drove down the coast of Maine. Instead of taking the Interstate we drove down US1 to visit some small sights at the coast. First stop was Mount Battie at Camden State Park. Again it was possible to drive up top from where the view was nice and you could even see Cadillac Mountain in Acadia. The fall foliage sadly was far away from peak.
Second stop was Marshall Point where we first visited the little fisher village before heading to the lighthouse. The lighthouse is very well known for its long footway to the tower. Also the next stop was a lighthouse called Pemaquid Point. Early afternoon we drove back on the Interstate with a short 3hrs Outlet-shopping break to Boston.

Due to the Columbus Day weekend the hotel prices in Boston were incredible high. Our Hotel was a little outside the city and we had to take the Bus and Subway to get into the center. Sadly the weather was grey in grey :(. In Boston we followed the 4,5km long Freedom Trail that lead to most of the historical points. All museums on the way and even the USS Constitution were closed due to the Government Shutdown. The city was filled with tourists. I liked North End most with lots of restaurants, pubs and a farmers market. But I did not like Boston that much, maybe I have to come back at a sunny day.
In the afternoon we went to the Courthouse Docks for some pictures of the skyline. But with wind and rain it wasn't that much fun.

Acadia National Park

Highlight of the road trip to New England was the visit of the Acadia National Park. Due to the Government Shutdown the Park was officially closed, but this only seemed to be applicable for cars and other motorized vehicles. We parked our car right outside the entrance and walked into the park.
After some days with a lot of driving it was good to hike a little. The highest hill in the National Park is Cadillac Mountain. Via the North Trail it took 1,5 - 2 hrs to the top with lots of photo stops. Actually it was quite nice being at the top with just a few people and not the massive amount of tourists that would normally be there (also due to the Cruise Ships). This was the good side of the Government Shutdown.
In the evening we drove to the Bass Harbor Lighthouse, which is a very famous and popular Foto Stop. It is advisable to be there at least 1,5hrs before sunset. We could hardly find a place for our tripods. On the way back we grabbed some Lobster. I am no Fan of Seafood, Lobster does not change that, but according to Torben it was good ;)
The second full day we spend at Acadia NP we hiked a little along the shore (on the street) to Thunder Hole. Quite a lot people had the same Idea. Also quite a few rented bikes and drove around the closed streets. For sunset we went to Eagle Lake to take some nice pictures. The atmosphere was amazing.
Hope you enjoy the pictures

Green and White Mountains Fall Foliage

For the best Fall Foliage colors we spend some days in the Green Mountains (Massachusetts / Vermont) and White Mountains (New Hampshire).

On the way from New York we first stopped at the Kent Falls State Park. State Pars are luckily not influenced by the Government Shutdown. Also we stopped at a Covered Bridge which is typical for the New England region.




















The Green Mountains have some lovely small towns and beautiful countryside. The fall colors are amazing. We had almost peak colors. The only dissapointing thing was the weather. It rained for 2 days which was not good for the pictures. Still we got a very good impression.












The White Mountains are a little wilder. We stayed at Franconia just outside the state park called Franconia Notch. Again the weather was horrible and stormy. We drove northwards to escape the bad weather and got almost to the Canadian Border. Finally at our last day the weather turned to sunny and clear. All the pictures had to be taken in one day which meant getting up very early at 6 and a lot of driving. Highlight was the Mt. Washington Auto Road. Just before the evening closure we drove up the street to over 6000ft. At the top it was windy and below freezing. We had a fantastic view from the top which is usally in clouds.
 

New York

New York was the starting point of our Fall Foliage trip. We only spent one full day to explore the city because we want to have more time in the nature in New England.
I have been a couple of times to New York. What really changed this time was the new skyscraper that was build at Ground Zero. Torben has never been to New York so we did the typical tourist tour. We started at Battery Park with the Staten Island Ferry that goes close by the Statue of Liberty. Back at Manhatten we walked to the Wall Street, Ground Zero and onto the Brooklyn Bridge. In the afternoon we met Bill (from my last Nepal trip) who was also in NYC and had a coffee.
What I have not done before was walking on the High Line, an old Subway line that is not used anymore and you can walk on the old tracks above the streets.
In the evening we met Denis and Nata who I studied with. They moved to New York last year. Alltogether we went to the Time Square and to Hooters :) before heading back to the Hotel...
The weather was warm but not very sunny. Sadly the forecast for the next days is really bad... Lets hope for the best...