Finding Rest In The Alps

In this course, I will take you to magical places that I visit on a long hike that crosses Germany from west to east, along the border to Switzerland and Austria and along the Alps. There is much to see and much to hear!

For this course, I hiked, looking out each night for special places with a magical aura and nature sounds to record. In this season, I want you to get an insight into the scientific knowledge around sleep. Experience has shown that even this basic knowledge brings us a little closer to our goal of better sleep. The basis of my recommendations is the so-called S3 guideline for sleep disorders. This guideline was created by leading physicians and sleep scientists with extensive international research.

But sleep is not just a mechanical biomedical process. It is something so much deeper, something mysterious, personally significant, full of wonder and potential. Apart from our hormonal balance, there is a spiritual dimension to sleep that we can explore, that holds new perspectives for us.

Join the course, experience new calming nature sounds that I recorded and beautiful relaxing meditations.

Lección 1: Start Of The Mythical Journey In The Black Forest

I'm starting my hike from west to east, walking along the rural border with Switzerland and Austria, through natural reserve areas along the Alps. There is much to see and hear! I begin the journey in Freiburg, cross the Black Forest, head for Lake Constance, cross it by boat, and follow a path taken by King Maximilian II in 1858, through the Alps, past the famous Neuschwanstein Castle to Oberammergau, the most important place in Bavaria for pilgrims to worship the Blessed Virgin Mary. Join me on this peaceful track and enjoy the simple meditation exercises.

So what is this course about? In the last years, I have read and researched a lot around the topic of sleep and in the end, I could not tell which information is scientifically proven, pseudo-scientific or which research is still at an early stage, meaning interesting but not yet trustworthy to be depending on.

Knowledge about healthy sleep, its causes and treatment options is like a hiking map with trails, contour lines and landmarks. If this map is inaccurate or wrong, even an experienced climber will not reach his destination. The sleep knowledge I teach you in this course can be used as a map for your own navigation. This map gives you orientation for your own behavior, but you determine the course yourself.

The basis of my recommendations is the official S3 guideline for sleep disorders. This guideline was created by leading physicians and sleep scientists and includes intensive international research.
This official guideline is the binding "how-to" for medical practitioners, doctors and therapists in Germany. It contains only advice on which there is a broad scientific consensus worldwide and also points out misinformation.

Lección 2: Finding Rest In The Orchid Forest

I slept last night at the Feldsee, below the Feldberg in the Black Forest, and set off early this morning to continue my hike towards Lake Constance. I walk to the nearby Menzenschwander waterfalls. These give an idea of the power of nature.

During and after the Ice Age, the floods coming from the Feldberg created a gorge with rock walls up to 30 meters high. I walk along a narrow path through the gorge and on past the Schluch-lake until I finally arrive at the Spießenberg nature reserve after nine hours. The orchid trail in this refuge is home to more than 60 protected flowering plants, including many, rare orchids.

Lección 3: Finding Shelter In A Sandstone Cave In Switzerland

Caves are among the oldest places of worship in history. They are excellent places for rituals and meditation. They are regarded as places of power and wisdom, as gates to the underworld and the realm of the dead. Druids, priests, sages and saints liked to retreat in caves to have spiritual experiences. On the surface, we have created a completely industrialized landscape, but beneath the earth slumbers a fascinating counter-world.

In the last few days, I hiked from Freiburg, where I spoke with Prof. Riemann, through the Black Forest over the Feldberg to a nature-protected orchid forest. I spent the first night at the Feldsee and the second outside in the forest. Now, the weather changes and as I start my stage towards Lake Constance it starts to drizzle and later it really pours.

My route takes me through the Schaffhausen Nature Park to the thundering Rhine Falls and along the Rhine, which I follow kilometer after kilometer until I reach Stein am Rhein in the north of Switzerland.

The small town is known for its well-preserved medieval half-timbered houses with facade paintings, which can be found around the town hall square in the old town. On the banks of the Rhine is the St. Georgen Monastery, a former Benedictine abbey. On a hill above the town stands the medieval Hohenklingen Castle, on the other hill, the Wolkensteiner Mountain, with only the foundations of a ruined castle remaining. This is where my path leads me, as the soft sandstone has holes like Swiss cheese, with caves that are supposed to give me shelter tonight.

Lección 4: The Lion Of Lindau On Lake Constance

Last night, I slept in the belly of the earth, in a sandstone cave in the Wolkensteinerberg near Stein am Rhein in Switzerland, while it was pouring outside. I stayed dry and had actually planned to hike in three or four stages via Constance and Friedrichshafen along Lake Constance to Lindau, but decided otherwise during the night.

I'm longing for the mountains and want to get to Lindau as soon as possible and from there to the mountains along the trail that King Maximilian II took to get to know his country and the people of Bavaria in 1850.

Now, I'm in a hurry and quickly pack up my seven things in the cave and walk down to the harbor of Stein am Rhein. I take the ferry to Konstanz across the smaller lake, called Untersee and in Konstanz I take the ferry to Lindau, stopping in Meersburg and Friedrichshafen.

From the ship, I have breathtaking views across the lake to the Alps. To the south, the Alpstein massif rises above the Appenzeller Land. I am glad I decided to take the boat. It is already late afternoon when the ferry enters Lindau harbor.

Lección 5: Finding Rest In Austria On The Wild Stream Subersach

I am now on Maximilian's trek. This is the route that the former King of Bavaria traveled in 1858 to get to know his people and country better. His journey was recorded by Prof. Friedrich von Bodenstedt, who wrote about the encounters, landscapes, as well as some curiosities, and published it in the book "A King's Travel."

We'll hear more about the King's journey today and the following episodes.

Lección 6: Cold Night Out On The Peak Of The Mountain Hochgrat

I spent last night at the wild Subersach river and today I continue my hike through the Bregenzerwald, a dense forest, to the village Hittisau and then up to the Staufener Haus, a mountain lodge, towards the peak called Hochgrat.

In Hittisau, I leave the original route on which King Maximilian hiked. His route led south through the Balderschwang valley, which is just as beautiful, however, is better to travel on horseback, even today.

Prof. Friedrich Bodenstedt, who accompanied the King to take notes about the journey describes how the group traveled, who they met in this remote area and how they perceived the travel.
Prof. Bodenstedt’s notes are indeed full of empathy and love for the people and the natural alpine environment.

Lección 7: Finding Rest In The Alpine Natural Reserve Area

I arrived yesterday at the Staufner Haus and spent the night on the mountain ridge, and today, I'm continuing along the Nagelfluhkette. The Nagelfluhkette Nature Park is characterized by numerous plants, animals and habitats that have become rare in large parts of Central Europe. Here, mountain forests border on alpine meadows, moors on wet meadows and canyon forests on streams.

Streams and rivers are among the most important landscape features in the nature reserve area. Due to the high mountains and deep valleys, they have a steep gradient. Their inherent power is correspondingly great. They rush down to the valley with force - and in the process constantly reshape their stream and river beds, their banks and the surrounding landscape.

We will also hear more about the King's journey again!

Lección 8: The Queen Of Love - And What Is "Heimat?"

I hiked down from the nature reserve Nagelfluhkette to the Illertal yesterday and had to seek shelter in a barn from a thunderstorm rolling in from the Allgäu High Alps. I have now arrived at my home. I'm walking today from Gunzesried through Sonthofen, to the small village of Altstädten and from there back uphill, towards the Sonnenköpfe.

I dedicate today's episode to the German term “Heimat,” which only insufficiently translates into the term “Home.” Heimat is better described as the home that I grew up in, the place of childhood that formed my cultural background.

Our Heimat can be a house or a farm, the place where we grew up, it can be a village or a town and for nomadic people a large landscape through which they wander with the family, cattle and tents.
There are few people who live well in homelessness. Cosmopolitans who live in several languages or in several places experience the desire to go through life with light luggage, to be mobile and quickly engage with new situations, sometimes at the price of perceived inner loneliness.

Lección 9: Finding Rest In The Alps - Allgäu

On this trip from the Black Forest and along the alps into the state of Bavaria, I have now reached my home, the area where I grew up. I took the slower route to discover my homeland anew. I passed through the mountains, the lakes, the brooks and rivers.

Here's the Tao poem from today's journey:

Living people
are soft and tender.
Corpses are hard and stiff.
The ten thousand things,
the living grass, the trees,
are soft, pliant.

So hardness and stiffness
go with death;
tenderness, softness,
go with life.

And the hard sword fails,
the stiff tree’s felled.
The hard and great go under
The soft and weak stay up.

Lección 10: The King's Encounter With The Bavarian Locals

In this season, I am on a track from Freiburg, across Lake Constance to the Allgäu and from there following the Maximiliansweg to Oberammergau in Upper Bavaria. Today, I leave my home, the Oberallgäu, in the direction of Pfronten and Füssen, where the famous Neuschwanstein Castle is.

In the record of Prof. Friedrich Bodenstedt, who accompanied King Maximilian II on his hike from Lindau to the Königsee, a nice incident is described as the King leaves Sonthofen. The King's stay in Sonthofen mobilized many people and everyone was on their feet. The King had climbed the mountain Grünten, the guardian of the Allgäu, the day before and was accompanied by many people. The following day he wanted to go on to Bad Hindelang, attended another formal and rich lunch, and this is where Prof. Bodenstedt's travelogue begins:

"The crowd that cheered for His Majesty seemed to have increased by thousands of heads and stretched out on both sides of the path to an extent that was incomprehensible to my eyes. Hundreds of girls and children, many of them very pretty, stood in the foreground and waved garlands of flowers with alpine roses, forget-me-nots and chamois with their hands held high.
Suddenly, however, the King found himself prevented from going on by a neatly laid table in the middle of the path, loaded with a bowl of milk, a large jug of wine and a huge loaf of bread.

Hear more about where this goes in today's episode.

Lección 11: Finding Rest At The Legendary Alat Lake

Today, we hike from Pfronten past the ruins of Falkenstein Castle to the legendary Alatsee, just before Füssen. It is also called the Blood Lake. The red glow is caused by a bright red layer of purple sulfur bacteria.

Rumors of sunken treasure and gold persist. Old legends say that the Alatsee is immeasurably deep and harbors a monster. Enchanted women try to lure men into the depths of the lake to be redeemed. Here, in the middle of the forest at this enchanted Alatsee, we stay tonight.

There, my path meets again with that of King Maximilian. He traveled to Füssen through the Tannheimer Tal, while we went a little further north.

Lección 12: Last Day Of The Hike: Oberammergau Iin Bavaria

We have already reached the end of the course, and together with my son, I have completed the last, longest and most difficult section of the hike. We set off early this morning from Alatsee near Füssen and walked past King Maximilian's Castle Hohenschwangau took a cable car up to the Tegelberg and hiked all the way to on to the peak Klammspitze, which we crossed.

In the basin behind the Klammspitze, where King Maximilian's hunting cabin is, we stay for the night. Tomorrow, we will descend into the valley to Oberammergau and finish our hike with a visit to the unique Wieskirche, a rococo work of art.

Reviews

Thank you for this wonderful journey. I enjoyed listening to the facts and myths about sleep. Beautiful storytelling followed by calming guided meditation and I loved the soothing nature sounds and music. Thank you Ralf 🙏🏻🌙🤍

Thank you for sharing your journey and much appreciate the effort plus research on the subject of sleep. 🙏🏼

Thank you for taking me through that lovely areaol of the world and sharing your knowledge of of sleep … I loved this so much.

This has been my favorite course so far. Love Ralf, his soothing voice, historical tidbits, nature sounds and sleep info. It all worked well for me! 🙏 🏔🥾🚶🚶‍♂️

Wonderful journey, very helpful for me to go to sleep. Namaste 🙏🏻🌸

A wonderful journey, thank you so much for sharing it! 💖

What a lovely experience. Every night I was taken on a magical journey that stimulated my imagination and most of the time put me to sleep before the ending. Ralph’s voice is very soothing and his knowledge is unsurpassable. I learned a lot about sleeping habits and am so happy I took this course.

Very soothing journey. Different. I really enjoyed this course. Much needed in my life & this fast paced, hurting, stressful world. Ty🙏🏼😇✨

Another wonderful journey with Raif. Thanks so much. I look forward to the next one!

I preferred the India course but this one was also very special

I really enjoyed this course. Actually I was listening when struggling falling back to sleep in the very morning, knowing I could sleep another 2 hours. I was engaged by all stories, and facts about sleep. I contempleted the concept of Heimat 😊 and what it means to me. And of course the sounds were awesome!! I would fall back to sleep not knowing when. It was very gentle, informative, magical. Vielen Dank!

👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻 Thank you for this beautiful journey , so well structured and presented and well paced , the stories are wonderful and so interesting , i loved
The progression from story to calming shift to meditation guided and then the nature sounds that made me feel so peaceful , i will definitely go back and revisit from the beginning ,
I cannot wait for the next adventure !!
Thank you , Namaste 🙏🏻🐾🌸✨✨✨

Beautiful combination of sleep information, storytelling, nature description and music.

Namaste and thank you for this Wonderful course 🙏!

So peaceful, spiritual, and well-informed🥰
I did Ralf’s India sleep course; also top notch.
Eagerly awaiting more sleep travels😌

I thoroughly enjoyed this! I have been recommending this to all of my friends and clients 🌟

Loved the story of the kings journey and description of the countryside and sounds of nature

Uniquely engaging and therapeutic. Loved every minute of our journey.