May 31st, 2017 – Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany
This Wednesday was probably the most relaxing day we’ve had on this trip. There were no specifically planned activities and we couldn’t think of a better place to be relaxing other than this beautiful Alpine setting.
We took our time getting up. Carolyn made us all a great breakfast. We finally did find a grocery store that was open. We are all amazed at how affordable the food is here in Germany. We purchases 3 bags of food that included chicken, breakfast meats, eggs, butter and several other items and walked out of there having spent only 35Euros. The homes may be expensive but the cost of living is very reasonable.
At around 11:00 Trent and Carolyn decided to take the Cog Wheel Train up the Zugspitze mountain. Elisa wasn’t feeling that well so we decided to hang back and maybe stroll around the town. We were happy to get a detailed report back from Trent and Carolyn when they got back. Here is what they had to report on their ascent to the top of the Zugspitze – the tallest mountain in Germany.
Trent speaking:
We set up base camp in the small town of Eibsee. Here we would acclimate ourselves to the high elevation before we would make the climb up the treacherous Zugspitze. We check our provisions here. We want to be sure we are fully prepared for all eventualities that might arise. When you are climbing in the Alps, one cant be too cautious. The check in with the local guides, they consider hiring a Sherpa or two to help them with the ascent up the mountain.
Alas, the time is now right to set off to the top of the Zugspitze. That means they board the comfortable Cog Wheel Railroad – I hope you didn’t think they were going to walk and climb up the mountain. So with a name like Cog Wheel Railroad, I was imagining a tiny train struggling to make its way up the steep mountainside; sounding just like a roller coaster making its way to the top of the hill. Not so, the Germans had managed to carve the railroad through much of the mountain. When the train leaves the station, you travel about 10 minutes up the side of the mountain, but the grade is not as steep as they expected it to be. The town of Eibsee sits at about 4000’ elevation. The peak of the Zugspitze sits at about 10000’ elevation. The train will take about 40 minutes to reach a mid-way point up the mountain, much of it through tunnels bored into the mountain of stone. Where the train stops is at an elevation of about 7000’. The rest of the trip up to a point very near the summit will rise about 2800’ via a gondola that rides on a cable. Near the mid-way point of the train ride, there is a break in the tunnels and the train emerges into sunshine. The driver slows the train to offer the passengers a spectacular view of the lakes, villiage and valley below. The train then descends back into the tunnel and continues its serpentine climb up the mountain.
When Trent first came up with the idea to go to the top of the Zugspitze, its pretty safe to say that Carolyn was not too excited about the idea. The weather forecast was calling for cool temperatures and the possibility of rain. So, I’m sure Carolyn was imagining there to be blizzard like conditions at the summit and the two of them would only be armed with light jackets. She was also a little nervous about the steep ascent up the mountain by both train and gondola cable car.
When the train arrives at its stopping point it is about 2/3 of the way up the mountain, there is a small collection of buildings there where there are shops, a cafeteria and numerous lookout points with picnic tables. Trent and Carolyn decide to head straight for the cable car station that will take them up the steep final section up toward the top of the mountain. The cars are relatively large and capable of carrying about 40 passengers at a time. The ride up to the top is relatively quick and since the car hangs freely and level from the cable, you don’t feel the ascent that much. The trip is fairly quick – only taking about 5 minutes with all passengers standing. They know the elevation is high, because the gondola is rising up through the clouds that are hanging around the mountain. Once the cable car reaches its summit they are standing at an elevation of about 9800’ and they are now above the clouds and are looking down at the tops o them. The actual summit of the Zugspitze is marked with a large and ornate gold cross and it is accessible, but you have to make the final ascent by foot. However, on this day the walking trail is closed. The landing area where the gondola cable cars drop you off is much smaller than the stopping point for the train. There are vista points that offer spectacular views down the mountain. There are a few picnic tables and a smaller walk-up bar that offers beer, drinks and snacks. The biggest surprise for both Trent and Carolyn when they reach the summit is that weather up there at the very top of the mountain is beautiful. Since they are above the clouds the entire are is bathed in sunlight and it is nice and warm. So the fears that Carolyn had when she begrudgingly agreed to go with Trent are quickly allayed and she is thrilled to experience this jaunt up the mountain – besides she now gets to tick another couple of different modes of transportation off of her list.
After taking lots of pictures at the top and looking down at the tiny village of Grainau, where we are staying and the many lakes that are nearby they decide to head back to the mid-way point of the mountain where they can get a proper lunch. So they board the gondola again and make the quick decent to the area where they can catch the train. The find a spot in the little cafeteria there. As they enter, Trent spies a familiar face and sees someone whom he never would have expected to run into at the top of the Zugspitze. It is none other than Henry Winkler of “Fonzi” fame. Henry is up here dressed in traditional lederhosen filming an episode of his new series “Better Late than Never”. Henry, the Fonz is kind enough to take photos with Trent and Carolyn. Who would have thought they would meet the Fonz up there. After the photos, Trent and Carolyn have a tasty lunch of brats and schnitzel and of course the ever present pomme frites or French fried potatoes. By now it is about 2:00pm and they decide to make there way back down the mountain on the railroad.
On board the train, there are seats that face in either direction. When they came up the mountain, they were facing toward relative to the direction the train was traveling. This means that as the train was going up they would be leaning back in the chair and the 45 minute ride would be comfortable. When the board the train to head back down, they sit is opposite the direction as when when they came up. This means that for the decent they are now sitting facing forward relative to the the direction of the train travel. As they now are heading down the mountain, they can feel the angle of decent. They find that they need sit with their feet extended in front of them so they can push themselves back into the seat. They also feel the muscles in the tummies having to hold themselves back. After a few minutes the begin to feel a little uncomfortable and the switch seat so that they are riding backwards down the mountain. Now with the aid of gravity, they easily lean back in their seats.
I pick them up at the train station at Eibsee at 2:45. While I’m waiting there, I too see Henry Winkler walking in the parking lot headed with his driver to his car. Now though he is not wearing the lederhosen. He now looks very LA-movie star. He’s wearing a pair of creamy-yellow slacks with purple / lavender colored suede shoes and a turquoise colored shirt. Very inconspicuous – not.
After we get back to the apartment at around 3:00 we decide to head back into the Partenkirchen side of the city to walk the streets of the old part of town. Here the buildings are painted in traditional Bavarian style with beautiful murals. Many of the shops close for business from 12:00 not to 3:00 pm. So many are now reopening. We do a lot of window shopping and are really amazed at the artistic creations at Aimlee’s chocolatier shop. They are all so beautiful it would seem a waste to eat them. At around 5:00 we head over to the Ski Stadium, which served as a venue for the ski jump at the 1936 olympics. The jump towers over the city of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The original stands and viewing arenas are still there and still in use today. On this day, there is a large beer garden tent that has been erected. They are having some sort of corporate event there and we are disappointed we haven’t been invited. We take lots of photos and decides to make another stop at the grocery store so we can have dinner at home once again.
As Trent and Elisa head into the little Aldi store to pick up a few things I head over to the liquor store – sort of a little Bevmo – to pick up a bottle or Riesling wine to go with dinner. As I walk into this largish store, I’m surprised. I was expecting something like a Bevmo at home based on the size of the store, but instead of aisles made up of shelves the store is only lined with shelves along the wall. In the center of the store the wares are arranged on pallets and the beverages are stacked in milk crates. The pallets are arranged in long rows to make up the aisles in the store. There are about 9 total aisles. To my surprise the first 3 aisles are bottled water. There are hundreds of different brands and many coming from foreign countries. This is bottled drinking water. I don’t get it, they have some of the best drinking water I’ve tasted coming right out of the tap, buy at this store you have over 100 different brands of bottled water you can chose from. The other 6 aisles are totally devoted to beer. Here again, the variety is amazing. They are also experiencing a “craft brew” revolution here in Germany, but its been going on for centuries. Their are countless little breweries spread across the country and it would seem you have the opportunity to buy them all at this store. On one small shelf that is no longer than 30’ I find their wine selection. It is surprisingly small. Over 20’ of the shelf space is devoted to imported wines from many different countries. I’m surprised that the USA section is dominated by wines by Gallo. As I survey the German white wines, I am unfamiliar with any of the vintners. I ask the clerk who speaks a little English to help me to select a Riesling. He reaches up to a top shelf and hands me a bottle and tells me it is their best. So I head to the check-out and I’m shocked when the total comes to 4.61 Euros. So, I’m thinking back to that 15euro bottle of Barolo the other night and I’m wondering if this will be just as bad. To our pleasant surprise, we open the bottle for dinner and it’s not bad. We wouldn’t award it a gold medal but it is easily drinkable.
We all turn in a little early. Our plan is to head north. We will visit Rothenberg and then head up to our next stop near the Rhine Valley.
More later.
Aufwiedersehn!
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