Impressions

We had no reception for a few days, and as this makes catching up while writing on an iPhone keyboard laborious, I will keep it short.

Here are our noteworthy events:
Petra's boot seam tore open, and we were able to find a shoe repairwoman (sexy!) with unexpected ease.

Petra loses her favorite pair of shades. She is devastated, but refuses to replace them until we get to Italy ("where the fashion comes from").

We bought poles, and now use them all the time.

Watched the US soccer team lose to Ghana. I wished a year of loose bowel movements on the the nation of Ghana, but took it back once I replayed the game in my mind, suddenly remembering that our boys played like crap, and that Ghana brought its A-game.

At the Karwendelhaus (a killer hut, I must say), watched the German team -my second favorite team, for reasons that should be obvious- kick the bejesus out of the English. And no bitching about disallowed goals, England fans, the Germans beat you 4-1. That is what is known in soccer circles as a serious ass kicking, so suck it!

Rob establishes a positive relationship with large glasses of fresh buttermilk.

Petra drops a pole on the trail, and it lands in the only loogey that we see that day. Gross.

We did, not counting our detours, 76 kilometers since our last post.

We met some great people, and stayed up way past quiet hours singing and drinking with them at the Lamsenjochhuette.

These were some great days, and we just crossed the border into Italy in a train. Tomorrow is our first non-hiking day, and I suppose we will spend a large chunk of it eating and trying to even out our sexy farmer's tans.

Rob reporting.