Tag: things to do in germany

Visiting Zugspitze – the highest mountain in Germany and Eibsee Lake

Image credit: https://zugspitze.de

The plan for the day was to visit both Zugspitze and Eibsee Lake. The perfect round trip started by taking the cogwheel train from Garmisch-Partenkirchen station to Eibsee station, after which, the cable car up to the peak of Zugspitze. To get down, I took the cable car again but you can also take the cogwheel through the Zugspitze tunnel back to Eibsee station. At Eibsee station, I spent some time trekking around Eibsee Lake and lastly, I took the cogwheel train back to Garmisch-Partenkirchen.  

ZUGSPITZE

The Zugspitze mountain stands at 2,962m above sea level and it is the highest peak in Germany. It is possible to hike up to the summit but unfortunately I don’t think I am up to the task. Instead, I chose the route that most people would go which is to take the cable car up.

I managed to get the best spot in the crowded cable car which allowed me to film the spectacular ascent to the peak.

It took a total of 9 mins to reach the peak. The views were amazing and awe-inspiring.

It was really cold and what I wore was not enough to keep me warm.

I had some fun exploring the area on top. Even though it was really misty, the sun’s UV rays were very strong, so bringing sunglasses is a must.  

On a clearer day, you would be able to climb up to the highest peak. But unfortunately, it was clearly impossible for me to do so.

What is really unique is that you can actually visit Austria without having to use your passport! I took a little break at the restaurant on the Austria side and had a delicious apple strudel. 

Zugspitze is a mountain you should not miss when visiting Germany. While there may not be many activities you can do at the top, just being there is an unforgettable experience!

EIBSEE LAKE

Before going back to the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, I visited the beautiful Eibsee lake.

By using the measure distance function on google maps, I’ve estimated that the walk around the lake would be about 6.6 km long. I roughly took around 1 hr. and 15 mins to finish the circumference.

The lake is impressive in size and at whichever point you are at the lake, there will always be an opportunity to capture its beauty.

The path around the lake is mostly flat and easy to walk.

There are smaller lakes at the north-east side of the lake.

Besides walking around the lake, you can experience the lake in a different way through a really fun activity – paddling. I wished I had done this but unfortunately I was really tired from climbing Wank Mountain and I needed to get back to Munich on the same day.  

If you are looking to take great pictures, visit two countries at the same time and be enveloped in picturesque scenery, you have to visit Zugspitze and Eibsee Lake.

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Climbing Wank Mountain in Garmisch-Partenkirchen

Wank Mountain is a mountain situated at the southern part of Germany in the beautiful region of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It stands at 1,780 m with 700 m being below sea level.

Out of all the climbing routes in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, I chose this mountain to hike because of these various reasons. First, it was easily accessible being at the the edge of the town, it offers panoramic views of the town from above, it is also not that high thus making it possible to climb within a few hours and lastly it has a cable car station.

It was my first time travelling as a solo female and also my first time climbing a mountain alone. I had intended to find a travelling buddy on either Couchsurfing or the Hiking Buddies Munich Facebook Group. Unfortunately, people were reluctant to join because the period I wanted to climb in which was in late May, had long extended periods of rainfall; and they were not sure if the rain would cease on the day I wanted to climb While I was a little disappointed, I knew I had to do it as I don’t know when i’ll get the chance to do this again.

The constant rainfall made an otherwise relatively easy hike to something which was quite dangerous. Here’s my journey up Wank Mountain.

The foot of Wank Mountain is only a 10-15 min walk from the center of the town.

There were quite a few hiking routes to Wank Mountain and other mountains nearby but I chose to stick with the shortest walking route provided by google maps which was 6.4 km. While it says it only takes 2 hr 7 mins to climb, it took me 4 hours to finish as it was raining and that made the path really muddy and slippery and I also took many little breaks to rest and take pictures. Perhaps on a sunny day 2 hrs would be possible but realistically, 3 hrs would be a safe bet.

The path started off quite easy through concrete roads.

If you listen to the video above, you will be able to hear the bells on the cows. Because of that I knew how near the cows were to me. There was a part of the path where there were cows on the left, on the right and even on the path. I was really scared as I knew they knew I was there and they were staring at me! 

About a third of the way up, the concrete path became more of a trail. While it was getting a little slippery as it had been raining throughout the whole morning, it was still manageable.  

Soon, the path started to get really difficult for me. It was extremely wet, muddy and slippery. Sometimes my shoes would get stuck in the mud which threw my balance way off. I slipped multiple times and had to gasp at tree branches. I didn’t fall down but I was so worried that I would.

I was supposed to reach the summit within 3 hrs. but it seemed like the estimated time now was 4 hrs. and I was getting really tired from having to be so careful with where I stepped. But seeing snow at the top got me really excited and motivated.

I didn’t expect the mountain top to be totally covered with snow as it was the beginning of summer. It was breathtaking!

I’ve never seen so much snow in my whole life!!

Finally!!! Throughout the whole hike, I was alone; the only people I saw were at the foot of the mountain but they went on a different path. I was so glad to make it this far.

Reaching the restaurant aptly named Wank-haus at the top was such a relief. The coffee and the beef broth with cheese dumpling was hearty – a well-deserved reward.

Thank god there’s a cable car station on top because I wouldn’t have been able to climb all the way back down.

This whole experience was amazing. I feel such a great sense of achievement and am so proud that I did this by myself. If you ever visit Garmisch-Partenkirchen and you want a relatively short hike, please visit Wank Mountain. Hopefully, when you’re there it doesn’t rain!

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