Ich möchte ein Eisbär sein...

A second day in the Bavarian mountains for me (Annie), and we started the day with another of the hotel's amazing breakfasts. We let ourselves down badly by not sampling more of the 8 different milks on offer, so our count remains at 2. Must do better tomorrow.

After breakfast we went for a walk in the beautiful mountain countryside around the hotel. As we walked through the snow and ice, we noticed that there were the most incredible, delicate ice crystals we'd ever seen all over everything. I guess it's a product of little rain and consistently low temperatures - but they were stunning. The blip just gives you a small hint.

The rest of the day consisted of more utter rest: swimming, reading, napping. Stresses finally falling off...

My great friend I'm staying here with is German, and we've been reading trashy (on the grounds the language would be a little simpler) German newspapers together to teach me. Today's horoscope said: "Schreiben Sie gute Ideen gleich auf." ("Write down your good ideas straight away"). A good tip, even if I don't believe in horoscopes. Now, where's that notepad...?