A late start as it wasn’t very far down the valley to Seeboden. We left Gmund on a side road, which then led us onto a forest road. We then encountered a sign saying “path closed due to landslide, follow diversion”. This led us, on a slightly higher path, back the way we had come. We joined up with the tarred road that we had been on and cursed whoever it was that hadn’t signed the diversion earlier. The road meandered along the hillside, but gave us the chance to spot the route and bridge where we had walked yesterday. We finally reached a sign that directed us onto another forest track, which finally joined up with the Alpe Adria trail. There was a quick descent and we then walked on paths through mountain pasture before reaching the outskirts of Seeboden. It was a surprise to see (and smell) a working dairy farm in a street full of houses. We carried on past our hotel to a park at the lakeside, where there was a marker to show the end of the stage. One of the German couples had arrived before us and were paddling in the lake. There were crowds about, all enjoying the lake and the heatwave. We said goodbye to the Germans as they carry on tomorrow and we will have a rest day. Unfortunately, there’s no launderette in Seeboden, so we did some clothes washing before we went out to eat. We ate in a restaurant beside the lake, with a lovely view. I had an excellent hamburger and Christine had tuna salad, followed by ice-cream. As we left, we met the other Germans, with Lou the dog. Again, we said goodbye, though we assume we’ll see them all sometime over the next 26 stages (days) as everyone is planning rest days.
Max elevation: 979 m
Total climbing: 377 m
