Zugspitze

So the Twinz and Mom decided to end our weekend retreat with a little adventure. The gift shop at Edelweiss had the tickets we needed for the journey up and down at discount - so off we went.

I decided we were better off taking the Zugspitzbahn up to the base camp versus the aerial tram. Kailey has a thing about heights due to an earlier, somewhat traumatic, experience at Airborne school when she was 5 yrs old. ( My fault - YES, Honey.) Just couldn't talk her into it...

We had to wait a really loooong time for the train and Colby was impatient and thirsty. I had packed water in my backpack, but not enough for him to start THEN. So, he got himself into trouble and spent most of the day pouting as you will see in the photos...We're going to need to start him a map - "Places in the world where I have gotten in trouble".

The train ride up was really cool - they show you a movie about how the line was built going thru the surrounding mountains to get to the Base. Halfway up , we stopped and got out for 5 minutes to enjoy the view of the surrounding area and The Eibsee ( an Alpine lake) below us. Twinz had a great time.

Got to the Base and went outside to see it all. I was surprised at how desolate it was. I have been up in the Rockies many times, to include the top of Pike's Peak, and since this area was at a much lower elevation - I didn't expect it. Just brown and rocky with patches of snow. Some restaurants, a chapel, ski /snowboard slopes, and trails....The trails looked like fun, but we were NOT outfitted for that, so we just hung around.

( OK, it was summer,and I have lived here, and in mountainous areas enough to know how to prep for high altitude weather. HOWEVER - in my defense - this wasn't on the agenda. Kids wore tennis shoes and I had packed their rain jackets. I also had a jacket - just not any sensible shoes...)

Anyway, It was very overcast and we were up above a layer of clouds. We had clear visibility around us - just not up or down. Every so often we'd get a break in the clouds, and could see - but it only happened a few times. Colby LOVED it !!! He has always wanted to be "in the clouds". He also LOVED climbing the surrounding rocks - drove me nuts! He was like a mountain goat, scrambling up and down... Kailey wanted to climb ,too, and she did a bit - but the combination of her leg muscle problem and the dress she was wearing didn't make it easy for her.

After getting some sodas, falling in the snow pile, and buying the Twinz new, grossly overpriced, fleece pullovers ( Colby the mountain goat managed to rip his jacket somehow) - It was time to force Kailey onto the aerial tram for the ascent to the actual top of Zugspitze. Kailey handled it really well - better than most of the people on it with us ,in fact. Probably the 15 minutes that we were delayed while they worked on a cable issue in front of us - didn't help.

The top of Zugspitze is probably spectacular - on a clear day. Colby got his wish and was actually IN the clouds.

Colby - "Look Mom! I'm eating cloud!!!" ( as he ran around the platform with his mouth open). His other favorite activity was fighting with Kailey over the binoculars we brought, and waiting until my back was turned so he could spit over the side...boys! :D

Kailey pretended to enjoy it,venturing to the railing WAY more than I thought she would. I think it helped that because of the lack of visibility - she couldn't see down. Or anywhere else, for that matter...

The building at the top is 3 stories tall and is gift shops and restaurants. Meeting facilities and a museum of sorts. The ACTUAL highest point is marked by a golden cross which has a trail you can take to it. We WILL take that short trail before we leave here - I promise!

There is also a former Alpine checkpoint on the peak where Germany meets Austria. It used to be passport control, but now it is open and is a terrace restaurant and mini visitor center. I HAD to take a picture of the kids standing in the middle of 2 countries, much to their frustration...

Kailey - "Uh,Mom? is this ANOTHER one of those things I'm going to wish I remembered when I'm old?"

"Yes, Honey!"

Kailey ( under her breath and gritting her teeth) "She ALWAYS says that!!!"

Twinz got hungry and there was a cafe right there in the open ,so we sat down and had the BEST sauerkraut and wurst with mashed potatoes I have ever had here in Germany. It started to get darker ...and quieter... and I realized that the only people up there with us seemed to be the handful of climbers who had made the trek up on foot.....uh oh.

I had forgotten to look at the board to see what time the last tram down was, and I also had YET to pick up a watch since we moved here. I grabbed the Twinz and we quickly made our way 3 flights down to the tram platform....where it was crowded ! Praise the Lord! Not gonna be left behind TODAY...

Now, I had decided on the tram up from the base camp - that we would skip the doing the tram back down and then the train. There was another aerial tram that went STRAIGHT up and down from the peak to the bahnhof, where we were parked . And by straight - I mean zzzzzzippp down. HERE is where Kailey REALLY panicked ! I gotta say - My butterflies in the tummy were airborne themselves...

What gooses we were! Between the smoothness of the tram and the cloud cover - we were, literally, halfway down before we even realized we had left the platform. We had to break through the clouds to even see that we were moving. The views were INCREDIBLE! I had a wonderful non-conversation with this little old German guy on the way down. He was so sweet! I don't know if he realized I understood nothing of what he was saying, 'cause he just kept talking - but when we "landed" and got out - he went and got me a brochure, in English, of the Zugspitze.

So, that was the end of our weekend in Garmisch. Hungry, again, and tired - it was time to go home!

But, we'll be back in December...With Daddy!!! :D