There's this Cross atop a little hill in the western part of Beckenried that I'd been wanting to hike upto. It's called OberSassi and is ~760M high. As i start my walk this cold morning, the cross beckons. It's uphill all the way.. soon I find myself huffing & puffing. It's hard to keep the motivation up, when it's cold. 

At a distance, I see a barn & an animal peeking from within.. I get closer.. it's an Alpaca!!!! He looks at me inquisitively, wondering.. "What's wrong with this creature, why does it walk outside in this cold weather?" It brings back memories of my trip to Machu-Picchu and with it a big smile.. "Shall i stop to take a picture??? Naah.. Live in the moment!! The Alpaca looks lonesome, so i blow it a couple of kisses. With renewed spirit i move on inching my way to the Cross.

Finally I'm here... and the view makes the sweating worthwhile.

Too bad, the bench is too wet & cold to sit on. I stand for a few minutes, soaking in the lake, the mountains, the sky & the meadows.. Brrr.. i start to freeze.. Shall i put on my layers and stay or head back?? With a promise to be back again, I head back.

It's downhill all the way & much easier to just run. I have to watch out for icy spots though.

As i get closer to the barn, i wonder if the Alpaca would still be around? This time the Alpaca is outside the barn to greet me..

But.. Whoa.. what do we have here???

He has a companion with him now.. That was fast buddy!!! Perhaps he called his friend over to watch this strange creature go by.

I have to stop & capture this moment. I'm kicking myself for not having taken the picture of the lonely Alpaca earlier on. Would've made a nice before-after picture.

I wave them goodbye and run back home to warmth & the meow-meows of two curious cats smelling my shoes.