Enjoying the View of Mittenwald

I woke up early from my Munich Hotel and gathered my things. Today I was to meet Sabine in Innsbruck, Austria in the mid-afternoon. Before I left for the train station I decided to take advantage of the the free breakfast. When I got to the top floor of the hotel I was amazed by the breakfast room. The room was surrounded by glass windows overlooking Munich and I had the entire place to myself. The breakfast was huge!!!! Eggs, fruit, coffee, juice, rolls, yogurt, cereal, toast, cheese, and many types of sausage. Now it was the bologna that struck me. Bologna for breakfast???? Then it occurred to me that the one breakfast I had in Bacharach also had bologna. "Yuck!" I thought to myself passing over the bologna. I sat and had a very nice breakfast with my nice view Germany from my Swiss Hotel.

My stop was in Mittenwald, a very small ski town, on the boarder of Germany and Austria. On the way the train was filled with skiers on their way to the slopes. However, most did not stop in Mittenwald. When I got to Mittenwald I figured that I would just dump by bag in the luggage locker and then check-out the town back-pain free. However, the train station was empty and their luggage area was blocked off and closed. I'd have to haul my bag the rest of the day. Now, my bag isn't all that heavy at about 25lbs. I did buy a few souvenirs in Munich that were on the heavy side because I was planning on sending a package home before getting on the plane to the UK. For now I would have to deal with the weight, which again, not THAT big of a deal.

I toured the town which was a little touristic, but be very beautiful. What stuck out in my mind was the beautiful mosaics that filled the town's walls. Not just in the touristy areas either, but many of the homes in the residential areas.

Mittenwald

While the town was pleasant I covered it pretty quickly and I still had a lot of time to spend before meeting Sabine. Since this was a ski town I figured that their would be a way up the mountains to at least get a nice view. I followed the sign with the gondola symbol on it to find my way. It was a little tough to find. You can't see the cables from far away because they just blend in with the mountain, but you could see the a lookout area on top of the mountain. I met a nice woman on the way whose English wasn't too bad. I asked her where the gondola was and she looked at me and her eyes got big. She said, "You aren't planning on sleeping up there are you?" What happened was that she saw my bag an thought that I was going to trek up the mountain and sleep over night. It took a while, with her poor understanding of English, that I was just going up for the view and then coming back down. She was then able to point the way.

I found the base of the gondola and paid for my ticket up to the top of Karwendel (2385m). Now, this is the first time I've ever been on a gondola and I was a little freaked out. Once it started moving I felt more secure, but I stayed pretty close to the mountain-side so I didn't have to look down as far. Heights have never been my favorite. As Rizzo the Rat says in a Muppet Christmas Carol, "I have two fears: Heights and jumping from them". I agree with his sentiments. Overall, the view was beyond spectacular. The 15-Minute ride up the mountain as the trip got steeper and steeper which was both a little scary and pretty darn cool! When we were about to dock up at the top of the mountain the cable car hit the side of the platform with a loud, "Crash!" I was glad to be off and tried not to think about the fact the cable car was my only way down if I didn't want to do the 4-Hour walk in slippery snow.

The Cable Car

The top was not what I expected. It was more!!!! They had a frickn' restaurant up there!!!! There was a way you could go off in various directions for hiking or skiing, but my time was limited for a hike so I decided to look around the information center and then have my lunch up there. The sun was out and there were people up there in lawn chairs having a beer and getting some winter sun. It was pretty neat! Every so often the wind would pick up and a light dusting of snow would encircle you like a little snow tornado. Very cool! After a look around I headed to the restaurant and ordered myself a beer. I had the best seat in the house with an amazing view of Mittenwald way down below. I ate my German lunch, drank my beer, had an apple strudel, and marveled at the scenery. Outside, where the wind was picking up, you could see those little tornadoes begin to build-up. The inside of the restaurant was quiet, but you could tell the wind was loud and at times a little fierce on the outside. With the sun shinning and the light dusts of snow in a flurry the reflections made it look like diamonds were being blown everywhere. It was spectacular!

The View

The View

Beer

My Lunch

My Apple Strudel

After lunch it was time to head back down and catch my train in time to meet Sabine. I was the first one in line to catch the gondola back down. While I was waiting I was talking with the tram operator. All of a sudden the power in the entire building shuts off! The man yells, "Shizah! Nein nein nein nein nein nein!!!!!!" He runs to box next to the gondola that is now flashing an emergency yellow light, grabs a few keys while pushing buttons frantically, and runs out of the room. I thought to myself, "Holy Shit! We're stuck up here!!!!!"