Tall tales and fisherman's tales

Finally, weekend is over, there are fewer people at the lake and a little bit of wind! The big day is here!

Although Mario has a sailing license, he has never been sailing with Petra. We rent a sailing boat and off we go!

Petra: Let me just tell you from my perspective: when sailing, you sit down and shut up and wait for orders from the boss (a completely new experience for me). If the boss doesn't say anything, you do nothing and just enjoy the sun and water. It doesn't make sense to worry. Whether there is wind or no wind is not in my power anyway, and pulling the rope assigned to me is something I can handle. I just pull a little, and if it's not enough for the boss, he'll tell me. Life can be so simple. By the way, in the small sailboat there are so many different ropes and strings that I immediately decide that my job with the one rope, which by the way belongs to the jib, is completely sufficient and I don't aspire to a promotion. It's wonderful that I don't have to understand how these famous knots work or what they're called. Of course, I also don't understand how a boat can go in different directions when the wind always comes from the same direction, but hey - it doesn't matter, I don't have to understand everything!! I can just enjoy and not take any responsibility... that's vacation.

I think my first time sailing is great and as a reward, I get an ice cream!

Now, let's hear the story from the captain's perspective: On Lake Steinberg, the largest lake in the Upper Palatinate with an area of 1.84 km², it is possible to rent a sailing boat, which is why this week's vacation spot is here. In the middle of summer, at 35 degrees Celsius, the wind is a tricky thing. Most of the time, it's calm, sometimes, like today, there is a little bit of wind. If it gets stronger, usually a storm is approaching, so not good for sailing. Today, 11-14 km/h or wind force 2-3 (Beaufort) was predicted, and that was our chance. At 1:00 PM the rental opens - we are already there at 12:45 PM. The rush was in vain, no one else wanted to rent a sailing boat. The renter quickly rigs the boat and off we go. I push Petra to the front and assign her as the bowman. I sit at the helm. The young man gives the boat a shove, and off we go. Well, it doesn't really run with this wind. I attentively search for ripples on the water. Petra asks what she should do, "nothing yet," I say focused - "I'll tell you." Ah, there, it could be something a little gust gives us some speed, "slightly tighten," I say to Petra" she does what I say, and the boat gains more speed. We practice a few tacks in a row, and already on the 2nd tack, the response comes as if shot from a gun: "ready to tack" It's working - Petra does what I tell her without question - almost scary. So we sail up and down the lake at an angle - a great feeling. I immediately remember what I like about sailing. NO, it's not that Petra keeps quiet! It's the movement with the power of the wind.  

As a reward, after a successful docking maneuver, the bowman gets an ice cream.

For a while, we lie at our favorite spot at the lake, swimming and sunbathing, until it gets too boring for us again and we spontaneously decide to visit Frank and Silvia. Frank is an acquaintance of Mario's and when reading our reports, he realized that our vacation spots can't be far apart.

Long live modern technology! He quickly gave us his current location, and we cycle the 15 kilometers (the bike paths are great as always) through forest and meadow and find the two. They have secured themselves a cozy, hidden spot by a pond with fishing gear, a table, and chairs. There, we spend a nice afternoon together. The fishing rods hang completely unnoticed in the water, which doesn't bother us, because we have a great conversation.

As clouds increasingly gather in the sky and thunder becomes more distinct, we end our cozy chat and get back on our bikes. We want to take a different route for the way back so that we don't get bored. The storm is kind to us and moves away, so we have a very windy but dry ride home.