Bavaria Beckoned

My final time in the Alps has been spent in the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. The town park is beautiful in Spring. I had visited for the day in 1974 and spent a few hours there in 2000 and these samplings created a dream to stay several days. Perhaps the town itself was a bit disappointing after my time spent at Hallstatt and Appenzell which are not yet as spoilt by tourists. However the surrounding snow covered mountains and houses with painted pictures are still worth the visit. My feet are telling me they want to go home but my eyes want to keep going to see more and more. The first afternoon I just spent in the square with apple strudel and hot chocolate but the next day I headed for the Partnachklamm Gorge. This is a narrow gorge filled with rushing water and the path often tunnels into the cliff in order to get through.
I then climbed above the gorge to return by the top path and found a farm house with a cafe attached. Could not resist a coffee in these surroundings. Back into town and after eating some fruit in the park (I have to make up for the strudel, sausages and beer which are undoing any good achieved from all the walking), I headed for a cable car which goes up Wank Berg or Mountain (Don't laugh). Great views of the town and across to the highest German peak, the Zugspitze which was on my itinerary for the next day.
To get up the Zugspitze (2962 metres) you go by a rack railway which was built in 1930 and for the last 4 and half kilometres travels up in a tunnel under the mountain. A cable car is used to reach the final summit.
A view of the Eibsee from the summit. The round trip should involve a quick trip back down in another very high cable car but it was closed for maintenance so I had to return by the train.
After lunch I again set off walking mainly at the valley level to a lake called Riessersee and my legs were glad that I caught a bus back to town and my hotel.
Today I have returned to Munich and spent the afternoon in the Englischer Garten, the largest city park in Europe, 5km long and, no, I did not walk the full length but spent some time sitting and listening to a typical German band. Some people were sunbaking completely naked. I would have turned blue as the wind was a bit brisk for my liking. Finally I spent a little more than an hour at the Neue Pinakothek which has paintings and sculpture from 18th and 19th centuries. I have just returned from dinner with my host Rodney and must now prepare to travel north to Berlin.

Grüss von München

Don't worry, I will write the rest in English, just showing off my rather poor German anyway. In fact I was given the 3rd degree coming through customs, which I have never received in Europe before and Rodney with whom I am staying tells me they probably thought because I spoke in German, I just might try to get work while here.

Not a lot to relate yet. At least the flight is over and I can try to forget for 8 weeks that I think it is a modern form of torture to put humans in a metal tube and send them through the air for hour after hour and pay for the privilege.
We had individual tv screens for the 9 hours from Sydney to Bangkok and it took me nearly half the movie "Golden Compass" before I learnt how to work it, even saw about 20 mins in German and no my German is not that good. So I decided to watch it again right through in English without interruption then, having got the knack I planned my films for the second flight of 12 hours from Bangkok to Munich only to find the plane had not been upgraded and we just had one screen up front over several rows of heads and the first film as, you guessed it "The Golden compass" so I gave up and read my book with a few short snatches of sleep.

More pleasant have been the dinners, Monday night with my sister and brother-in-law in City Tattersalls in Sydney, Tuesday night with internet friends Tony and Somphong in Bangkok. Somphong ensured I experienced Thai food without affecting my stomach as spicy food is prone to do. Part of my journey is to meet people in real life who have only been internet acquaintances up to now. Last night (Thursday) I had dinner with my host Rodney who was one of the students when I was teaching at Benilde back in 1976 but has lived here in Munich for over 20 years.

Today in Munich I took it easy, as expected my body cycle is completely out of synch (I am typing this at 3am), and did some rail bookings that could not be done on the internet, bought some English novels to read (my luggage was already over the limit) and took a movie of the Glockenspiel at the Town Hall (photo above - the movie will have to wait) which I have seen several times before but is fun.
Probably more funny was the teenage I saw out of the corner of my eye with a banana up to his eye taking us all off to amuse his friends. We tourists are a funny lot.
Also visited Die Frauenkirche with an impressive huge crucifix dominating and the burial site of lots of the kings of Bavaria including the mad king Ludwig who built those marvellous castles. Went to enter another church called Alte Peter but a service was going on so I went to the food markets and bought a Bratwurst bun instead. Thought about a half liter of beer but decided not a good idea with my state of jetlag and it was very cold even at midday to be sitting too long in the open.
So of on the first of many train journeys to Berchtesgaden tomorrow but I may not have as good internet connection for a while. Rodney does much of his work by internet at home so it is very good compared to mine.