Gu Nianzhi picked up her iPad and began searching for information about the Königssee, a two-hour drive from Munich. A stunningly beautiful photo appeared on the iPad. The lake had originally been a narrow waterway that sliced through the tall Alps and had been left behind by glacial erosion during the Ice Age. The lake was completely transparent and faintly tinged blue, like a green dash on the finest jade bracelet, swirling amongst the mountain peaks like a jade ribbon.
The autumn morning was covered with a fine mist, and a short distance away was the snow-capped summit of the Alps, and along with the yellow and red leaves of the mountain forests, it was as exquisite as an oil painting. The Königssee seemed like something out of a fairytale.
