Euro Trip : Day 4 (Germany - Zugspitze)
We packed up and we were on our toes before the sunrise. We were headed to Zugspitze! Since we had to drive through the country roads, it was difficult to predict the exact time we would be reaching there. We had to take a train from Garmisch-Partenkirchen, a small but beautiful town which hosted the Olympics in 1936. The train called Zahnradbahn (Cog railway - train bound transport) would take us to the Germany’s highest peak which was at 2962 meters in height. We grabbed our coffees and caught the very first train to the top.
Enroute Zugspitze by train
Train to Zugspitze from Garmisch
The 19km long journey through the very steep mountain takes you through the picturesque town overlooking the beautiful Lake Eibsee and some long and narrow tunnels. The train journey is around 1 hour 30 minutes and is totally worth every minute of it. The train makes several stops throughout the journey which leads to ski slopes. From Grainau station, the train traverses through the gear toothed rail track which enables it to climb the steep mountains. The destination of this train journey was Zugspitzplatt from where we had to take the Zugspitze Glacier cable car to reach the summit.
View of Alps from Zugspitze
It was around 9.30 am when we reached Zugspitzplatt and it was entirely covered with fog. We could hardly see anything up to 50 metres, so we decided to wait till the fog cleared up. We explored the nearby areas including the highest chapel of the world, took some stunning pictures and tried hiking around some smaller peak points to catch a glimpse of the amazing views. The last leg of the journey in the Gondola (cable car) made a lasting impression. At the end of this short ride we were in absolute heaven surrounded by Alps. Zugspitze is the highest point in Germany from where you can see the mountain peaks of 4 countries (Germany, Austria, Italy and Switzerland). There is a weather monitoring and research station here. I was left in awe and tried to soak in the beautiful landscapes around me.
On top of Zugspitze
It was quite cloudy when we visited. They say when the weather is very clear you will be able to see all the way till Munich. It is an advantage when you reach a place early. It is almost like you have the entire place for yourself. Since Zugspitze is in the border of Austria and Germany we could see the checkpoint stand which is now a part of Schengen zone. When it was nearing 11.30am the summit started getting colder and very crowded, and we decided to head back down to Zugspitzplatt.
Tips:
Get to the location as early as possible to avoid crowds
Carry warm clothing
Visits during the Autumn will not disappoint you
Cost : EUR53 per person (round-trip)
After an afternoon of being completely awestruck, we headed inside the cafe and bar up here in Zugspitzplatt for a typical Bavarian lunch and some local beer.
We had our lunch and took the train at around 1.30pm. We were heading down to explore the most beautiful part in whole of Germany - Lake Eibsee. Once the train reaches the Eibsee station it is just a few minutes by walk to the lake. There used to be a cable car from Eibsee to Zugspitze but it was not operating when we visited due to a maintenance situation. There are a lot of smaller nooks and crannies on the lake. The water which reaches the lake from the glaciers makes it crystal clear. Trust me; the dreamy lake looks its best with amazing mountain ranges in the backdrop. I wish I had more time to wander in the woods surrounding the lake.
Eibsee
On the shores of Eibsee
We spent the evening here trying to enjoy the magnificent beauty this place has to offer. Zugspitze definitely lived up to its hype.
There are about 5 hiking trails with different difficulty levels to the top of Zugspitze. Most of the routes take around 8-10 hrs to complete it and most people cover it in a span of 2 days. Am sure it is a definite sense of achievement when you actually take the final steep push to the summit. This remains my motivational factor to come back to Zugspitze again.
We came back to the parking spot at Garmisch at around 4.30 and started our 2 hr drive to Salzburg. The driving experience on Autobahn was pleasant. The dramatic alpine ranges, picturesque towns and valleys added more flavour to it. We reached Salzburg quite late and couldn’t explore much of Salzburg the same day. We had our dinner at Austrian cuisine speciality place and went to bed for a peaceful sleep.