Zugspitze day! We'd reserved the entire second day to go up and explore Germany's highest point. The picture above is of the Zugspitze from Garmish-Partenkirchen. We were headed to the rightmost peak, in the center of the picture.
Our plan was to round-trip up the Zugspitze. We would take the cogwheel train (Zugspitzbahn) from Garmisch to Eibsee (a lake at the very base of the mountain), then up the mountain, through the mountain, and onto the Zugspitzplatt, the glacier on the other side of the mountain. From there, we'd take the glacier cable car (Gletscherbahn) to the peak itself. Our way down, however, would be straight from the peak via cable car (Seilbahn) back to Eibsee, from whence we'd take the cogwheel train back to Garmisch.
The cogwheel train (named for the cogs necessary to pull the train up and through the mountain) was next to the main train station in Garmisch, but separate. I could not use my Eurail pass to take this train. One must purchase a special ticket to ride the train, and say whether or not they'd like to include passage to the summit (whether by cogwheel or cable car) as well. We asked for the Zugspitze Roundtrip. The trip from Garmisch to Eibsee was about twenty minutes, and then from there it was a steep half-hour climb. Going up the mountain provided a great view of Eibsee Lake from above.
The fifteen-minute trip through the mountain itself was very dark and disconcerting. But once through the mountain, we were at our destination on the glacier, in a station. We were waiting our turn to go outside amid the crowd, and Brittany was taking my picture next to the cogwheel. I was trying to be patient about getting outside to look around, and my monologue was something along the lines of: "It's ok, we've got time, we'll be up here for awhi- OH MY GOD! LOOK!" Out in the sunshine, the scenery was unreal.
And we weren't even at the summit yet! This was Zugspitzplatt, an area overlooking what would be a glacier. There was a restaurant and gift shop, a chapel, and lots of space to walk or hike around in the sunshine. There was also enough snow to merit sledding! As you can see, I amassed an army of children and then, with dignity and grace, tobogganed down the slope (I let the kids go in front of me, which is why they are absent from the second picture).
The last cable car back down the mountain doesn't leave the Zugspitze until late afternoon, so we were able to relax and take our time before heading up to the peak. Brittany knew that it would be crowded up there, so we enjoyed the quiet and the view from Zugspitzplatt for awhile first.
When we eventually did board the glacier cable car that would take us to the top (a five-minute ascent), it was jam-packed. Little handles hung from the ceiling to grab onto, and a little old lady next to me was far too short to reach them. She laughed and made a face at me, then reached her arms up. I, for a wild, fleeting moment, thought she was reaching for me, as though to say, "I can't reach those handles, so I'll hang onto you!" So I automatically hugged her... like you do... It quickly turned awkward, as it turns out she was just reaching for her friend... I tried to apologize but she didn't speak English. Fabulous. I was due for a public faux pas.
Reaching the top of the Zugspitze swept all embarrassment away. It was incredible. The peak consisted of two buildings, and large balconies, big enough to cover the summit. One was the German/Bavarian side and the other was the Austrian/Tyrolean side (the Zugspitze spans the border between Germany and Austria). The balconies had plaques showing the peaks in each direction, giving the name and height. The Zugspitze, being the highest point in Germany, boasts the highest biergarten (outdoor place one can purchase/drink beer), so we had some lunch and beer, and I wrote some postcards for families back in Portland. I posted them from the Zugspitze itself, so the stamps will say they were sent from 2,962 meters (9,718 feet)!
No border patrol or anything to cross over into Austria! Tyrol ("Tirol" in German) is a state in Austria, just like Bavaria ("Bayern" in German) is a state in Germany. It is noteworthy to say that while the Zugspitze is the highest point in Germany, it is not the highest point in Austria. But still neat!
The technical summit was marked by a giant golden cross, and it was on a small peak all it's own (on the German side!), near and above the viewing balconies. In order to reach it, one walked down steps alongside the building to the rock itself, stepped off the man-made building and onto the mountain, walked across a natural rock span that was barely four feet across with nothing but air on either side (there was a cable knee-high onto which mountain climbers could clip their ropes), then climbed a ladder and walked along another slim, treacherous ridge to the cross. There were people making the trip, which, if one went slowly, took about half an hour there and back. I wanted to do it, as did Brittany, but there was no way. In our tractionless sneakers and with no mountaineering gear, and with people literally shoving one another out of the way (no joke, 9,000 feet in the air). There were other unprepared people (i.e., wearing nothing but street clothes) going over to touch the cross, but they looked ridiculous and arrogant, next to the properly-attired and helmeted mountaineers.
To take the cogwheel up and the Eibsee cable car down is the most popular way to enjoy the Zugspitze, so Brittany and I had to get a reservation for a ride down. It was actually a close call: people were standing in a long line, and there was a large chart showing times, times that were methodically being crossed out. Brittany suspected that this was for cable car rides down, so it was a good thing we checked. If we had waited, we would have had to take the cogwheel back down.
Our reservation wasn't until four-fifteen, and it was only around two pm, so we still had plenty of time to explore. We looked around the gift shop, and Brittany got a sweet little cutting board with the Zugspitze etched onto it. I found a poster of the Zugspitze that I liked, which is great because I brought little to decorate my walls with. We took the glacier cable car back down to the Zugspitzplatt and sat in the sun for a bit longer as well. Then we went back up to the peak to board our Eibsee cable car down the mountain.
Evening was a quiet affair. Delicious pizza and radler (half beer, half lemonade, fully amazing), eaten outdoors, with the Zugspitze as a picturesque backdrop. Bed felt great after a full day of hiking and exploring, and Brittany and I had both had a bit of sunburn on our faces!
In closing: sweet Zugspitze panoramic action! Click for fantastic larger view! Note the golden cross marking the summit on the left side of the picture.
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