Me and the G7!
Off to Garmisch Partenkirchen this morning! The G7 is meeting here, and security is tight. There are so many policemen and police vehicles
beside the road, and we have to reroute at one stage. Near the station where we alight there are what look like temporary buildings where accreditation had to be shown at the entrance, and near the carpark are 3 military helicopters!
We go up the mountain on the railway, change to a rack and pinion train, and arrive at the summit plateau. As we climbed in the train, the mist came down and we feared the worst. The last twenty minutes of the ride is through
a tunnel in the rocks, and as we emerge, we see light. We are above the clouds, and amongst the amazing rocks of the summit area. It is intensely bright. There is a little church here. The highest in Germany. We decide to go more or less immediately on the
cable car that leads to the summit proper. The views are amazing, and we wonder at the ingenuity and bravery of the men who built this. We learn that an original idea to creat the railway at the end of the nineteenth century was only given the impetus when
Austria built their train up to the summit, and the plan was to build it by 1930 for that performance of the Oberammergau play. The cable car down to Eibsee, however is a record breaker and has only been in operation since 2017. It is incredibly steep! We
have lunch up at the summit, as well as walk across to the Austrian side for a bit!
The ride down is amazing and we start above the clouds, and then descend into them. Nothing! But as we get close to the tree
line we begin to see the villages below and the lake of Eibsee, which was beautifully blue and turquoise.
We have free time to walk around the lake but it starts to rain as soon as we arrive. We find a lovely bar/restaurant
with stunning lake views and have a cuppa. As the cloud seems to lift we made a move, and stated walking along the shore. It was lovely. Wonderful tall trees, and this lakes with its patches of deep turquoise. As we walk the cloud clears from the mountain
tops, but it also starts to rain. We get barely a 40minute walk!
Fortunately all our group have amassed at the cable car hall, so we can leave a little early. We drive back through Austria. It is very pretty but the
rain is heavy and ceaseless.
It has been a good day. The top of the mountain exceeded my expectations. Just a shame about the weather!