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| Angelika/Mike Schilli |
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Angelika A unique feature of a completely different kind was what we were looking at recently during one of our weekend hikes in the Mount Tamalpais area. The Mount Tamalpais region is about a 45-minute drive north of San Francisco and offers great hikes in hilly landscapes with beautiful views of the ocean. We had known for some time that there is a mountain hut hidden in the forest there, where you can picnic and drink beer on the terrace. Unfortunately, we had not yet managed to find it. However, since I always read all kinds of travel blogs, I found a description in a hiking guide on how to get to the hut. So, one Sunday, we set off. Now, this might not seem like anything special to you. Therefore, it should be noted that the concept of mountain huts has not yet caught on in America. No one here is hiking in mountainous areas, expecting to find a mountain hut at the end of the trail, to satisfy their hunger and thirst.
Now, how did this particular mountain hut end up here in California of all places? The "Touristen-Verein Die Naturfreunde" (Tourist Club The Nature Friends) is behind it. Founded in 1895 in Vienna, as a movement of the Austrian Social Democratic Workers' Party, the Nature Friends aimed to enable workers and their families to spend their leisure time in nature. The club quickly gained immense popularity in Europe. By 1914, the first club house in America had already opened its doors--naturally, as you might have guessed, near San Francisco in the Mount Tamalpais area. Today, the "Touristen-Verein Die Naturfreunde" is a union of hikers and mountaineers. There are about 1,400 club houses in 21 countries. This is how we came to enjoy freshly tapped German beer in the sun while taking in the view. However, the food was limited to American potato chips and the like from a bag, as the hut is not a professionally run restaurant but is maintained by club members. Only the Californian landscape reminded us that we were not sitting somewhere in Austria or Bavaria, as the Nature Friends house could easily be transplanted there. We're always surprised what kind of strange things we're running into in San Francisco and its surroundings!
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