Back to Garmisch, 2006
Last summer, Mark and I combined a tour of Berlin and the Bavarian Alps, and because we had so many days of rain in the Alps and liked the hiking so much, we returned this summer. This blog resumes with the tales of our first three days in Garmische-Partenkirchen where we plan to be for the next two weeks. I hope to keep up with the blog on a regular basis.
In contrast to the rain we had last year, this year every day has been sunny during the day. At five or six every evening, we have thunderstorms, but they clear away by the next morning.
We hit the ground running, so to speak. After being couped up in a plane for hours, we rented a car for the drive to Garmische and shortly thereafter began our first hike, a walk from the hotel to Lake Riessersee where we walked on the easy path around the lake and split an ice cream dessert at the outdoor café overlooking the lake . Yesterday we returned to another beautiful lake, the Eibsee which we had biked and hiked on two different occasions last year, all in the clouds or rain. On this trip, we finally saw why everyone describes it as an important landmark because in the sunshine, we looked up to see the stupendous peaks of the Alspitze, Zugspitze, Wank, and others. In the clear, green lake, we saw the seven islands and picnicked along the path with dozens of other visitors.
Tuesday we ventured higher up the mountain and hiked the Kramerplateau on the other side of Garmisch, one whose landmarks we can easily spot from our hotel window. Before we hiked too far, we took a short detour to the World War Two Memorial/Chapel where the pictures and names of the men in this region who died and where they fought. Then we began our uphill trek to the St. Martin’s Hutte (café) where we shared a pastry torte, peppermint tea, and water. On our trip down, we ran into a couple from Flushing, New York, an event that doesn’t occur much in Garmisch because there are not that many US folks around, so we enjoyed sharing Garmisch stories since they travel here quite often. Afterwards, we found a great lean-to to enjoy our picnic lunch.
We have resumed our practice of having breakfast in the hotel because of its incredible choice of hot and cold foods. After we eat out yogurt, fruit, and granola, we then make our lunch with the hard rolls and choices of salami, other meats, and cheeses and a choice of apples, banana, and fruit. We pack the lunch in our back packs to bring out at lunch time on the mountains.
On our hike today, Mark found six different orchids and numerous other wildflowers including columbine, buttercups, and daisies. I hope that we will be able to post some of his pictures of those on the blog, if not today, then in the next few days. As we were hiking, I remembered someone recently asking us why we hiked, and though I often wonder that as I hike up the mountain very slowly, sweating profusely, we would be unable to see these flowers, and if they were on the side of the road, we would pass them by too quickly.
Being here in the midst of all this splendor also reminds me of my friend and next door neighbor, Connie, who died on June 11 after battling cancer. I know how much she would have enjoyed the flowers along the way. And she would be able to name the birds we heard because her knowledge about birds, their songs, their behaviors, their sizes and shapes was so extensive. Besides all of the wonders of nature she awoke me to, she, as many of you know, edited and critiqued my dissertation, and shared in my joy as that dissertation became a book. I will miss her.
In contrast to the rain we had last year, this year every day has been sunny during the day. At five or six every evening, we have thunderstorms, but they clear away by the next morning.
We hit the ground running, so to speak. After being couped up in a plane for hours, we rented a car for the drive to Garmische and shortly thereafter began our first hike, a walk from the hotel to Lake Riessersee where we walked on the easy path around the lake and split an ice cream dessert at the outdoor café overlooking the lake . Yesterday we returned to another beautiful lake, the Eibsee which we had biked and hiked on two different occasions last year, all in the clouds or rain. On this trip, we finally saw why everyone describes it as an important landmark because in the sunshine, we looked up to see the stupendous peaks of the Alspitze, Zugspitze, Wank, and others. In the clear, green lake, we saw the seven islands and picnicked along the path with dozens of other visitors.
Tuesday we ventured higher up the mountain and hiked the Kramerplateau on the other side of Garmisch, one whose landmarks we can easily spot from our hotel window. Before we hiked too far, we took a short detour to the World War Two Memorial/Chapel where the pictures and names of the men in this region who died and where they fought. Then we began our uphill trek to the St. Martin’s Hutte (café) where we shared a pastry torte, peppermint tea, and water. On our trip down, we ran into a couple from Flushing, New York, an event that doesn’t occur much in Garmisch because there are not that many US folks around, so we enjoyed sharing Garmisch stories since they travel here quite often. Afterwards, we found a great lean-to to enjoy our picnic lunch.
We have resumed our practice of having breakfast in the hotel because of its incredible choice of hot and cold foods. After we eat out yogurt, fruit, and granola, we then make our lunch with the hard rolls and choices of salami, other meats, and cheeses and a choice of apples, banana, and fruit. We pack the lunch in our back packs to bring out at lunch time on the mountains.
On our hike today, Mark found six different orchids and numerous other wildflowers including columbine, buttercups, and daisies. I hope that we will be able to post some of his pictures of those on the blog, if not today, then in the next few days. As we were hiking, I remembered someone recently asking us why we hiked, and though I often wonder that as I hike up the mountain very slowly, sweating profusely, we would be unable to see these flowers, and if they were on the side of the road, we would pass them by too quickly.
Being here in the midst of all this splendor also reminds me of my friend and next door neighbor, Connie, who died on June 11 after battling cancer. I know how much she would have enjoyed the flowers along the way. And she would be able to name the birds we heard because her knowledge about birds, their songs, their behaviors, their sizes and shapes was so extensive. Besides all of the wonders of nature she awoke me to, she, as many of you know, edited and critiqued my dissertation, and shared in my joy as that dissertation became a book. I will miss her.
posted by Kathy Sohn | 9:25 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home