March 4, 2007
Bright and early and we are up and eating breakfast and saying good bye to the lady at the hotel. She did not charge us for the second person breakfasts due to the noisy neighbors the first night, to that was very nice and saved us 15 Euros. We caught the train to Garmish and got into Garmish around 1200. The hotel site said that it was a very short walk to the cable car station for the hotel, something about just look for the signs as you leave the train station. As we started walking I came to the realization that this was not good. So I stopped to ask this guy on the street and he as German but since he was learning Italian that is the language he tried to speak to us in. Very strange, my German is not that good and his Italian is bad. Any way what a great guy, told us to get in and he gave us a ride for as far has he could. What he did not tell us that it was another 2 kilometers to the cable car station. We walked as of course when you want a taxi there are none to be found.

Cable car, first let me tell you of my fear of heights. Okay shaking and Alyssa asking me why we are staying at a hotel that you have to get to by way of cable car. I tell her if you want the best some times you have to do these type of things and that I though she wanted to do German things. So as we go into the cable car station and get our 3 day pass (free as guests of the hotel), I read about how this is the worlds, not just Germany, but he worlds smallest cable car. Room for 4 very small people or Alyssa, me and two small suitcases. 4 mins later we are at the top and breathing again. (For all who wonder after a few trips it becomes very easy and enjoyable.)

Arrive at the hotel on top of the mountain and must explore. We walked from one Alpine hotel to another for lunch and had a good lunch and a breathtaking view. Eating outdoors on the top of a mountain in March is pretty cool in several ways, but again enjoyable. We spent a couple of hours looking at the view having lunch and then started down the mountain or a small part of it for the hotel. When we got back Alyssa decided she had enough mountain hiking for one day and stayed in the room. I went back out for again a short hike.

My hike consisted of walking down the path to where it starts down hill. On the way I found a very small church room enough for two people to kneel in and a learned that the path I am hiking on is also the trail for a car if and if you have a pass to the few houses/hotel on the this part of the mountain. The hotel we had lunch at has no car path and everything must be cable car’ed up. So I walked to where the path got real steep and looked down and said not me. At this point a women and her dog came walking merrily along and down the steep path, not to be out done by a women and a dog I followed. Never again follow a women and a dog, the path is steep and slippery and the dog loves it. They were down the mountain long before me. So once alive and on the bottom I found the park for the gorge and started hiking. The trail is part of a regional park and closes at 1700. Since the gate was open and no one looking I decided to investigate. WOW steep sheer cliffs on both sides and the waterfalls and runoffs are spectacular. I walked in about a half mile or so as the sun was going down and the cliffs were blocking what light there was I could not see to walk and while it was a path, you needed to see or you could fall off the edge and into the swift current of the runoff.

Since the only way back up to the hotel and it really is, even though I said there was a path, is the cable car up I went. It really gets easier. Find Alyssa in the room doing word puzzles and down for diner. Restaurant is not bad, well at 2000 it is the only place to eat. Food is good and if you stay over a weekend they have live music on Saturday. The cable car operates 07/2200 Sunday to Thursday and 07/2400 on Friday and Saturday. After dinner it was bed time with all the fresh mountain air.

March 5, 2007
Up early for breakfast, and again a good breakfast. We took the cable car down and asked the desk to have a taxi waiting for us. We then went to the Zugsptize train station. Purchased tickets for the cog wheel train up the mountain to the Zugsptize. The train takes you up the mountain and though a 3000 meter tunnel. The grade is up to 25 percent and is steep at times. When you get up to the station you then have to take a cable car up to the summit. Up to the cold and snow. We arrived at the top of the Zugspitze fantastic views. This is the highest point in Germany and you can walk across the top of the mountain into Austria, which we did. We had lunch at the top and stayed up there for close to 2.5 hours. Lots of pictures and it was great. Alyssa said she wanted to see mountains, well she did.

The way back from the Zugspitze was just as steep going down as up. When we got back into town, went to the internet café and figured out the Berlin thing. The reservations I had were cancelled by the hotel, not sure why and we could not even find a website for the hotel again. Made new reservations and also booked seat reservations for the train to Berlin. Long travel day for the morning. Went back to the hotel and had a good dinner and ready for the morning.