Zugspitze

The tallest mountain in Germany is Zugspitze, 9,717 feet and it is in our backyard. We were finally able to see it yesterday (left)--then the clouds and rain returned today to hide the peak again. Zugspitze has a permanent glacier and hosts skiers from October to May.

Will we climb it? Perhaps. Or we might take the mountain train (Zugspitzbahn) up and the "leisurely" 4-hour hike down! Germans take hiking very seriously so there is no scarcity of maps, trail guides, etc. Finding them in English, however, is a bit of a challenge so we are still studying German!

Yesterday we visted the Partenkirchen part of G-P which is less modern than the Garmisch side. Many of the buildings have old paintings on them and we even found a store that sells milk paints which were used prior to oil-based paints.

There is an old church on Wank (in foothills) that has hundreds of memorial plaques with photos of men from this area who were lost in WWII. We are told that the fact that Garmisch-Partenkirchen was not bombed during the war is seen by many as divine intervention and that as a result, people in the area are "very religious"--more so than elsewhere in Europe, according to our friend from Slovakia.

After going early to the Farmers' Market this morning (in the rain, on a bike), Bob shared a bench and pretzel with an older gentleman in  lederhosen (leather shorts) and beard--very typical dress of old Bavaria. Yesterday we also saw some cows with large cow bells clanging loudly. We have yet to see them holding up traffic--another common site, supposedly.

Good news for all avid environmentalists: When you go to a grocery store in Germany you are not given a bag for your groceries--unless you pay 20 cents for it. We saw one guy carry out about 10 items in his arms--still no need for a bag, apparently. Quite a contrast from the U.S!

This evening we made a quick trip to Partnachklamm (Partnoach Gorge) which is in the same location as the ski jump for the 1936 Winter Olympics. We will go back for the full experience another time but were awed by our first introductory view. Check it out.

It is amazing how short the distances are between countries: Italy is 4 hours away, Austria 1 hour, etc. But rather than doing a whirlwind tour of Europe, we are staying firmly planted in Germany--at least for this trip.

Our hosts depart in the morning for their vacation to Croatia--only an 8-9 hour drive. They are leaving their plants and 2 guinea pigs in our watchful care--and we will be on our own to continue learning about and experiencing Germany.

Let the games begin!