Taking the train from Munich to Garmisch-Partenkirchen
Now I am in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, this will be the last time I spell that correctly, and I still cant pronounce it properly because the train announcer and various others I have heard say it today all say it differently.
It is two towns that were merged by Hitler to make a region big enough to host the 1936 Winter Olympics. This is actually true, look it up.
This is also true -
'The valley floor was swampy and difficult to farm. Bears, wolves and lynxes were a constant threat to livestock. The population suffered from periodic epidemics, including several serious outbreaks of bubonic plague. Adverse fortunes from disease and crop failure occasionally led to a witch hunt. Most notable of these were the trials and executions of 1589 - 1596, in which 63 people - more than 10 percent of the population at the time - were burned at the stake or garroted.'
I am here to climb the highest mountain in Germany tomorrow, possibly, weather permitting and depending on if the route to the top is actually open, opinions differ in the tourist information office.
Before leaving Munich (I will be back for another 1.5 days at the end of next week) I did a lap of the town area. It was very busy on Saturday morning setting up for the days fairs, despite the threat of rain.
Here is one last clocktower.
This is a hidden street full of currently closed cafes with a lot of flowers, for people who like flowers.
White asparagus is the thing at this time of year. I am yet to try, but would like to. My understanding is it is grown in the dark?
Also popular, many kinds of olives, but I doubt these are grown in Germany.
More likely grown in Germany are all these mushrooms. I would be afraid to eat them though. Who knows if the person selling them knows which are good and which are deadly. It does happen, Woolworths in Australia killed someone a few years ago!
Beer is delivered by horses here, it adds to its delicious smooth horsey flavour.
This large advertising sign of a half naked Italian girl was erected yesterday, so to celebrate all the Germans have dressed in their finest knickerbockers with embellishments of ribbons and bells to pay tribute.
I decided that to survive the 1.5 hour train ride I needed to build up my strength with a cinnnamon scroll covered in icing and nuts.
My train. This kind of bullet train only goes to Gardenia-Parentkinder on the weekend. It is totally pointless though as most of the way I could jog faster.
Also apart from 2 people dying of tuberculosis I had a whole carriage to myself. Glad I didnt pay extra to reserve a seat.
The inside of the train is quite luxurious, comparable to China or Taiwan, better than England and Japan, presumably because its a newer system.
I stood at the bar most of the way, observing the staff who were all gay men with funny little moustaches sharing a bag of gummy bears. There were more staff than passengers.
This is my hotel. It looks like I expected in this town where everything is a hotel. The resident population is 20,000 but generally there are more than 50,000 people staying here on weekends.
I was a bit early to check in so set off on a walk, in the rain. This is a tiny hill, it is not Zugspitze.... not by a long shot.
I believe this is the cog railway. All going well tomorrow afternoon it will be part of my journey down, although I plan to take the cable car most of the way as the cog railway stays inside the mountain!!! where there is no view just a cave. Also it takes 2 hours instead of 10 minutes.
I now realise this is the same hill as 2 pictures previously, please ignore and move on.
The main area of the two towns is like 200 Hahndorfs combined (Adelaide people will know what this is), it is also a closed off pedestrian area.
One of many town squares...thats still not the mountain.
If I cant climb tomorrow, I can play a sad round of abandoned mini golf.
German supermarkets are terrible. This is not Aldi although it looks exactly the same, this is Lidl. The other brand is Mueller, which is also like this. There is no 'nice' supermarket.
The real mountain is back there in the cloud somewhere, if I get to climb I will loop around the back which is apparently not technical in any way, just very far (22km). There are huts along the way and a few cable cars at different points, options for me if the snow is too deep.
This is my tiny room. I had luxury in Munich for a week that cost an absolute fortune due to the conference / exhibition I was attending, this room is 1/8 the price, but for me, I am just as happy, the internet is very fast, the shower works.
I also get a view, again, not THE mountain.
Ski jumps and potatoes in Garmisch-Partenkirchen
I did not intend to walk far this evening to preserve legs for tomorrow, that plan went out the window.
I first went to find the entrance to the gorge for tomorrows ascent, near the ski jump ramp (something I dont see every day!). This was a bit further than I realised.
Then it took me a while to find dinner, which involved a lot of potatoes (kartoffel!).
Then I wanted to find a money machine, easier said than done in a town that is CLOSED at 8pm and CLOSED all day Sunday.
Then I wanted to find a snack cause I was still hungry or just greedy, and the only option was a pub for a light pork knuckle, or the petrol station.
It is quite weird everything is shut on Saturday night except the 100 or so pubs, Mcdonalds was actually open but its the only one I have found in Germany so far without the mccafe, so I couldnt get a chai latte.
Now I must go to sleep!
This is the olympic ski jump park. I presume it has been rebuilt since 1936 as it looks quite modern.
The top part is the jump, the bottom green part is the landing area.
Perhaps this explains the ski jump concept a little better. There is a small stadium at the bottom, which I did not photograph.
I had to go to a pub for dinner. My invisible dinner guest was as always there to keep me company.
The menu was all in German, I got beef and potatoes following some miming and broken English. I didnt expect it to be corned beef but it was quite good.
The side dish is creamed spinach. Unfortunately, I didnt get any white asparagus.
Thirsty cat was thirsty.
Tomorrow... maybe, main peak still in cloud here.
This part is actually shorter than the peaks in the previous photo.
I follow this stream about half way up the mountain, it appears to be a raging torrent here, however the gorge cave thing was open today.
I might bypass it anyway as it doesnt open to 8, I plan to be there at 6, internet says you can just go through the gate without paying, but there is an alternate route.
I then went to the other half of the divided town which was once two towns prior to merging. It is apparently the forgotten half because its part of the name comes after the hyphen.
Looks nice, but all closed.
The petrol station delivered, they were selling paper cones filled with hot candied nuts. They sit on a heated metal tray to keep them warm. They have probably been there for a few years.
Next door to my hotel lives some sheep. I threw sticks at them for a while in the fading twilight at almost 9:30pm. It sure does stay light late here.