Munich- Day 3- Garmisch

Today was an incredible day! I'm so glad I got stuck here!

My parents recommended going to Garmisch-Partenkirchen for the day. It's a little village in the German Alps that is famous for its scenery and ski slopes (it held the winter Olympics in 1936 and is holding the Alpine World Ski Championships in 2011). I took a train out there this morning, and the whole ride had stunning scenery. Mountains, lakes, gorgeous.

When I got to Garmisch, I got on a different train, the Zugspitzbahn, to start going up Zugspitze, the highest mountain in Germany.

The Zugspitzbahn:

This train went for a little while around the base of Zugspitze, past idyllic cottages and farms. Then I got off that train and switched to the Zahnradbahn, which started going up the mountain.

The Zahnradbahn:

Again, the scenery was incredible. Here's a video of one small part of the ride:

Going up Zugspitze:

I was practically shaking with excitement as the train climbed higher and higher. The scenery was incredible, and the amount of snow was increasing. The last 20 minutes or so of the Zahnradbahn ride was through a tunnel, then it came out close to the top of the mountain.

Unfortunately the clouds were really low so there wasn't much of a view at this point. There was a great ski lodge though, and lots of people were there so it was a fun place to be.

After that I took the Gletscherbahn, a ski lift, to the summit of Zugspitze.

Riding to the summit:

There was no view at all, which was sad, but I could imagine that it would be pretty incredible. Dad, this is where I called you. Here's a video from the summit, and a picture of a sign with the view on a clear day.

"View" from the summit:

What the view would be on a clear day:

There's a little cafe at the top, so I got hot chocolate and sat for a while admiring the snow. It's incredible how drastically the weather changed with the altitude. Then I took a different ski lift, the Eibsee-Seilbahn, instead of the train that went through the tunnel, back down to where I had gotten on the second train.

Going back down the mountain:

I got out to hike here, and what an incredible experience that was. I found lake Eibsee, and I think the pictures speak for themselves. Im really mad that the pictures didn't turn out well though. The colors were so bright, but the pictures really dont reflect that. The sky was really blue, and the water was crystal clear. Oh well.

There was clear blue sky right above that cloud bank...:

Look at that water!

I took a lot of pictures with my camera timer...:

The weather was perfect, and I walked around for a long time. Every corner I turned resulted in another incredible view. Man it was beautiful. Here are a few videos that might give you a better idea than pictures (again though, the color is wacky):

When I had decided that it was time to head back down the mountain (though I could easily have hiked there for several more days), I tried to go back up to the summit because I thought the fog might have lifted a bit (resulting in a better view), but I couldn't without buying another ticket, so I got back on the train. Unfortunately I forgot that to get back to the main town you have to switch trains half way down, so I got off and didn't realize it until the train was leaving. I didn't want to wait an hour for the next train, so I decided to walk. How far could it be, right? After about 10 minutes of walking I saw a sign that said Garmisch was in 7 kilometers. Psh forget that, I'll take the bus. But the bus wasn't going to come for another 40 minutes. So I walked after all.

There's a pedestrian path from where I was to Garmisch, and it could not have been a more lovely walk. Here's a video of part of the path.

Walking back to Garmisch:

It was a long walk, but so beautiful, and the weather was perfect. I would love to come back in the future and bike around there. A lot of people were.

Eventually I did make it back down to Garmisch, which is a very charming city. Lots of people were out because of the nice weather, and it was really fun just to walk around. I got dinner, schnitzel breaded with pumpkin seeds and lingonberries, at an outdoor cafe. It was delicious, and being able to eat outside was great.

Garmisch:

One of the main streets:

Then I walked around the town for another hour or so before getting on a train back to Munich.

It was really a fantastic day!

I'm working on getting pictures on facebook. Most of them are up (most of Budapest, all of Bratislava and Vienna), and hopefully I'll caption them soon!