The Last Day at Elmau

The last day in Elmau a group of us hike up to a little chalet not too far from the castle. The hike up was fairly steep and it took around 40 minutes. Once we got to the top, we took some pictures and then ordered some beer. It was a gorgeous day out and the view at this place is to die for.

The group from the conference that was on a guided hike ended up showing up about an hour after we did. There was a lot of BSing going on and finally someone gave Isaac a guitar. He played us a couple of songs and then gave the guitar to Alfredo. Alfredo must have played us about 30 songs. Many of the folks joined in singing. Of course I had to really belt out “Magic Changes” from Grease when he started to play that.

It was a magical time. I was pretty amazed at how the group had bonded over the last 23 days. We had met as strangers and here we were at this chalet as a group of old frieds. It was a powerful reminder of how traveling across Europe on this trip allowed for the connection of people on a fundamental level. I also couldn’t stop thinking about how the next generation of leaders was sitting around this table with so much in common.

I would have to say the Bavarian Alps are the only mountains that I have seen that can rival the Beartooths. They are very beautiful and may be even a little more majestic than the Mountains in Montana. The smell when we left on Sunday morning was just exactly the smell of a morning in the mountains of Montana. It really made me feel like home.