Sunshine!
As we look at the USA Today weather map, we have been seeing shades of red and orange indicating high temperatures across the US. My neighbor Connie says that Pikeville has been having what we call “dog days,” indicating extended hot and humid weather. But here in the Alps, we have been having cold and rainy days until yesterday when it became partly cloudy. In fact, we decided to add two days to our time here, postponing our trip to Mark’s cousin’s until Friday, because we had heard the weather would improve. Though it was cloudy yesterday, it was dry enough that we planned to hike the Eckbauer trail. When the sun broke out behind the clouds half-way through our walk, we stopped to celebrate the patches blue sky and the promise of sunshine.
This morning, we woke up early because the room was so bright from the sunshine, and as I looked out our balcony, I saw only sporadic, white clouds, that indicated our first sunny and dry day since Saturday.
Yesterday, July 12, we took the two-person gondola with Hamm Beer ads decorating the outside to the top of Eckbauer which is right next to the Skistation, the original high jump ski station for the 1936 Olympics which is still being used for competitions in the wintertime. (We had lunch later in the Skistation restaurant which looked out to the ski jumps—absolutely amazing and unfathomable how high they jump from watching ski competitions on television.)
The gondola looked to be vintage 1936 though the ads on the side had to be recent, so we know they have been updated. Our trip up was slow but the gondola held steady which calmed me a little. At the top, we began our hike down after we took a 5 minute detour to find that the Gasthof Restaurant was closed for the season. Since we had decided that morning not to make our own lunches from the breakfast buffet, we had to be content with my apple until we got to the bottom an hour later.
The hike was a good start to our hiking even though going downhill has its challenges, especially in steep places. The pathways for all of our treks have been either gravel or hardtop and for the most part, they are beautifully maintained. The mountain valleys were lovely, and eventually we saw the town below us. We ran into no one going down but later ran into some hikers going up. The boots I had purchased on our rainy day shopping carried me well and because the path was still wet, kept my feet dry for the first time in several days.
It amazes me how so much cold and rain drags the energy out of a person, but the prospect of dry weather and sunshine filled me with energy. After we returned from our hike and while Mark went to lift weights, I went on an hour-long walk around Garmische and found Kurhaus Park which I had heard about but not seen. The park is a lovely expanse of green lawns with flowers everywhere; I even saw flowers in the shapes of a snake and a turtle. The rose garden, past its prime, disappointed me, but I could imagine it had been pretty. A life-size chess board with huge but moveable figures stood in a gazebo as I passed a water wheel. Next, I stepped into a section where every day there is live music. There chairs were assembled in a square under cover. On one side of the performance stage is the Kurhaus Hotel which has an outdoor restaurant from where one could listen to the music. I am determined to get us to the park for a concert before we leave on Friday.
The rain came back briefly as we headed out to dinner, so we took the car instead of walking. We ate at the Husar Restaurant in a building part of which dates back 400 years. The restaurant is family-owned and operated; the young man who greeted us and took our order is the son-in-law of the owner and his wife is the chef! The restaurant has six tables in a cozy, wood-lined room with pictures of the Husars, Hungarian soldiers, lining the walls. My veal medallions on noodles and strawberry and ice cream for dessert plus the salad with chanterelles what we shared (Mark has noodles with chanterelles for his main course) were all top-notch.
Today, the day we would have been leaving the Alps to visit Mark’s cousin in Bad Homborg, we planned a trip to the top of the Zugspitze after Mark had his short run. After days of mountains shrouded by clouds and rain, we were finally going to be albe to see the panorama of the peaks which surround the town and be warmed by the sunshine! The hotel staff recommended that we see the vista on a day when the weather was good, so we decided to take the train, cog railway, and gondola, about an hour’s ride, to see the 10,000 feet high summit from which you can see Italy, Austria, and Switzerland. There we walked through melted snow to a wooden chapel and kept going higher until we reached the summit. Though clouds floated around us, the sun was shining, and they only blocked the views momentarily. Outstanding! Breathtaking! On our trip home, we decided to get off at an earlier stop to get some walking in since we were only tourists at the top.
I am happy that we added these extra days on to our trip and will remember the trip to the Zugspitze for a long time. Mainly I am happy to be warmed by the sun!
This morning, we woke up early because the room was so bright from the sunshine, and as I looked out our balcony, I saw only sporadic, white clouds, that indicated our first sunny and dry day since Saturday.
Yesterday, July 12, we took the two-person gondola with Hamm Beer ads decorating the outside to the top of Eckbauer which is right next to the Skistation, the original high jump ski station for the 1936 Olympics which is still being used for competitions in the wintertime. (We had lunch later in the Skistation restaurant which looked out to the ski jumps—absolutely amazing and unfathomable how high they jump from watching ski competitions on television.)
The gondola looked to be vintage 1936 though the ads on the side had to be recent, so we know they have been updated. Our trip up was slow but the gondola held steady which calmed me a little. At the top, we began our hike down after we took a 5 minute detour to find that the Gasthof Restaurant was closed for the season. Since we had decided that morning not to make our own lunches from the breakfast buffet, we had to be content with my apple until we got to the bottom an hour later.
The hike was a good start to our hiking even though going downhill has its challenges, especially in steep places. The pathways for all of our treks have been either gravel or hardtop and for the most part, they are beautifully maintained. The mountain valleys were lovely, and eventually we saw the town below us. We ran into no one going down but later ran into some hikers going up. The boots I had purchased on our rainy day shopping carried me well and because the path was still wet, kept my feet dry for the first time in several days.
It amazes me how so much cold and rain drags the energy out of a person, but the prospect of dry weather and sunshine filled me with energy. After we returned from our hike and while Mark went to lift weights, I went on an hour-long walk around Garmische and found Kurhaus Park which I had heard about but not seen. The park is a lovely expanse of green lawns with flowers everywhere; I even saw flowers in the shapes of a snake and a turtle. The rose garden, past its prime, disappointed me, but I could imagine it had been pretty. A life-size chess board with huge but moveable figures stood in a gazebo as I passed a water wheel. Next, I stepped into a section where every day there is live music. There chairs were assembled in a square under cover. On one side of the performance stage is the Kurhaus Hotel which has an outdoor restaurant from where one could listen to the music. I am determined to get us to the park for a concert before we leave on Friday.
The rain came back briefly as we headed out to dinner, so we took the car instead of walking. We ate at the Husar Restaurant in a building part of which dates back 400 years. The restaurant is family-owned and operated; the young man who greeted us and took our order is the son-in-law of the owner and his wife is the chef! The restaurant has six tables in a cozy, wood-lined room with pictures of the Husars, Hungarian soldiers, lining the walls. My veal medallions on noodles and strawberry and ice cream for dessert plus the salad with chanterelles what we shared (Mark has noodles with chanterelles for his main course) were all top-notch.
Today, the day we would have been leaving the Alps to visit Mark’s cousin in Bad Homborg, we planned a trip to the top of the Zugspitze after Mark had his short run. After days of mountains shrouded by clouds and rain, we were finally going to be albe to see the panorama of the peaks which surround the town and be warmed by the sunshine! The hotel staff recommended that we see the vista on a day when the weather was good, so we decided to take the train, cog railway, and gondola, about an hour’s ride, to see the 10,000 feet high summit from which you can see Italy, Austria, and Switzerland. There we walked through melted snow to a wooden chapel and kept going higher until we reached the summit. Though clouds floated around us, the sun was shining, and they only blocked the views momentarily. Outstanding! Breathtaking! On our trip home, we decided to get off at an earlier stop to get some walking in since we were only tourists at the top.
I am happy that we added these extra days on to our trip and will remember the trip to the Zugspitze for a long time. Mainly I am happy to be warmed by the sun!
posted by Kathy Sohn | 11:00 AM
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