Brannenburg was one of our frequent haunts.
After I had promised Elizabeth that we will go sometime on the "Wendelstein", I finally kept this promise. We journeyed to the railway station from which the old rack railway starts. When I was a child, my parent made me climb this mountain, which I did because I had no other choice. As reward we went back with this train, but I was so tired that I fell asleep and missed everything. I was really sad, because after crossing the tracks a few times on our way up, I was really looking forward to the adventure of getting a ride on the antique looking train.

I told Elizabeth this story after I had parked our little American car and had purchased the tickets.
We were both excited when the train finally started to rumble up the mountain. She was happy and I was happy until I realized that my car keys were missing. I searched all my pockets about ten times, I couldn't find them. Instead of enjoying the beautiful scenery, I only could think, "Where are the car keys?". I drove Elizabeth crazy, even she was searching her pockets and her bag. No keys.
The train did not care about our worries and kept climbing up the "Wendelstein".
We arrived safely and disembarked.

It was beautiful, but Elizabeth was feeling cold and I was still thinking "Where are the keys?"
The best way to cure Elizabeth's shivers is with a mug of freshly brewed coffee. While she was enjoying her cup of java I was still thinking - "Where are the keys?" I was preoccupied, but we joined the other tourists and walked around and even made it to the peak. Despite the coffee, Elizabeth was still feeling cold. She didn't bring any warm clothes with her and I was very pleased when she agreed to take the train down.
I could hardly wait for the half hour trip to the Brannenburg station to end. Immediately I went to the station master from whom we had purchased the tickets and asked whether somebody had given any car keys to him. He smiled and gave me my keys along with a nice note from people who came from a part of Germany considered to be "Prussia", by Bavarians. I never did send them a thank you note, so I say thank you now.
I was feeling 500% better and also Elizabeth wasn't cold any longer. To celebrate our luck we went in a "Gasthof" (restaurant and hotel) for a "Brotzeit" which is a meal between breakfast and lunch or between lunch and dinner. Normally it includes beer and we Bavarians are always ready for a good "Brotzeit".
We both were feeling now sorry that we spent so little time on the "Wendelstein" and we decided that we will come back for another visit to this mountain. Elizabeth with warm clothes and me with spare keys for the car. We still have to fulfill that promise.
Brannenburg is similar to other places in Germany - perfect for hiking and biking.
Maybe I can talk Elizabeth into renting bicycles instead of walking. She rides her fully loaded German bike all the time here in Welland.
Many people come in winter for cross country skiing.